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The Wave

by Todd Strasser, William Dufris (Narrator)

3.48 · rating details · 2,090 ratings · 358 reviews

Based on a true incident that occurred in a high school history class in Palo Alto, California, in 1969, The Wave explores what happens when a teacher conducts a class experiment dealing with group pressure.

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Published November 2009 by Tantor Media Inc (first published September 15th 1981)

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Apr 09, 2010

Joel rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: ya

I read this book while on a family trip to Washington, D.C., shortly after visiting the Holocaust museum (which is, in fact, where my mom bought it -- in the gift shop -- and is it weird that the Holocaust museum has a gift shop? Even if the proceeds go to the museum?).

Perhaps that wasn't the best time to pick up a book that seeks to grossly oversimplify how fascism can slowly creep up and overtake a society of otherwise well-meaning people, but what with the blatant metaphors and ba...more

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Nov 09, 2008

Shannon rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2008, fiction, history, movie-book, psychology, ya

This book, written under the pen name of Morton Rhue in the United States, is a novelisation of the telemovie of the same name, which was based on a short story by Ron Jones about a real event.

In 1969 a high school history teacher, Ben Ross, was working in a small "all-American" town teaching his class of grade 12 students about the second World War. After showing them a film on Adolf Hitler, the Nazis and concentration camps, his students couldn't understand why the German...more

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Oct 17, 2011

Martha rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: bound-book

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is a very quick read. I went to this high school, Cubberley, an there are some inaccuracies in the book. The event started September 1966, and ended April 1967, with a Sophomore history class, not a Senior class in 1969. My sister was a part of the class of '69, and remembers things quite differently than in the book. Her experiences the entire time she was at Cubberley were tainted by the experiment. The whole experiment lasted for about six months, and the Jews were not the only religious...more

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Feb 02, 2009

Cinnamonhopes rated it

· review of another edition

This book is scary. Honestly.

It's not a horror story, it's not the kind of novel where monsters come jumping out the closet; or at least not the green googley-eyed kind. This is a true story which I was told not to read because the subject matter was too old for me.

When I first read The Wave, I had no comprehension of why it was scary. Bad things happened, but it was more or less ok in the end. It wasn't until I was older, and had a better grasp of world history, soci...more

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Dec 23, 2011

Kim rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: frosh, mmxi, pu

“Laurie Sanders sat in the publications office at Gordon High School chewing on the end of a Bic pen. She was a pretty girl with short light-brown hair and an almost perpetual smile that only disappeared when she was upset or chewing on Bic pens. Lately she’d been chewing on a lot of pens. In fact, there wasn’t a single pen or pencil in her pocketbook that wasn’t worn down on the butt end from nervous gnawing. Still, it beat smoking. “

Thus begins The Wave.

Can we break...more

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Mar 12, 2008

Brandy rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2008reads, teen, for-work, library, bullies, realistic

A compelling story about how Nazi Germany could have been created--how the minority controlled the majority, and how the majority allowed themselves to be controlled. It's based on the true story of The Third Wave experiment, which demonstrated fascism as a part of teaching about WWII.

But the writing of this book. Oh, the writing. It hurts. It should be noted that in tiny print on the copyright page, it does note that this is a novelization of a teleplay that was an adaptation o...more

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Aug 17, 2011

Jequan rated it

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This book is about a true incident that occured in a high school in Palo Alto, California. In one of the histroy classes, teacher Ben Ross showed his students a video about the holocaust. After the video his students couldn't understand why the German people hadn't realised what was happening and done something to stop it. How could they not have known? The Nazis were a minority: why didn't they overthrow them? Ben couldnt answer his students questions, so after school he checked out a bunch of ...more

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Aug 13, 2011

Sean Worrell rated it

· review of another edition

As editor-in-chief of The Gordon Grapevine, the newspaper of Gordon High School, Laurie is troubled by the lateness of its latest issue: she believes her staff isn't disciplined enough, but does not know what to do about it. As she passes Mr. Gabondi’s French class, she sees her friend Amy Smith and tries to catch Amy’s attention. However, she also catches Mr. Gabondi’s attention and almost gets in trouble if it wasn’t for the end-of-class bell. Amy joins her as they go to Ben Ross’ History clas...more

