Imagine, thirty years after the end of World War II, Israeli Nazi-hunters, some of whom lost relatives in the gas chambers of Nazi Germany, find a silent old man deep in the Amazon jungle. He is Adolph Hitler. The narrative that follows is a profound and disturbing exploration of the nature of guilt, vengeance, language, and the power of evil—each undiminished over time. George Steiner wrote The Portage to San Cristobal of A. H. in 1979, I came across it referred in the footnotes of another wonderful book by Os Guiness, The Call. I am spending time this week with my daughters at our lake house and saw it on the shelf last evening as Rebekah was donning some of the clothes we picked out for her yesterday. It caught my eye and I pulled it off the shelf and it immediately brought back memories of insights learned. I had dated when I read it, 2000. The same year we were all embroiled in the turmoil of the Bush/Gore election. This book opened my eyes to just what ideas can do, and the consequences thereof, and that worldview matters. If Hitler were captured, brought back to Europe, and put on trial today, what would be the outcome of that trial? I'll leave that with any of you that want to read the book, frightening.
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