This book reminds me strongly of [b:Gertruda's Oath: A Child, a Promise, and a Heroic Escape During World War II|6367591|Gertruda's Oath A Child, a Promise, and a Heroic Escape During World War II|Ram Oren|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255793265s/6367591.jpg|6555033]. It presents two different, yet similar, prespectives on WW II in Poland.

I just finished "The Pianist" by Wladyslaw Szpilman. The book was made into a movie by the same title and it starred Adrian Brody, who won an Oscar for his role. This book is non-fiction, and is NOT another Holocaust writing. It also includes a diary from Captain Wilm Hosenfeld, of the Wehrmacht. He helped save Szpilman's life. Reading the Epilogue is a must. Szpilman writes about Warsaw and the Jews there during WW II. It is a quick read, but not an easy one. Many parts are disturbing, but it should be read so that the phrase "Never Again" lives on. The book is more visceral than the film. -Bob K.

An astounding and painful book to read, but an essential one. Its immediacy is quite shocking but makes this a hugely important account of the sufferings, not simply of one man, but of a people and a nation.