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Jul 29, 2011

Dany Lam rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: finished

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I think this book was really intersting and help me learn that we have to be indepented. I really like the character laurie beacuse she choose to be indepented and not follow people. At frist she thought the wave is a really good idea but later on she saw what had happen to the student and the school. When she saw the fight between brian and the new kid she know she have to stop the wave. The wave member are telling people to join the wave and if you dont your a nobody. When laurie heard that sh...moreI think this book was really intersting and help me learn that we have to be indepented. I really like the character laurie beacuse she choose to be indepented and not follow people. At frist she thought the wave is a really good idea but later on she saw what had happen to the student and the school. When she saw the fight between brian and the new kid she know she have to stop the wave. The wave member are telling people to join the wave and if you dont your a nobody. When laurie heard that she said she have to do something fast. She tried to talk to david about this but he wouldnt listen to her. He even got really mad at her cause she was talking about the wave really badly. She even tried to talk to amy her bestfriend but she took it the other way she thought that laurie didnt like the wave thing beacuse she is not the princness of the school anymore. When laurie heard that she was shocked and surpise she ant believe her own boyfirend and bestfriend didnt believe her. Then later on parents and teacher came to talk to princpal owens about the wave and complaining about it. Mr ross have relized that this is out of control. He said it was just a little experiment byt now it is way out of hand so now mr ross have to fixed thing if he wont he gonnna loss his job. That night mr ross thought of something and he told his wife yes this plan is gonna work. So the next morining he told all the wave memeber to be at the audtorium to talk to them about the wave. Mr Ross showed them adolf hitlor he said this person fouces young teen to fight in world war II. He explain how bad to follwed order from a leader and just be indepented and just do your own thing. The reason why i did this is to show you kids the meanimg to be nice of one another and work together as a team and as a group i didnt mean like this. SO forget about the wave but dont forget good thing you have learn from it. This book really taught be how to be mysleves and dont fellow what othe people are doing and just do what is right. Also i learn how to be in a team and be in a group. (less)

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Jul 25, 2011

Ashleigh rated it

· review of another edition

I read this book as an assigned book report and wasnt quite sure if I would like it or not. To be completely honest, I picked it because of its title. The Wave. It sounded relaxing to me. However, when I actually read the book, I realized it wasnt about the waves in the ocean at all. It was a pleasant suprise to read something different. When you finish reading the book, you have that feeling like "wow. That ACTUALLY happened." Its very sad that this happened, but we have to learn fro...more

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Jul 11, 2011

Tiffany Cooke rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Teachers doing a unit on the Holocaust

Shelves: 2011

The Wave by Todd Strasser is an awesome book for reluctant adolescent readers, if they have enough background knowledge on The Holocaust and Germany in WWII.
This book is based on a true story of a high school history teacher in California in 1969. He is teaching his class about WWII and the Holocaust. His students have mixed reactions to the lesson. Some students are horrified at what they saw in the video. Other students felt it was a sad event, but it had no bearing on li...more

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Apr 11, 2011

Scarlett.speaks rated it

· review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book is what happens when an adult who TOTALLY HAS AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE, YOU GUYS tries to write a book for teenagers. It was written in 1981 and it was about an experiment gone wrong that actually happened in Palo Alto California called the Third Wave. So basically it's what happens when a high school history teacher tries to show his students that nobody's immune to fascism and introduces teh principles in his class and it catches like wild fire and suddenly the entire student body is ac...moreThis book is what happens when an adult who TOTALLY HAS AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE, YOU GUYS tries to write a book for teenagers. It was written in 1981 and it was about an experiment gone wrong that actually happened in Palo Alto California called the Third Wave. So basically it's what happens when a high school history teacher tries to show his students that nobody's immune to fascism and introduces teh principles in his class and it catches like wild fire and suddenly the entire student body is acting like little Hitler Youth with no dictator.

I got the premise, the premise was good. But about 75% of the book was really preachy exposition and patronizing BS that was supposed to be the history teacher's thought processes and a bunch of "ZOMG HOW DID THIS HAPPEN AND WHAT DO I DO?!" My biggest "you've got to be kidding me" moment came when the indoctrinated students freak out on this one kid for being jewish. Nobody told them to hate teh jewz, but they just take it on themselves and then the jewish kid's rabbi calls the principal all freaked out. Again. I get it. But there was no part of the initial indoctrination that said "don't like jews" and not all fascists hate certain religious institutions, you know? I mean, yes, Hitler had a thing about Jewish people in general, but if the point of your book is about how no one is immune to othering people, why not pick a kid who wants nothing to do with your little experiment? Or hey, a band geek. Speaking as a former band geek, them's a cliquey bunch who really have no interest in anyone else not that anyone else wants them, really.

