Genres: Graphic novels, HistoryRecommended Grades: 10 Up
I always enjoy reading about things I do not know about so I figured it would be interesting to give The Plot by Will Eisner a shot. The Plot examines the history of another book, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. The Protocols is an account of a meeting of Jewish leaders around the beginning of the 20th century. The book details the tactics Jews will use to take over the world. The Protocols has been used by many groups as proof of a Jewish conspiracy as well as justification for antisemitic activities. The only problem is that The Protocols is a fraud - it is slightly changed version of another book, The Dialogue in Hell between Machiavelli and Montesquieu written in France in the mid-19th century.
Eisner has done his research and put together an easy to read history of The Protocols, detailing why The Dialogue was written, the political climate that brought about The Protocols, and how The Protocols continue to be distributed worldwide even though it was proven to be a fraud over eighty years ago. Not having any knowledge of this subject I found the book enlightening and informative. The is a section in the middle of the book that puts the text of The Protocols alongside the text of The Dialogue to show how obvious the plagiarism was - in my opinion this part dragged on a bit much but I imagine Eisner was really trying to drive home the point that The Protocols is bull. I think kids interested in history, particularly in Jewish history would find this to be a great book. The artwork is very good but the meat of this book lies in the text, not the pictures.
