Think ICT

My bookcases were overstuffed with books, so I decided it was time to weed out the ones I might never read again. That’s not to say I don’t love all the books I have. It’s just that I only has so much time for second readings when I keep adding new books!

Today I took another look at one of the books on my shelf — New Day Dawning: A True Tale of Love and Healing by Jonathan Kis-Lev. It’s a historical novel based on the story of Felix Zandman who survived the Holocaust in Poland through the brave efforts of the Puchalski family. They hid him and others underground for 17 months. Felix was in 6th grade at the time. While in hiding, Felix’s uncle taught him math and physics, which he had to basically memorize without any paper or books.

After freedom, he continued his studies up through graduate school, earning a PhD at the Sorbonne in Paris. Through a series of events, he ended up in the U.S. and founded a successful tech company. I learned more about the company, Vishay Intertechnology, in a short video on the company website. The story of Zandman’s life is inspiring and the book is one of those “I can’t put it down” kind of reads.

While pulling together info for this post, I took a look at the author’s websites here and here. I learned that Kis-Lev now goes by the name John Kiss and has rewritten and retitled the story, which is now called Under the Floorboards. Kiss is incredibly talented as both an author and an artist.