My point here is that that particular story line was downright sloppy on the part of the author because to assume that your target audience isn't going to get the Nazism = Bad moral without hitting them over then head and victimizing a gratutitous religious group is both condescending and annoying.

I can see why this story would be important to tell a class, but I can't see assigning this book for demonstrative purposes because frankly all it did was piss me off. Strasser followed the timeline of the original experiment so closely it was like he was checking off boxes. And he was sure to have each high school archetype discover something WHOLLY INSPIRED about themselves in the process. Popular girl finding out people are actually jealous of her and want her to lose her position? Check. Jock finding out he doesn't need approval? Check. Out cast kid finding a place in a cult like group and then being devastated when he finds out he did a bad thing in pursuit of approval? Double check. New, slightly "outside the box" teacher doing something that crosses a major line, but pulling back and fixing it before he's in deep shit or somebody dies? Yeah, happened but I still wanted him to get fired.

Anyway, if you're interested in the experiment, and it is interesting in a sociological "wow, people really are sheep, I knew it" way, then read the wiki page, don't bother with this book. It reads like a Sweet Valley High Special Edition gone horribly, horribly wrong. And I used to love me some Sweet Valley High Special Editions.
(less)

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Apr 07, 2011

Rebecca Anderson rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, adapted-to-film

I'm surprised I had forgotten to add this book to my Goodreads, but when I reflected as to why I may have failed to remember it, I realized why. it was a stretch of a plot that had left my unimpressed and even a little skeptical.

A high school teacher is instructing his students on the second world war, and in turn, the Nazis. His students ask him how so many people could get caught up in such a movement, so he conducts his experiment and creates 'The Wave,' which is a cult in itsel...more

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Oct 28, 2010

Chibineko rated it

· review of another edition

In high school, everyone in my class said that they couldn't believe that so many German citizens went along with the atrocities of the Holocaust. They all claimed that if they'd been alive during that time, they'd have rebelled, they'd have saved Anne Frank... basically that they wouldn't have agreed to do it. It was around this same time that I picked up 'The Wave'. Knowing that it was real sent shivers down my spine. It still does to this day.

The book's plot surrounds a young teac...moreIn high school, everyone in my class said that they couldn't believe that so many German citizens went along with the atrocities of the Holocaust. They all claimed that if they'd been alive during that time, they'd have rebelled, they'd have saved Anne Frank... basically that they wouldn't have agreed to do it. It was around this same time that I picked up 'The Wave'. Knowing that it was real sent shivers down my spine. It still does to this day.

The book's plot surrounds a young teacher named Ben Ross who is trying to teach his students about the Nazi regime. He attempts to get them to understand better by creating a group called "The Wave". Initially it's all good fun as people start behaving better, becoming more respectful & seemingly becoming better students. Soon the ugly reality of the project comes to the front as the group is quick to lash out against any detractors & anyone who refuses to join the group. Pretty soon Ross realizes that what started as an attempt to teach the teens about Nazi Germany has spun out of his control & has the potential to turn even more powerful... and has the potential to cause irreparable harm to everyone it touches.

Seriously, this book gave me the chills when I read it because it was based on a real life experiment called "The Third Wave" that took place in the 60s. I'll admit that the writing of this book isn't the greatest, but the message that comes across is delivered wonderfully. Even when I re-read it today, I can still get the shivers from it. The most horrifying idea of this book is that so many students were drawn into it & that it was such a seductive presence to so many. Reading the book, I couldn't help but wonder what I would've done if I were present during that time.

Again, I will warn potential readers that the writing isn't the greatest. It's very obvious that this was a screen play novelization. It would be nice to see a non-screen play book version of this come out, but until it does, this book is sure to entertain, educate & horrify! (less)

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Sep 10, 2010

Theresa rated it

· review of another edition

What I like most about this book, is that it simply is true. Not only what horribly things are possible, but that you must stand up for yourself and who you are and what you believe in, even if that means being an outsider. So much bad happens and people say it’s not possible to do it again. Honestly, that one person could do so much harm and had to get the idea from somewhere, so what not possible again? Why is it insane? Why is this idea insane, if the others were too? If the idea creating a g...more

