Find yourself a teacher and go study...--Pirke Avot. It is obvious to me, that Edward Gastfriend was influenced by the teachings of his generation and the leadership of the youth resistance fighters. This is what helped him survive the concentration camps against all odds. I challenge each and every one of you to- " find yourself a teacher ( a leader) or become a leader yourself." This is what our generation seems to be lacking. I congratulate Edward Gastfriend on his book, and I give him 5 stars for his bravery and courage in writing this book.

With so many survivors aging and passing on while revisionists and hate-mongers grow in ranks, Edward Gastfriend has performed a personally courageous and vitally important public service by recounting his shattered youth to bear witness to a tragedy that still defies description. The author bravely strips away the superficially protective veneer of passing time to bare wounds that have never truly healed: the cruelly inexplicable and untimely loss of his parents, his sisters and brothers, his youth, and his own innocence. And for what reason did he have to suffer this undeserved and inordinate pain? Simply because human silence - not just Nazis' and Poles', but every human's - sanctioned or ignored the beastly hatred which consumed millions of lives during the darkest epoch known to man. I wish to personally thank Mr. Gastfriend for his courage in writing his memoir: who will speak for the dead, if not the living.

This book proves that all Holocaust stories are not the same. It is unusual in that it is written by an adult through the eyes of the young boy he once was. Because of that it is an emotionally wrenching account in straightforward simple terms. The truth is often like that. The book names places, people and occurrences in such detail that is totally convincing.

"My Father's Testament" is a must read to help understand the enormity of man's inhumanity to fellow man juxtaposed with man's ability to survive with faith in God, family and fundamental values of right and wrong.

This is a story for young and old and people of all races, religions and ethnic backgrounds who seek to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the human condition.