My August book is Night by Elie Wiesel.

This book was truly horrible. It was horrible because it is the story from a survivor of a Nazi concentration camp.

I have to admit, that while reading it, I had to zone it out. I couldn't think of it as non-fiction. I read the short novella-length book and all the while couldn't get "into" it. This makes me feel guilty.

The story is heart-breaking... and, the detail is painful. Some acts described are just incomprehensible... and, there are no words to rightfully describe it. The images stay with you... which, I believe is the point.

Unfortunately, the most disturbing experience for me related to this book was not a story or image from the novella itself. It was a comment made to me by the person sitting next to me on my flight. He said, "Don't fall asleep after reading that book." After I gave my non-committal, stranger-appropriate response, he recommended another book and author to me, explaining it gave a "more balanced" approach. I was so taken aback. I can't remember the names he gave me, or I would look it up to verify... I can only assume what kind of approach he was trying to promote.

Because of this experience on a plane with a stranger - a stranger in 2011 in the United States - I believe this book should be mandatory reading. How in the hell can one provide a more "balanced" approach to the Holocaust?