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Jul 07, 2010

Realteenreviews rated it

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Shelves: living-destinys-list, north-stars-list

The Gist

The Wave is based on a true event in Palo Alto, California in 1969. A teacher and his senior history class are learning about World War II and the students don’t understand how people followed Hitler and why no one stood up to him. The teacher (Ben Ross) soon comes up with an experiment called The Wave to show the students how it was to live in Nazi Germany. The students and teacher soon get caught up in The Wave and only Laurie Saunders and David Collins realize what The ...more

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Jun 06, 2010

Jaclyn Corley rated it

· review of another edition

Intense and shocking AND based off true events. This novel delves into the reality of Fascism and how easy it would be for another Holocaust to occur.

Ben Ross, a history teacher, attempts to teach students a life lesson about following orders blindly. Although the students begin to like the discipline of The Wave and the feeling of being a part of something bigger than themselves, the experiment gets out of line. Students are being separated and condemned for not accepting The Wave. Ev...more

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May 27, 2010

Christian Montalvo rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: ir-reading-books

The wave by Todd Strasseer is about World War II in away. It is about a I that goes wrong leaving teens that are to caught up in the game and a power thirsty teacher/ leader. Mr. Ross is teaching his class about Hitler's raise to power. This when Mr. Ross creates an experiment hoping to show his students how Hitler got people to follow him. Mr. Ross is a very determined teacher and only wants the best for his students but his flaw? it's that he gets to caught up in his work and loses himself. La...more

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May 13, 2010

Abby rated it

· review of another edition

I can't express how much I loved this book! Very well written, and the fact that its based on true events makes me shiver!
The teacher in the book is a sheer genius, coming up with a way to drive a point home to his students. I think WWII left our entire world shell-shocked, and a lot of people very anti-German, when in fact, what happened to the Germans could easily happen to any of us!
I recently got to visit Germany and was again very enlightened by hearing stories from the people...more

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Mar 15, 2010

Io705 rated it

· review of another edition

What is it about power? I mean, most of the kids in Mr. Ross’ class are so eager to jump at power, in fact even Mr. Ross gets obsessed. But, not everyone is stupid, not everyone choses to play a role in “The Wave,” Laurie fights against it. So do only the mean and wicked fall for power?

I don’t know. I mean, I’d love to say yes, to say that if you are a nice person you are immediatly non-greedy-of-power(y) but I feel like it can’t be like that. I mean, how many of us have every gotten a...moreWhat is it about power? I mean, most of the kids in Mr. Ross’ class are so eager to jump at power, in fact even Mr. Ross gets obsessed. But, not everyone is stupid, not everyone choses to play a role in “The Wave,” Laurie fights against it. So do only the mean and wicked fall for power?

I don’t know. I mean, I’d love to say yes, to say that if you are a nice person you are immediatly non-greedy-of-power(y) but I feel like it can’t be like that. I mean, how many of us have every gotten a little consumed by power? I know I have. So, is it the society we live in, pressuring us to need that power? I don’t know. I think that part of needing power over others is because you need power over yourself. Because you feel like you can’t make a difference, because our society created outcasts.

But, I think there’s something else too. I think that it’s not just about society, it never is. I think that a lot of the kids who joined “The Wave” didn’t join just because of the small part of them that felt powerless, I think that there was something else.

David says that “He felt almost as if he wer ecoming out of a trance. What had possessed him these last days that could cause him to do something so stupid?” (pg. 114) That’s what I’m wondering too. Maybe David, and everyone else for that matter, has something deep inside, something a little bit wild, that wants to hurt and overthrow.

I mean, look at our history, from Hitler to Caesar, to George W. Bush, we seem to fight and kill and be brainwashed by power. Humans seem to have something wild in them, something that loves to fight and rise to the top, something. But, what? And, maybe more importantly, why?

