Childhood in Shtetl

In a new book that combines an intensely personal memoir with a broad historical picture of World War I, the Russian Revolution & the Civil War that followed it, CHILDHOOD IN A SHTETL may well be one of the most significant narrative descriptions of life in a bygone era. With the aid of illustrations, photographs & hand-drawn maps, Gannes fills in the smaller details that have often been excluded from larger historical works of that period. Through these childhood memories, we learn the importance of the extended family, the means by which people eked out a living, the education of the boys & the role of the girls & women. The author skillfully recreates the immigrant world of the shtetl (Jewish village) & describes a close & cohesive community whose life revolved around the Sabbath & the festivals of the Jewish calendar. This is a story of the joys & tribulations of growing up in a "ghetto without walls." It is a story that resounds with love & warmth, courage & stoicism, with leave-taking & new beginnings. "CHILDHOOD IN A SHTETL COULD HAVE BEEN MY SHTETL OR THE SHTETL OF ALL JEWS. INTERWOVEN WITH THE HISTORY OF HIS TOWN IS THE HISTORY OF THE PERIOD. GANNES IS AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT IN THIS HISTORY WHICH DESERVES TELLING AGAIN & AGAIN. THIS...IS A VALUABLE CONTRIBUTION TO THE DOCUMENTATION OF SHTETL LIFE."--Miriam Weiner, specialist in Jewish genealogy, syndicated columnist of Roots & Branches. "IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION TO THE UNDERSTANDING & APPRECIATION OF JEWISH LIFE IN THE UKRAINE PRIOR TO WORLD WAR I, THE TURMOIL OF THE CIVIL WAR, & THE DISASTROUS AFTERMATH ON THE JEWISH COMMUNITY."--Norman Drachler, Ph.D., former superintendent of Detroit Public Schools. Order from: GANTON BOOKS, 10821 Northforde Drive, Cupertino, CA 95014.Gannes, Abraham P. is the author of 'Childhood in Shtetl' with ISBN 9781880365564 and ISBN 1880365561.