I remember reading this short book first when I was much younger, and most recently a few weeks ago, at almost twenty years of age. This is a fabulous story - it was then and I think I enjoyed it even more now. One of the major things I took out of it was the reason some parents are so adamant about their children making presents rather than buying them - when you make something the end result isn't the sum total of the project - there is time and love and thought involved. When we, in today's over commercialized society, just walk into a store and pick up the first thing we see some of the individuality of the gift is taken away almost. And so although Mama wasn't immediately impressed by her wonderful store bought present as Anna hoped, as soon as she learned the amount of work and time that was spent in earning that money is when she truly understood the impact of the gift. It also teaches children that although parents and adults may sometimes seem unreasonable and uncomprehensible to our young minds, there is a rationale behind what they do. Sometimes finding out what that is is more important than following the "rules" so to speak. :) A truly delightful book, perfect for younger readers as well as older. I recommend it to everyone.

As a young child, Esther Hautzig and her family were forced into Siberian exile by the Communists for being capitalists (and thereby inadvertently escaping the Nazi holocaust in Europe), which enables her to bring a personal passion to Remember Who You Are: Stories About Being Jewish. In this anthology of true stories of men and women who lived and died during the Holocaust, the reader is treated to a candid, informative, and occasionally inspiring exploration of the challenge and solace of the Judaic faith on the part of Jews living in Vilna, America, and Israel. There is Esther's vibrant young aunt who sacrificed her life so that her own mother would not die alone in the Shoah; the story of 6,000 Jews rescued in 1940 through visas given by Chiune Sugihara, a remarkable Japanese consul in Lithuania, the story of Barry, a drug-addicted musician who was transformed by Orthodox Jews, as well as Ada and Eddy, whose lives were saved by righteous Christians during the years of the Holocaust. Very highly recommended reading for students of Judaic studies and Jewish life, Remember Who You Are offers true life examples of finding life through faith, sacrifice, redemption, achievement, and community.

Young Esther Rudomin lived a charmed life in a small Polish city, despite World War II raging around her. She and her wealthy family had always felt removed from the war, until a knock came at the door one Sunday morning.

The Russians who had taken control of Poland were arresting Esther's entire family for the crime of "capitalism." They were loaded into foul-smelling, crowded cattle cars and shipped all the way to a Siberian outpost. Once in Siberia, the whole family, including nine-year old Esther and her frail but feisty grandmother, were forced to toil in dangerous mines or to work outdoors in brutal weather.

As the days stretched into months, Esther and her family became accustomed to the harshness of their new lives. Their priorities changed; Esther learned to value things she previously took for granted, such as a day at the fair, a chance to attend school, and a costume party.

This true story (Esther Rudomin became Esther Hautzig) serves as a reminder that indignities and cruelty happen everywhere, and that the human spirit can be resilient enough to overcome any obstacle. Despite the deprivations she suffered, Esther matured into an articulate and vivacious young woman.

Although the story could perhaps benefit from some editing in its long middle sections, it is a solid introduction to an important part of history, told through the eyes of one who lived it.

The book is about a wealthy Polish family who is sent to Siberia because of their liberal thoughts. They were taken from their home in Poland and sent to a labor camp in the steppe region of Siberia. The youngest in the family is Esther, a young girl who is the narrator and author of this true story. The setting is Poland but quickly moves to the snowy, brutal steppe. The book tells of the terrible conditions of the family's imprisonment.

This book is both suspenseful and reflective. The family goes through many hard times such as poverty and starvation and I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened next. Esther had a hard life but she survived to write about it. This book teaches the reader about what happened to all the persecuted families in eastern Europe.

Truly, The Endless STeppe is one of my favorite books. I loved it from the first sentence still the bibliographical note at the end.

I first picked up the book because it was one of the summer reading books in my school's lists. Knowing that most of the books on the list were boring by a teenager's standard, I thought that the Endless Steppe would be another mediocre book. I was mistaken. From the Rudomins' capture (they were declared capitalists in a communist-infested country)to Esther's first glimpse of the barren steppes of Siberia and the concentration camps to the final end of the World War Two, I could not put the book down. Because of the author's accurate and superb details, I was able to feel exactly as Esther did, or her mother, or her grandmother. I also experienced the injustice of the time and other emotions that other books just lacked. I whole-heartedly recommend this book to ANYONE who loves a good book to read.