I'm not sure how I first got acquainted with the story of the White Rose, but it is a story that deserves to be known.

During the darkest days of World War II, a small group of German university students, along with a pair of mentors, took it upon themselves to try to raise awareness of what Hitler and the Nazis were doing to Germany, and were looking for a way to organize enough resistance to try to throw the Nazis out.

Unfortunately, this took place during 1942 and 1943, and instead of this resistance taking hold throughout Germany, the members of the "Weisse Rose" were arrested and executed.

Many may argue that they sacrificed their lives in vain, since this broad-based resistance never came to pass. However, it was the faith that all of these students had, that they had to do what was right, despite the danger, that is truly inspiring.

This book is well-researched, well-written, and quite readable, even for people who don't know much about the White Rose to begin with. My main gripe with the book is that, although it is not as bad as a lot of stuff about the White Rose, it tends to idolize the Scholls to begin with, and when introducing the other members, especially Alexander Schmorell and Willi Graf. Later on in the book, when more is written about these people, there seems to be more of a balance in what is said.

And though a lot of people seem only to be interested in the leaflets themselves, or the more 'political' motivations of the group, I, for one, was delighted with the chapter about Russia, because in it it was able to portray more of the "emotional" reasons for the actions of the White Rose, and throws some color onto what could be regarded as "boring history".

I just wish that this book were not out of print in English, as it is amazingly hard to find, and it is something that I would recommend to almost anyone who is interested in history, interested in ethics, religion, or just wants to read an unbelievably moving tale.

This is a rare book. Rare, in that it deals with German resistance to Hitler's demagoguery by young Christian university students. While there are a number of books around that deal with German resistance, this story, the story of the White Rose resistance movement, is quite different - probably due to the phenomenal research that Jud Newborn and his associate did on the subject. The book is informational, historical, educational and, I feel, a must for anyone, especially young people, to read.

As a university professor, I found this book's treatment of the White Rose incisive and moving, the kind of dramatic yet scrupulous historical account that not only appeals to all readers, but has the special power to reach young people in high schools and colleges who might otherwise be turned off by drier academic writing. Bravo!