Book Review of "The Wave" by Todd Strasser

The students in Mr. Ross’ high school history class have asked him some questions he’s not sure how to answer: why did anyone follow Hitler? Why did people join the Nazi party? How come the Germans denied any knowledge of Hitler’s death camps?
At last, Mr. Ross comes up with an idea. Without telling his students what he’s up to, he organizes a movement structured after Nazi ideals and invites students to join it. He calls it “The Wave.” Their slogan is, “Strength Through Discipline, Strength Through Community, Strength Through Action!” He hopes that this movement will give them some sort of an idea of how it was like to live in Nazi Germany.

To most people, The Wave seems harmless enough. In less than a week, nearly every student in the high school has joined it. Slowly but steadily however, things start to get out of hand. What began as a simple classroom experiment has grown and taken on a life of its own, leaving in its wake brainwashed students…and a teacher who discovers that power is more seductive than he thought.

This book is closely based on a true event that occurred in a high-school in 1969.

When I researched what actually happened in the course of the real-life experiment, I discovered that the major points of the experiment were identical to what is portrayed in “The Wave.” In a only a few days, a fascist movement took over an entire high-school.

To me this book is a chilling reminder that brainwashing and the desire for power can take hold of anyone: even people born in the freedom-loving United States.

To find out how the experiment ended and what came of it, I encourage you to read “The Wave.”

Note to Parents: Due to some mild language and the book’s serious content, I would not recommend it for children.