Maybe because power is a good thing. Despite how bad it can get, I think that everyone forgets to look at the good side of “The Wave.” People were involved, commited, they were a team, work was getting done, and even though it pains me to say it, Mr. Ross did a good job. I think that in the very beginning we needed power, but now, now I think we’ve developed enough to let go of that wild thing in us. If that’s possible.(less)

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Sep 09, 2009

Alexa SOF2014 rated it

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The Wave by, Todd Strasser is about a teacher named Ben Ross who makes an experiment to show the kids in his class what it was really like to be a Nazi. In beginning of the book Mr. Ross shows the kids a movie about the Holocaust. This was shocking and horrifying for them. Mr. Ross explains to the class that only ten percent of the population was Nazi’s at this time but everyone was afraid to stand up to the leader, Adolf Hitler. The next day he writes STRENGTH THROUGH DISCIPLINE on the blackboa...more

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Jun 06, 2009

Mel rated it

· review of another edition

Set in a California Palo Alto high school in 1969, a high school history class is watching a film on Nazi's and the images of the monstrocities they did. A student asks why the Germans didn't do anything to stop the Nazi's from doing all of the horrific things they did.
The teacher couldn't answer this question.
This student was very disturbed by the images she saw on the film shown in class and at lunch her boyfriend told her to let it go, it was so long ago and it couldn't happen a...more

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Aug 02, 2010

Julie Hayes added it · review of another edition

The Allies that liberated the concentration camps at the end of World War II were greeted with a horrific sight. Inmates that resembled skeletons, many of whom were actually the walking dead, viictims of an oppression beyond the comprehension of most people. And they were the survivors. Millions of others had been experimented on, dissected, abused, starved, tortured and tormented before death released them from their earthly bonds. Who knew? Certainly not the many Germans wh...more

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Dec 20, 2009

Tiffany L. rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 7th-grade

I can't believe the fact that they didn't even realize The Wave was become somewhat like The Nazis. It's just disturbing because of how this overcoming project took over a REAL school in Palo Alto, California, in 1969. It's really scary because they this one little project caused some trouble in some relationships.

It's as if a new group of people ( similar to the Nazis) got together and were very overpowering, I bet you NO ONE would be able to stop them unless they had very few peo...more

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Jul 10, 2010

Trish rated it

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Found this book on the summer reading table for one of the school districts. It is based on a true story that happened back in 1969--in a high school. A history teacher tried an experiment called the wave, to see if he could replicate the circumstances that got so many people, and children involved in the Nazi movement in the 1930s. The premise for the story is a good one, although, I believe it is poorly written. There has been a movie made about it.... I would have preferred it not to have...more

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Dec 18, 2009

Tara Lynn rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: booklist-for-2009, amazing-child-teen-reads, personal-favorites

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. From wikipedia:

The setting of the book is Gordon High School in 1969. The plot of the book revolves around a history teacher (Mr. Ben Ross), his high school students, and an experiment he conducts in an attempt to teach them about how it may have been living in Nazi Germany. Unsatisfied with his own inability to answer his students' earnest questions of how and why, Mr Ross initiates the experiment in hopes that it answers the question of why the Germans allowed Adolf Hitler and the...moreFrom wikipedia:

The setting of the book is Gordon High School in 1969. The plot of the book revolves around a history teacher (Mr. Ben Ross), his high school students, and an experiment he conducts in an attempt to teach them about how it may have been living in Nazi Germany. Unsatisfied with his own inability to answer his students' earnest questions of how and why, Mr Ross initiates the experiment in hopes that it answers the question of why the Germans allowed Adolf Hitler and the genocidal Nazi Party to rise to power, acting in a manner inconsistent with their own pre-existing moral values. Ben starts by having his history class sit up straight and obey his commands by, at first, standing at attention beside their desks and having to say "Mr. Ross..." before asking or answering questions. After seeing the students' reactions toward the experiment, he decides to continue it the next day by creating a salute, a symbol and addressing three mottoes he made up: "Strength through discipline, Strength through community, Strength through action." He calls this movement "The Wave". At first, students are sceptical about The Wave, but after seeing how everyone becomes equal, and that the stress of making choices is lifted, the class falls into The Wave, and begins to recruit others into it. Robert, the class reject, seems to have changed the most due to The Wave - his physical appearance becomes neater and the students grow to accept him more. He becomes more outgoing and seems to be accepted in this new society.

Laurie, a student in Mr. Ross' class, starts to think that The Wave is having too much of an impact. A huge majority of the school is in The Wave, and its members attack students who refuse to join. Using her influence as the school newspaper editor, Laurie releases an entire issue of The Grapevine dedicated to showing the dangers of The Wave. While some thank her, especially teachers and parents, others do not. Laurie's boyfriend David, who has been in The Wave since the beginning, tries to get her to stop bad-mouthing The Wave. He eventually shoves her to the ground and this makes him realize how dangerous The Wave really is. After David realizes what he's done, he and Laurie go to Mr. Ross' house in order to convince him to terminate the program.

