The Books

Shanghai Diary, A Young Girl's Journey from Hitler's Hate to War-torn China, by Ursula Bacon

Hitler came to power in January 1933 and immediately began the unrelenting persecution of German's "Number One Enemy," The Jews. By 1939 the western nations had closed their doors to Middle European emigrants and thousands of Jews fled Nazi Germany to the only open port available to them: Shanghai, China. A section of the city had been controlled by Japanese occupation forces since 1937. The rest of this eccentric, exotic and exciting city would fall into their hands on December 8, 1941.

Shanghai Diary Once called the "armpit of the world," the "scum-slum of the Orient," and the "pimple on the hide of China," Shanghai ultimately served as the ort of last resort to almost 20,000 Middle European Jews.

Only a short time before the outbreak of World War II, eleven-year old Ursula Bacon and her parents made the long voyage to Shanghai with its promise of freedom at the end. As difficult as the first four years in Shanghai may have been, it was nothing compared to what awaited them during the next three years: being forced to live in a "Designated Area," a ghetto, under the harsh, neurotic reign of two overblown Japanese camp commanders suffering from delusions of grandeur.

Amid the city's abysmal sanitary conditions, the teeming clatter and clamor of over-crowded streets, pestilence-breeding rats and death-bearing overrunning sewers—between tears and laughter—she relates how she and her parents learned to live by their wits, overcome despair, all the time holding on to their dream and never giving in. With boundless curiosity and a rich sense of adventure, the young girl still managed to discover a city of exotic, eccentric and exciting art, music and people. Ursula Bacon turns tears into laughter, misery into courage and celebrates the indomitable resilience of the human spirit.

At the end of the war, when the horrible fate of family and friends left behind in Germany became known and documented, the hardship of life in the Shanghai Ghetto paled in comparison to Hitler's gas chambers and death camps. As a result, the "Shanghai Jews" have been all but lost in history. Ursula's eight-year struggle tells a story that needs to be shared and remembered. As she watches her best friend die form a fever, befriends a Buddhist monk, learns the lessons of street life, and aids in the rescue of the crew of a downed American bomber, her remarkable memoir will resonate with readers long after the last page is read. Shanghai Diary is, most of all, a story of perseverance and celebration of the indomitable human spirit.

"All in all," the author muses at the end of her tale, "I have been one lucky girl child."

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ETERNAL STRANGERS
The Prequel to Shanghai Diary—A Love Story in the Company of History

Nominated for the Sophie Brody Medal by the American Library Association

Now Available from Amazon

Eternal Stranges M Press is proud to present Eternal Strangers, Ursula Bacon’s much-anticipated prequel to her impassioned memoir Shanghai Diary, which recounts the story of her youth in war-torn China along with 20,000 other Jewish refugees, and touched the lives of people around the world.

The haunting tale of Eternal Strangers begins with the fateful meeting of Ursula’s parents, their instant attraction, and the violent opposition the lovers endure from the young woman’s unshakable orthodox Jewish mother.

Against all of her objections and resistance, the couple marry. They enjoy an idyllic, fairy-tale life for a few short years while Adolf Hitler was forming the early stages of Jew baiting that led the German nation into an era of anti-Semitic hate that encouraged and condoned the methodic elimination of six million Jews.

The reader will encounter fascinating characters who enrich the story of Eternal Strangers as it follows the couple and their young daughter to their miraculous escape from Europe. A page-turner, Eternal Strangers is the story of of a courageous family overcoming adversity in the face of insurmountable odds, as they head for a new life while the world tears itself apart.

Inspiring, thought provoking, and starkly honest, Eternal Strangers will be a book discussed for years to come. Readers interested in 20th century history will be fascinated by Bacon’s succinct interpretation of Europe after World War I as she briefly recounts the trials of Germany’s attempt to reinvent itself and in the process substituted the reign of irresponsible monarchy with the vile and evil regime of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party.

Included in Eternal Strangers is a section on reading group discussion questions. This book is not only the perfect addition to any group’s reading list — it is a “must read” for all.

Reviews: Once again...Ursula Bacon, author of Shanghai Diary, transports you through an emotionally charge gamut in this sensitively portrayed memoir of her terrifying, joyful, heart-rending existence as National Socialism captivates her native Germany .

Eternal Strangers...Astounding! Bill Marlieb, President (Retired)
General Media International, Inc.

Ursula Bacon's Eternal Strangers is a chilling account of how naively we can move forward in our daily lives without realizing how our freedoms are wilting away from political forces within our own country. This is a moving account of a loving family's tortuous journey from comfort to deprivation, beautifully told in a pace that moves the reader into a world so different from what was happening in the early chapters.

Maggi White, Columnist Northwest Senior News
Host: Profiles and Conversations with Maggi White
OPB Golden Hours

The Nervous Hostess Cookbook, The Comforting Guide to Worry-Free Entertaining, by Ursula Bacon

More than a resource, The Nervous Hostess Cookbook is an attitude in print that shows the reluctant hostess how to recapture the grace and charm of the past in contemporary settings with surprising ease and an overall method that works like magic.

Like no other book of advice on entertaining and short-cut gourmet cooking, The Nervous Hostess Cookbook is one of a kind. It places major emphasis on people and good conversation in a setting that celebrates the occasion. you will enjoy her saucy, tongue-in-cheek view of perfection and one-upmanship which will keep a chuckle in your heart that will ease the way to worry-free entertaining.

And her recipes are fabulous!

"All I want to achieve," says Ursula, "is to take the fear out of entertaining for you. I want to share my ideas on 'equal rights' for the hostess with you. I want to help you make cooking easy and successful with delicious prepare-ahead meals. I want to help you laugh at your mistakes, toss the lumpy gravy into the blender, and show you how to create memorable table settings.

"Come, entertain with me, and you won't spend the evening in the kitchen—you'll be able to be with your guests."