Primo Levi (1919–1987) was born and lived his entire life in Turin, Italy, with the exception of the years 1944–45, when he was captured as an anti-Fascist partisan, deported to Auschwitz, and then released into war-torn Europe. He was the author of such acclaimed books as Survival in Auschwitz, The Periodic Table, and The Drowned and the Saved. Marco Belpoliti is the author of L’occhio di Calvino. He is editing the complete works of Primo Levi and lives in Italy.
Independent scholar Belpoliti and Gordon (Italian, Cambridge Univ.) have translated and annotated 36 interviews, out of over 200, given by Primo Levi (The Periodic Table, Survival in Auschwitz) between 1961 and 1987. The editors contend that these interviews, many of them not previously available in English, provide readers with new insights into Levi's complex character. The interviews cover a variety of subjects, from mountaineering to reflections on Levi's visit to Auschwitz in 1982. Of particular interest to those who study the Holocaust are a 1961 set of questions and answers on the nature of anti-Semitism and the uniqueness of the Shoah. In this interview, Levi not only generalizes about anti-Semitism, he also reveals his sense of the motivations behind human behavior. The publication of this material will be welcomed by devotees of Levi's work, as well as scholars in general, for the material provides a wider perspective on Levi the man. Recommended for Judaica and specialized libraries.DFrederic Krome, Jacob Rader Marcus Ctr. of American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
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