sonality almost certainly has to come,nand to a frightening extent, from itsnauthor’s own life. In the end, what isnhaunting about Enchantment is thatnyou can’t seem to separate the dancernfrom the dance.nKatherine Dalton writes from NewnYork.nTales Out of SchoolnThe Big Book of Home Learning bynMary Pride, Westchester, IL: CrosswaynBooks; $17.50.nFor many people, education comesndown to a choice between the unaifordablenand the unacceptable. Homenschooling is increasingly the answernfor a great many beleaguered familiesnwho cannot find (or cannot pay for)nprivate education. There are many obstaclesnto home schooling, but the firstnhurdle is probably the worst: where tonbegin? There is a wide variety of packagednsystems and text materials, and itnis difficult for the nonprofessional tonmake an intelligent choice. MarynPride has made that first hurdle a greatndeal easier by providing a detailed andnclearly written description of what’snavailable, what it costs, and what it’snsupposed to do. Even parents who arencontent with the public or privatenschools to which they have dedicatedntheir children’s future will want tonhave this book available as an invaluablenguide to educational resources.n(Did you know, for example, that youncan purchase a K-6 lab-science programnfor $85-$ 150 per grade or hardboundnchildren’s classics for undern$4?) In the slough of books producednby evangelical publishers every year,nthis wonderfully useful book standsnout. (TF)nResisting in Berlinnby Howard SittonnBerlin Diaries, 1940-1945 by MarienVassiltchikov, New York: Alfred A.nKnopf; $19.95.n”The (anti-Hitler) conspiracy failed,”nwrote the late Willi Schlamm, himselfna refugee from Nazism, nearly 30nyears ago. “But the list of names ofnthose whom a maddened Hitlernhanged after the failure reads like anGotha of Germany’s famous militarynfamilies. . . . They are names which,nif the truth indeed prevails, will joinnthe short list of superior men who havennot hesitated to choose their God overntheir race.”nWhat was life like for these men innthe besieged enemy capital? A youngnRussian emigre named Marie (Missie)nVassiltchikov, who worked for thenGerman Foreign Office, kept a diarynwhich tells us.nMissie’s life in Berlin began wellnenough. In spite of somewhat straitenedncircumstances, the first two yearsnof war weren’t too bad. The bombingnraids were numerous but caused morendiscomfort than dislocation.nBy the end of 1943, the situationnhad changed markedly. Continuallynsubjected to heavy bombing, Berlinnwas a shambles. Only major exertionsnby its inhabitants kept a patchworkncivil structure functioning amid collapsingnbuildings, never-ending fires,nand shortages of food and manpower.nThat this effort was made not in spitenof but because of the bombing isnnoted:n(22 December 1943) It looks asnif these ghastiy raids arenintended to help by breakingnthe Germans’ morale, but I donnot think that much can benachieved that way. Indeed theynare having the contrary effect.nFor amidst such suffering andnhardship . . . everyone seemsnintent only on patching roofs,npropping up walls, cooking onnan upturned electric iron, ornmelting snow to washnwith. . . . The heroic side ofnhuman nature takes over andnpeople are extraordinarilynfriendly and helpful.nAs the plot comes together, the diarynentries become more urgent:n(24 April 1944) Had a long talknwith Loremarie Schoenburg. Itnis difficult for mc to tell hernthat . . . her presence in Berlinnendangers people who are farnmore involved in what is toncome.n. . . and plaintive:n(16 June 1944) I often feelnashamed and frustrated at notnbeing more deeply involved innsomething really worthwhile,nbut what can I, a foreigner, do?n. . . and telling:nnn(19 July 1944) The truth is thatnthere is a fundamentalndifference in outlook betweennall of them and me: not beingnGerman, I am concerned onlynwith the elimination of thenDevil. . . . Being patriots, theynwant to save their country fromncomplete destruction by settingnup some interim government. Inhave never believednthat . . . would be acceptablento the Allies, who refuse tondistinguish between “good”nGermans and “bad.” This, ofncourse, is a fatal mistake onntheir part and we will probablynall pay a heavy price for it.nWhen the plot failed, the Nazis werenfurious, and the arrests began. Thenpressure quickly became too great, andnmany famous Germans (includingncommanders like Rommel and vonnKluge) chose suicide rather than facenGestapo “trial” and torture. It soonnbecame imperative that those “in thenknow” should disperse, and Missie leftnBerlin in September 1944. The lastnmonths of the war she worked as annurse in and around Vienna.nIf this book seems less than analytical,none must remember that war’s firstncasualty was time, to write, to think.nBombing continued night after sleeplessnnight, and much of the days’nactivity was devoted to mere existence.nMissie’s diary is most useful becausenof its vivid portrayal of wartime Berlin.nIt was “in the face of a Schrecklichkeitnunparalleled in history” that the conspiratorsnchose to prove their formidablencourage and character.nHoward Sitton is a contracts manag-n”‘• for a small aerospace firm.nernSEPTEMBER 19871 45n