Product Description

It sounds like something from ancient mythology: three brothers living near the edge of a forest witness the coming of an invading army. They arm themselves, take to their horses and seek refuge in the woods they know as well as they know anything. The enemy arrives and systematically starts killing the long-oppressed minority to which the brothers belong. Horrified and angered, they lead guerrilla attacks against the enemy's installations and exact vicious revenge on local collaborators. Prompted by the eldest, who is selected as commander, the brothers and a growing numbers of warriors begin a campaign to save all their people, including the weak, the young, the old, the sick. Slowly the group evolves into a makeshift forest city with a hospital, workshops, a school and even a bathhouse. When the invading army retreats, the brothers emerge from the woods - the saviours of 1,250 people.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #788798 in Books
• Published on: 2003-07-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 400 pages

From the Publisher
The amazing true story of the three brothers who built a city hidden in the middle of the Belorussian forest to save Jews from the invading Nazis.

About the Author
Peter Duffy, a freelance journalist, has worked for the New York Times, and has won ten writing awards. He has written a New York Times feature article on this fascinating story.

Customer Reviews

The incredible Bielski brothers
This book tells the incredible story of the Bielski brothers, who saved over 1200 fellow Jews from certain extermination. Having witnessed the execution of the rest of their family members they fled to the forests and there set up a haven for others escaping the ghettos. Remarkably they built entire villages, largely underground, hidden deep in the forest. They also performed as fully fledged partisans, carrying out daring raids on military targets.

This book is a fine antidote to the common perception that Jews did nothing to fight back against the holocaust.

The writing style of the book is not particularly fluent, but the remarkable story nature itself certainly makes it a 5 star.

Incredible, moving,and real.
My husband is the WWII buff, and so I happened to pick this up- I was totally absorbed- moved- I cried- superbly written, so engaging that when I finished I reread it all over again. This book had an incredible and profound effect on me- I could not help but reflect on what I had read. This should be on every teenagers and adults reading list- every bookgroup should- no- must read this. I have no agenda in writing this review only to say it is a brilliant and stirring book that you really must read !

A Superb Account Of Forgotten Heroes
This is a fascinating story of how the three Bielski brothers formed an underground army of partisans who lived and flourished in the Belarusian forest outside the town of Novogrudek during the Second World War. They had the courage to resist the Nazis who had razed their town to the ground and took to the woods to both survive and resist.
This book is clearly written and it puts across both the personal and more broadly historical account of a forgotten tale of resistance in Belarus which perhaps suffered more than any other country at the hands of the Nazis.
This is a fascinating read and I would recommend it to anybody who wants a tale of bravery and courage which supersedes anything written in fiction.