The Diary of Anne Frank (The Definitive Edition)

As a young girl I read the version of Anne Frank's diary that had been released with her father's consent. This is such an engaging, heartwarming and endearing look at the life of a girl...becoming a young woman, hiding in a secret annex for a very long time. This is a diary containing her life through her eyes, unabridged and quite touching. What a wonderful writer and advocate for those of her generation she'd have become. Bless her heart, reading this makes me so wish things had come to a different outcome for her...such an observant writer!

Anne was full of life. She was a normal teenager for the time and very perceptive and incredibly smart. It was the last few months of her young life living under horrible conditions that she grew to become this beautiful person with a heart of gold. Her only wish was to liberate the world, believe in yourself, aspire to be a good person and believe in your faith. Her life was tragically cut short and sadly died a horrible death but for her young (I believe) fifteen years makes me really want to re-evaluate my fifty years. This book (diary) allows you into her world and you really feel like you know her personally. If only there were more “Anne Franks” in the world! I think every person should read this!

Reading this many years ago as a school reading assignment, Anne’s diary had little meaning . Definitely not the case this time around. Too much to say in a review but perhaps the saddest part is they survived for almost the entire war and just almost made it. So glad I took the time to read this again.

Very informative and well written. Needs to or proofread for errors but she would have been an amazing novelist. Her written account from the perspective of a young lady in hiding is very profound. She is able to capture in written form the struggles of every child who does not fit in with the people around them. Her struggle with who she wants to be versus who everyone else sees is an inspiration and a lesson to keep trying to show everyone who your true self is. This book also puts into perspective the absolute ridiculousness of what we in society today see as the norm. They struggled to survive on so little food and in such harsh conditions, it make you feel blessed with what you have and realize that you can survive without all the comforts that are in practically every home across the country.

I have read this at least a dozen times and it still makes me sad and my heart hurt!! Then I think about the immigration chaos problems going on in the world and the idea of "walling" off a country -this country!! And how some leaders then are mirrored in today's leadership! Wonder what the historians think on yesteryear and now. She was a prolific writer for such a young age-can you imagine what she'd be like now? I have seen the Annex, and it boggles the mind how the everyone survived there as long as they did. If you ever get the chance to visit there -be sure to take the tour! Just know -steps are steep and narrow -not for the faint of heart!! ---P/

I am thankful I finally had the opportunity to read this book. Anne Frank was wise beyond her years. She may not have realized her dream would one day come true after her death, but she most certainly made sometime of herself and became a famous writer.

Read this as a pre-teen and now as a “mature” adult. As I thought then and now, this is an extraordinary accomplishment for such a young woman. Anne was just a teen when she thought to chronicle what her life in hiding was like. Thank goodness she did. It’s an informative and intriguing glimpse into what it may have been like being a Jew during Hitler’s reign of terror. If you are interested in the war, I don’t recommend this book. If you’re interested in human nature and how war affects people living through it, I do recommend this book.

Of course I've known about Ann Frank, but somehow I never got around to reading it. I'm glad they came out with this edition, presumably including extra "chapters" not included in earlier editions. The addition of those extras only serve to expand on a brilliant young journalist facing horrific odds with grace and dignity, all the while trying hard to be a teenager. Every chapter had me wishing I could change the inevitable ending.