by John Hersey
First published 1950
In 1940s Warsaw, the Nazis herd Jews into a crowded, disease-ridden ghetto. But some dare to dream of escape. As hunger, violence, and death surround them, forty people plan a treacherous journey through the city's sewers and across the wall to freedom. Hersey's visceral novel brings this real-life ordeal to vivid, heart-wrenching life.
Genres: holocaust, historical-fiction, 20th-century, war
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, survival
Setting: Warsaw (Poland)
Period: Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, 1943
636 pages · Paperback · Panther
Content warnings: death, violence