Synopses & Reviews
On Burning Ground is the tale of one desperate and brilliant man's ultimate choice: at the eve of the Nazi purging of Poland, to disguise his Jewish origin and pose first as a Christian, then to join the Nazi SS. Living in constant fear, Michael Skakun's father, Joseph, not only assumed a dangerous array of identities in order to survive, but subsequently compromised his very spirit.
On Burning Ground is a brave and revelatory tale of a son's father who risked it all, and through his amazing odyssey, was keenly aware of the price of such deceits.
Review
"I read every word with terror, with pity, with wonder . . . What a great deed Michael Skakun has performed . . . His book is a permanent marker."—Cynthia Ozick
"What a life! This is a story that must be told."—Elie Wiesel
"On Burning Ground is an extraordinary story . . . a harrowing story . . . Nor can one help marveling at this chronicle of endurance."—Wendy Law-Yone, The Washington Post Book World
"The book is a startling achievement, one that gives new meaning to the concept of filial piety."—Gabriel Sanders, The Forward
"Distinguished by both outstanding writing and a profound sense of moral complexity, this son's memoir of his father's incredible survival stands out among Holocaust memoirs . . . An unusual and gripping account of resourcefulness, narrow escapes, and moral improvisation."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Stirring and provocative . . . A unique Holocaust memoir for its second-generation authorship, its erudition (Skakun displays an easy familiarity with a wide range of European and Jewish writers), and its traditional Jewish sensibility."—Kirkus Reviews
"From the first pages the book has an urgent quality to it, as though it had to be written . . . The story is gripping, and Skakun tells it well."—Sandee Brawarsky, New York Jewish Week
"Extraordinary . . . A brilliant account . . . Overwhelming."—London Daily Mail
About the Author
Michael Skakun is a writer and translator who worked for many years with the critic Alfred Kazin. He lives in New York City.