If you are interested in the 20th century history of Jews in Eastern Europe, then this is a must-read book. It is difficult to read as we are not familiar with the places, people, or events that Ansky spoke about. And these are not pleasant events to read about. But we need to know this things, if we are to understand what happened to our families during World War I, even before they were annihilated in World War II. I highly recommend this book to historians and genealogists alike.