Tom Segev gives a nuanced portrait of Simon
Wiesenthal, the famed Nazi hunter and human rights advocate, in his full length
biography, Simon Wisenthal: The Life and the Legends. Part self-motivated genius
and master of organization, part showman and pious fraud, Segev provides us
with a portrait of a deeply flawed man, not always honest with himself or
others. Rather than demonizing this many
sided person, Segev offers a rich look at his life.
If the outcome is not always pretty to read, we
shouldn’t overly blame Segev (although at time, his tone is somewhat dismissive). He was given unprecedented
access to Wiesenthal’s documents spread across many continents. As far as I could tell, most of his conclusions are documented with hard evidence. Segev's work with Wiesenthal's papers, combined with interviews and secondary
sources, provides a compelling, in depth analysis of a complex man.
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