The book was a translation of a memoir written by the author while a prisoner of war in the Soviet prison camp system from 1943 to 1950. The work reads as though it was a complete journal kept throught the previously mentioned time period. I found myself questioning if that was the case, as a few times throughout his ordeal he makes mention of losing all of his items either by theft, or by confiscation by his Soviet handlers. While I don't doubt his story, I was left wondering if this was written in real time, as the details and exact dates seem to indicate, or after the fact in Germany. If the case is the latter, he certainly has quite a photographic memory.

While I did find the story a compelling page-turner, I did have some problems following the story and keeping track of the charachters. The translation did seem somewhat "clunky " at times as well. I don't regret taking the time to read this book. To the contrary, I found it informative as to that part of history which marked the beginning of the end of the end of the Third Reich, and answered the question as to what happened to all those German soldiers that were taken prisoner in the east?