the diary of a young girl : the definitive edition

anne frank

edited by otto h. frank and mirjam pressler translated by susan massotty

book flap

anne frank's the diary of a young girl is among the most enduring documents of the twentieth century. since its publication in 1947, it has been read by tens of millions of people all over the world. it remains a beloved and deeply admired testament to the indestructable nature of the human spirit.

restore in this definitive edition are diary entries that had been omitted from the original edition. these passages, which constitute 30 percent more material, reinforce the fact that anne was first and foremost a teenage girl, not a remote and flawless symbol. she fretted about, and tried to copie with, her own emerging sexuality. like many young girls, she often found herself in disagreement with her mother. and like any teenager, she veered between the carefree nature of a child and the full-fledged sorrow of an adult. anne emerges more human, more vulnerable, and more vital than ever.

anne frank and her family, fleeing the horrors of nazi occupation, hid in the back of an amsterdam warehouse for two years. she was thirteen when the family went into the secret annex, and in these pages she grows to be a young woman and a wise observer of human nature as well. with unusual insight, she reveals the relations between eight people living under extraordinary conditions, facing hunger, the ever-present threat of discovery and death, complete estrangement from the outside world, and above all, the boredom, the petty misunderstandings, and the frustrations of living under such unbearable strain, in such confined quarters.

a timely story rediscovered by each new generation, the diary of a young girl stands without peer. for both young readers and adults it continues to bring to life this young woman, who for a time survived the worst horror of the modern world had seen -- and who remained triumphantly and heartbreakingly human throughout her ordeal. for those who know and love anne frank, the definitive edition is a chance to discover her anew. for readers who have not yet encountered her, this is the edition to cherish.

anne frank was born on june 12, 1929. she died while imprisoned at bergen-belsen, three months short of her sixteenth birthday. otto h. frank was the only member of his immediate framily to survive the holocaust. he died in 1980. mirjam pressler is a popular writer of books for young adults. she lives in germany.