After talking with Laurie and David, as well as his wife, Christy, who is also a teacher at the school, Ross realizes that The Wave has taken a turn for the worse, and he is determined to stop it. However, he wants to do so in a way that communicates the lesson he intended The Wave to teach in the first place. He calls a Wave meeting in the auditorium and requests that only Wave members be present. They gather in a similar fashion to the Nazi rallies, even equipped with banners and armbands emblazoned with the Wave logo.

Ben tells The Wave members that they are only one in many schools across the nation that is involved in the Wave, and that they are about to see the leader of the whole organization and that he is going to speak to all of them on television to create an International Wave Party for Youths. Everyone is shocked when Mr. Ross reveals that there is no leader, and that there is no International Wave Party. However, Mr. Ross tells the audience that if there were a leader, it would be the man on the projection screen - Adolf Hitler. He explains how their obedience led them to act like Nazis.
_____

Contrary to the experiences of some of the other reviewers who read this book as part of a school curriculum, I picked it up on an "endcap" in Barnes in Noble while in college.

It's an appalling true story about the nature of social influence and the "herd mentality" of people faced with societal pressure to conform, even at the expense of their free will. I recommended the book to a Sociology professor, whose class had covered an extensive discussion about the Milgram experiments. (Like the students in the "Wave" novel, the students in her class could not fathom the idea of hurting someone else because an authority figure asked you to.)

In 1963 psychologist Stanley Milgram set out to test people's propensity to obey authority when ordered to hurt another person. The world was still wondering what happened in Germany during WW-2 that caused so much horror. Milgram's subjects were told they were to be the 'teachers' of a 'learner' (who was secretly in on the experiment). They were to deliver electric shocks to the 'learner' if he or she got an answer wrong. Worse, they were told to increase the shock if the 'learner' continued to get the answers wrong.

Despite the screams and moans of pain from the unseen 'learner', the subjects continued to deliver ever more severe shocks if ordered to do so by the experimenter in the lab coat. They continued even when told they had rendered the 'learner' unconscious! The conclusion? Looks like we humans are quite easily able to set aside moral and ethical considerations when ordered by authority to violate them.

A great book for college and high school students. I'd definitely recommend it as a teaching aid to help students become aware of self-identity, and the freedom of personal choice over mass interest. (less)

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Mar 23, 2011

Trevor rated it

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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 10, 2012

Kyla rated it

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During the Holocaust, Nazis took Jews (anyone of the non-Aryan race), feeble-minded, gypsies, communists,handicapped, and homosexuals from all over Europe, gathering them and murdering them. More than 10,000,000 died. A question asked by many is 'Why did the Germans living in Germany at the time do nothing?' This is the book that confronts the question. When a class of curious students ask the question, the teacher decided he would find a way to answer. He forms a society called the Wave that se...more

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May 28, 2008

Chelsie Unicornkind rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: those interested in history and/or people. Anyone wanting a short read.

Often when looking back in history we criticize those who followed the Nazis, or did this or that. We often say to ourselves, "Oh, I know that's wrong. I'd never do that." What I like about this book is that it shows just how easy it is, and how often people *would* follow the crowd.

This was a nice quick read that offered a lot of insight into history, as well as into natural human tendencies.

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Jul 08, 2009

Abigail rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Davion and anyone else who likes social critiques

Recommended to Abigail by: Davion

Shelves: read-2009, social-critique

The Wave really illustrates how facist groups can quickly go out of control. In the most simplistic way, Strasser relates the true stor of how quick a group of people are willing to be lead by someone and how the movement can take on a life of its own.

As an avid reader of social critiques, I don't think I've ever seen a simular society created in such a quick and simple way. I remember being younger and not understanding how things like the Holocaust could have taken place and I ...more

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About Todd Strasser

Todd Strasser is an American author of more than 130 young-adult and middle grade novels and novelizations, some written under the pen names Morton Rue and T.S.Rue

Todd was born in New York City. When he was young his parents moved to Roslyn Heights, New York (Long Island). Todd went to the I.U. Willets Elementary school and then attended the Wheatley School for junior high and hi...more

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EDRD 314-008

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last activity Jan 11, 2012 06:32pm

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title link	preview: The Wave
avg rating	preview: The Wave Goodreads rating: 3.48 (2090 ratings)
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The Wave

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