Nechama Tec has writ­ten a com­pre­hen­sive, yet read­able his­to­ry of a unique group of Jew­ish par­ti­sans. Sit­u­at­ed in South­west Poland (West­ern Belorus­sia), its self-direct­ed mis­sion was the uncon­di­tion­al accep­tance of all Jew­ish refugees. The group also par­tic­i­pat­ed in anti- Nazi resis­tance activities. 

Led by the Biel­s­ki broth­ers — Tuvia, Zus, and Assael — the par­ti­sans saved more than 1,200 Jew­ish lives while caus­ing over 300 Nazi and col­lab­o­ra­tor deaths. In so doing, they dis­proved the often-stat­ed belief that Jews went to slaugh­ter like lambs. 

This rich­ly detailed recap­tur­ing of true events gives voice to the active oppo­si­tion of a group of untrained Jew­ish resis­tors, bereft of the most basic neces­si­ties. Great­ly out­num­bered by high­ly trained, well equipped and orga­nized Nazi forces, the resis­tance under­took an over­whelm­ing mission. 

The author explores var­i­ous dis­agree­ments of peo­ple in the group, and how Tuvia dealt with chal­lenges to his lead­er­ship . She clear­ly respects and hon­ors Tuvia for his skill as a per­sua­sive diplo­mat and leader of a dis­parate, often con­tentious and dis­or­ga­nized group of Jews. He guid­ed the group to cre­ate a hid­den vil­lage deep in the forests and swamps. 

The book explores the many facets of this excep­tion­al man. It is a well writ­ten, engross­ing work. Bio­graph­i­cal index, fore­word, index, map, notes, pref­ace, select­ed glossary.