At the Mind's Limits

Contemplations by a Survivor on Auschwitz and Its Realities

De: Jean Amery

Narrado por: James Killavey

Whoever has succumbed to torture can no longer feel at home in the world. The shame of destruction cannot be erased. Trust in the world, which already collapsed in part at the first blow, but in the end, under torture, fully, will not be regained. That one's fellow man was experienced as the anti-man remains in the tortured person as accumulated horror. It blocks the view into a world in which the principle of hope rules. One who was martyred is a defenseless prisoner of fear. It is fear that henceforth reigns over him." - Jean Amery

At the Mind's Limits is the story of one man's incredible struggle to understand the reality of horror. In five autobiographical essays, Amery describes his survival - mental, moral, and physical - through the enormity of the Holocaust. Above all, this masterful record of introspection tells of a young Viennese intellectual's fervent vision of human nature and the betrayal of that vision.

©1980 Indiana University Press (P)2015 Redwood Audiobooks

Reseñas de la Crítica

"These are pages that one reads with almost physical pain...all the way to its stoic conclusion." (Primo Levi)

"The testimony of a profoundly serious man.... In its every turn and crease, it bears the marks of the true." (Irving Howe, New Republic)

"This remarkable memoir...is the autobiography of an extraordinarily acute conscience. With the ear of a poet and the eye of a novelist, Amery vividly communicates the wonder of a philosopher." ( Newsweek)

Powerful and Inciteful

Would you consider the audio edition of At the Mind's Limits to be better than the print version?

Audio version was good. Don't have the print version so can't compare.

What was one of the most memorable moments of At the Mind's Limits?

Torture episode in the camp.

What does James Killavey bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Very intelligent reading. Well done.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Quite a bit of it, actually.

"Deep Thoughts" in Incredible Book

What did you love best about At the Mind's Limits?

This is a profound book and an important one, It deals with how people of intellect dealt with the horror of being controlled, tortured and often killed by the savages who ran the death camps in World War 2. It also deals with the psychological implications of being a victim and contains an astonishing degree of depth of thought and introspection.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The Author, of course

What does James Killavey bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

This was not an easy book to read. Not just because of the "deep thoughts" involved but because is was originally written in German and the construction of the English sentences still have that "flavor." I started to read the printed version and gave up. I was very happy to see it in audio. The reader does an excellent job of "parsing' those convoluted sentences so that they make sense to an English ear. Kudos to him. Must have been a very time consuming job.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Cry, yes a few times. Also got very angry a few times at the incredible stupidity and savagery that people resorted to at that time.

Any additional comments?

Introspective applications make this a book ones needs to read over and over again.

Book was Horrible period.

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Perhaps if the book got to the subject matter 3 chapters and still where is the subject!!!!

What didn’t you like about James Killavey’s performance?

Horrible narrator.

Any additional comments?

Refund Please!!!!!!!!

Poor Reader

I'm not sure if the book itself or any good because the speaker was so terrible!