jock librarian

"I grew up in camps--I knew no other life--my sole objective was to stay alive, from hour to hour, from day to day." In Lucky Child, the Czechoslovakia-born Buergenthal shares the compelling story of his survival in World War II, revisiting the difficult memories of his early youth spent in a Jewish ghetto, the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, children's barracks and an orphanage. Throughout the narrative, Buergenthal's voice is intimate, understated and direct. He asks such potent questions as: "What is it in the human character that gives some individuals the moral strength not to sacrifice their decency and dignity, regardless of the costs to themselves, whereas others become murderously ruthless in the hopes of ensuring their own survival?" Lucky Child is a riveting, poignant and remarkable memoir deserving wide readership.