Irena's War by James D. Shipman

I think I should give WW I and II stories a break now. I've read so many of them, all of them excellent reads, all giving different perspectives of the same wars and the horrible aftermath of it all as well. The damage done to people and countries can never be calculated and will go so deep that it may take a couple of generations to even make the memories slightly less macabre. This book based on a true story of an unlikely woman who would take up the call to save over 2500 Jewish children from the gas chambers and whose descendants today must number over tens of thousands. A social worker by profession, she lived a restricted life governed by her irate mother and saw Warsar over run by the Nazis. She also saw the gradual restriction on Jews, their gathering into the ghettos and their final deportation to Treblinka and their deaths. She was also in love with another Jew but this was by the way and she was determined to save at least some families from the government sponsored starvation which some of the Nazis saw as an easier way to get rid of the Jews. The story is emotional, harrowing, harsh and realistic. You need a fun read after this. Sent by Kensington Books for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley