Gala opera evenings. Sudden wealth and fame. Dangerous undercover missions into the heart of Nazi Germany. Standing up to the perils of the Blitz. No one would have predicted such glamorous and daring lives for Ida and Louise Cook—two decidedly ordinary Englishwomen who came of age between the wars and seemed destined never to stray from their quiet London suburb and comfortable civil service jobs. But in 1923 a chance hearing of an aria from Madame Butterfly sparked a passion in the sisters that became a vehicle for both their greatest happiness and the rescue of dozens of Jews facing persecution and death.Safe Passage is one of the most unusual and inspiring accounts to come out of the cataclysm of World War II. First published in 1950; Ida's memoir of the adventures she and Louise shared remains as fresh; vital and entertaining as the woman who wrote it. The Cook sisters' zest for life and genuine "goodness" shines through every page and explains why the leading opera singers of their day befriended and loved them. Even when Ida began to earn thousands as a successful romance novelist; the sisters never departed from their homespun virtues of thrift; hard work; self-sacrifice and unwavering moral conviction. They sewed their own clothes; traveled third class; bought the cheapest tickets during opera season and directed every spare resource; as well as their own considerable courage and ingenuity; toward saving as many people as they could from Hitler's death camps.Uplifting and utterly charming; Safe Passage is moving testimony to all that can be achieved when conscience and compassion are applied to a collapsing world.
#759274 in Books 2010-06-29 2010-06-29Ingredients: Example IngredientsFormat: Deckle EdgeOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.55 x 1.25 x 6.50l; 1.56 #File Name: 0345469402400 pages
Review
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. A book waiting to be writtenBy Anne M ChappelChristine Bird brings together various fascinating stories centering around Zanzibar and Oman. They say that truth is stranger than fiction. Here that is so. Its an easy historical read and she is well capable about weaving it all together.I did find some errors which annoyed me - the editor should have picked them up. for example: on page 34 she gets the directions of the monsoon back to front. On page 133 she says" ....prior to Zanzibar's revolution of 1963-1964; when African Nationalists overthrew the island's foreigner-dominated government". Wrong - The Revolution was actually in January 1964 and the government was made up of Zanzibaris - mainly of Arabic and Shirazi descent. Her whole book has been explaining how the Arabs of the Gult and Persians had travelled and settled on the East African coast from centuries past. Perhaps as long ago as 700AD and maybe before any mainlanders settled there. The Zanzibari Arabs that led that government of 1963 had a longer history in Zanzibar than the many mainlander African that settled there after the clove boom after 1850 and into the 1900s.And another fact that is worth mentioning: on page 221 Bird talks about the Shells used in the trade with West Africa. A German firm called O'Swald. Those shells were money cowries; Cyprae Moneta; and they were used as currency in the slave trade. An important fact as it further shows the complicity of the Western nations in the slave trade of Africa.The Sultans of Zanzibar were treated very badly in the Scramble for Africa. The story of the German; Carl Peters and his terrible grabbing of land in Tanganyika is not widely known. Bismarck supported Peters and he went on to treat the locals shamefully and that led to the Maji Maji Rebellion when thousands and thousands of Africans were killed by German stormtroopers.The Sultans (Barghash) relied on the British who traded them off with the Germans. Sadly the Zanzibar Government in the 1960's also relied on the support of the British who had framed and designed their independence of 1963. Yet when they asked for military help on the 12 January 1964; a mere month after independence; the British refused aid. Thousands of innocent Zanzibaris died and it plunged Zanzibar into decades of mis-government.Its a sad history.0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Bit disjointed but provides exposure to a culture often glossed over in western civilizationBy David GChristiane Bird indicates the book was inspired from reading Memoirs of an Arabian Princess from Zanzibar. Inspired but not completely based upon the princess's life; the book rambles over the history of Oman; Zanzibar; slavery and Easy Africa. Although her writing was informative and interesting it did not seem to have a cohesive vision on what it was trying to educate the reader.The book exposes some truths most westerners may not be familiar with such as the linkage between Oman and Zanzibar; the large role arabs played in the east african slave trade; the role of england in abolishing the slave trade; how "civilized" the arabs were; the friction between different sects of islam including how many muslims feel about the extreme fundamentalist moslems out of Saudi. It is slightly apologetic about slavery in general emphasizing how much better slaves were treated in muslim countries; even emphasizing that slaves could own slaves. But some slave was always on the bottom and she mentions but glosses over the fact that 9 out of 10 slaves captured in africa died before even making it to the slave markets in zanzibar. She also depicts the princess as being unfairly treated; although it was well understood that the penalty for converting from islam at the time was death and instead she was graciously allowed to leave the country with her foreign lover and her personal fortune.The writer expands to book length by adding lengthy side stories on Dr. Livingston; slave trader Tippu Tip; and the founding of Oman. Some local anecdotes are included as fact such as the sultan living to be 120 years old; electric lights being introduced to the harbor only a year after edison invented them....The biggest pluses for this book is it exposes a culture that westerners know very little about and it is well written. The biggest negative is it does not seem to have one cohesive theme the reader could focus upon and it paints a rosy picture of this culture from the privileged royalty and wealthy slave trader viewpoint.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Fun read; if not expecting historyBy KukulcanGreat read. This work is not really history; a historical novel; or a novel. It is story-telling based on a limited number of sources; some of which are suspect. However; as long as you read with a skeptical outlook; this is a fun work that reveals much of Oman; Zanzibar; East Africa exploration by Europeans; and much on the perspectives of Princess Salme.
