The Lampshade

A Holocaust Detective Story from Buchenwald to New Orleans

By: Mark Jacobson

Narrated by: Johnny Heller

The journey that takes Mark Jacobson around the world began when a friend bought a lamp at a rummage sale and was told that it was made from the skins of Jews. While he didn't believe the story, he sent it to Mark, saying, "You're a journalist, you figure out what it is."

After three years of research in America, Poland, Germany, and Israel, and with the assistance of forensic experts, DNA analysis, and consultations with Yad Yashem and the historical director at Buchenwald, Jacobson has investigated not only the truth of the thing itself but of the idea of it.

He also analyzes our understanding of history; of myths, facts, and evidence; and of the concept of evil. Despite extensive historical reporting of items made of human skin in eyewitness accounts from Nazi concentration camps, this is the first known discovery and investigation of such an artifact.

©2010 Mark Jacobson (P)2010 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Provocative.... A well-executed, original reflection on how social evil tends to endure, puzzle and resist efforts at redemption." ( Kirkus)

Such a layered story with historic twists and turns!

I loved this audiobook. A story from the heart with a surreal landscape. Wow! Incredible! Such a ride!

Nawlins weirdness and the horror of the holocaust.

If you could sum up The Lampshade in three words, what would they be?

Strange journey (of) happenstance: There are so many weird characters and threads here that the reader want there to be a good story. The story is really about the search for a story or the promise of a story -- a story that you want to believe. The story the author wants to tell never quite closes, even within the confines of the book. This isn't really storytelling anyway, it is reporting but the loose ends never get tied up.

Would you recommend The Lampshade to your friends? Why or why not?

Depends: Certainly there is a lot to discuss in this wide-ranging book. In the end I am not sure that the payoff is there.

What about Johnny Heller’s performance did you like?

He nailed it: the overly self-aware, overly literate author's inner voice of motivation.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The recounting of the holocaust came the closest, but I think most readers will have previously confronted those demons, sickening though they may be.

great holocaust story

This story is excellent and extremely interesting. The narration though leaves much to be desired. Most recordings owned by Tantor have poor narration quality. I own several Tantor cd books and although the stories are great their narrarators are not as good as Recorded Books, or Blackstone.

Fascinating

It really brings the history of both the holocaust and post Katrina New Orleans to life. The narrator was good, and I get the feeling he actually went out of his way to study the vocal patterns of some of the better known people in the story.

Stream of consciousness history

In "The Lampshade," author Mark Jacobson tells of how he obtained an artifact of the holocaust. This is stream of consciousness history at its best. In the course of telling the story of the lampshade, Jacobson details the story of the holocaust, Buchenwald concentration camp, holocaust deniers, New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina and much more. It is a fascinating journey that at times is riveting while at others is revolting. This story is definitely not for everyone and is not for the feint-hearted. Narrator Johnny Heller's easy-going style is perfect as he handles the nuances of difficult foreign names and a wide variety of accents.