Centropa Quarterly Are there too many books published about the Holocaust? That might seem like an outrageous question, one suited only for a Holocaust denier. But one can know the history, and accept the unique tragedy of the genocide of 6 million Jews, and still wonder if too much is too much. After all, it's a well-mined topic: a search for the word "Holocaust" on Amazon.com yields 42,878 hits. And      more>> Baltimore Jewish Times This autobiographical account details Sam Apple's sojourn through the Alps with Hans Breuer, a shepherd with a passion for Yiddish song. In New York City, Sam, an aspiring writer, encounters Hans during his performance of Yiddish song. Sam's journalistic curiosity is peaked and he meets Hans for an interview. His interaction with the eccentric Austrian leaves Sam with more questions     more>> Bookslut Usually, a schlep is not a journey. An uphill walk to the market or a downhill walk in the snow? That's a schlep. Having to go somewhere you don't want to go -- and with too much to carry? A schlep for sure. But a trip of discovery, introspection and self-realization? Not a schlep. At least not for a reader Schlepping Through the Alps with Sam Apple, in his recent book of that title. The actual ex     more>> The Jewish Week A Review of Schlepping Through the Alps: My Search for Austria's Jewish Past by Sam Apple (Ballantine, 2005). You might think a Yiddish-singing shepherd would become farblondjet, mixed up and lost, in the Alps, but Hans Breuer skillfully leads his 625 sheep on an annual circuit through Austrian mountains, valleys and meadows. He shares his philosophical thoughts with them, serenades     more>> The Palm Beach Post Sam Apple likes to write sentences like this: "Hans observed from my fidgeting that I was surprised to find myself being led through an exhibit on Austrian fascism by a naked man with a leaf on his nose." That's not the only double-take moment in first-time author Apple's Schlepping Through the Alps, but it is a fair example of the droll humor that distinguishes this      more>> Jerusalem Post Take one neurotic New York journalist and one Yiddish singing shepherd. Add 625 sheep, two goats and a quest to find the roots of Austrian anti-Semitism. Leave them to mix during an Austrian summer and what you get is Schlepping through the Alps, a quirky and entertaining debut book that seamlessly blends travelogue with memoir and humor with sadness. After writing an article about      more>> Washington Post Feeling Sheepish Hans Breuer, Austria's last wandering shepherd, seems like a terrific character for a novel. He's got comic potential: Picture this middle-aged man in a wide-brimmed hat, singing folksongs while he ushers his flock through Alpine villages past bemused locals. He's got a serious side, too: In addition to being something of a relic by profession, Breuer is conspicuous     more>> Head Butler At first I thought, "This is a joke." Or, at least, a scam. Consider the elements. A 45-year-old Austrian Jew (there aren't many: just 185,000 of the country's 6 million citizens). Who is a folk singer. Who sings in Yiddish. And who happens to be a shepherd (with a flock of 625 sheep). And, for company, a Jewish kid in his 20s. Classic New Yorker: skinny, hypochondri     more>> Ann Arbor Observer A U-M grad's Austrian odyssey In Schlepping through the Alps, Sam Apple invites us to accompany him on journeys into the Austrian mountains, the world of a wandering shepherd, and his own confused psyche as he searches for love, roots, and anti-Semites. His narrative wanders freely among drama, humor, fantasy, and dream, an insightful mix of profile and memoir, history and current e     more>> Philadelphia Inquirer A sad, funny trip through Austria with a Jewish shepherd I don't know whether Sam Apple, a young Jewish writer living in New York, meant to write a travelogue, a wryly comic memoir on being Jewish, an examination of modern Austria's continuing anti-Semitism, or a reflection on a strange but wonderful friendship. I'm not sure Apple knew, either. But the saving grace of Schlepping Thr     more>> Jewsweek.com Schlepping Through the Alps: My Search for Austria's Jewish Past with Its Last Wandering Shepherd by Sam Apple, Published by Ballantine Books, 256 pages, Purchase Summary in a sentence: Sam Apple, comic writer from New York, goes to Austria to join a wandering shepherd and his Yiddish folksongs -- hilarity and morbidity ensues. Why you should read it: Austria is a v     more>> New Voices Of Anti-Semitism, Self-Absorption, and Sheep Sam Apple’s Schlepping Through the Alps “If you’re traveling the Alps with a Yiddish folksinger who also happens to be the last wandering shepherd in Austria and he assigns you the task of walking behind his flock of 625 sheep, you’ll discover that the little lambs sometimes tire out and plop down for naps.” So Sam Apple begins h     more>> Booklist Apple is a Jewish comic writer, and in July 2000 he met Hans in New York. Hans, the son of a Jewish father and Gentile mother, was born in Vienna, became a shepherd, and developed a love for singing Yiddish songs. The following year Apple joined Hans in "schlepping" through various Alpine locations, tape recorder and sheep in hand. His account of that sojourn is whimsical, often hilarious, and oft     more>> Library Journal To label this artful, amusing, yet also serious memoir presents a challenge. Is it an Austrian travel narrative, a journey of personal discovery, or a 21st-century commentary on the Holocaust? Curious readers will have to decide for themselves. Apple, a young Jewish writer from New York with a neurotic fear of illness and strange foods, here meets a gentile Austrian shepherd, Hans Breuer, who is a     more>>