Review: Hope and Honor

When I first heard about General Sidney Shachnow’s amazing journey from the depths of an eastern European ghetto to the top ranks of the US Army, I was quite intrigued. After researching his story, I found out that the general was in the process of writing an autobiography. I immediately put my pre-order in at Amazon.com.

Well, finally got a chance to sit down and read Hope and Honor. It is well-written and I don’t think I have read many books as inspiring as this one. I highly recommend it. Read on for my full review.

I’ve read a number of books written by generals and while they offer a lot of valuable information, to be honest, they can be real snoozers. Most are written more for policy-makers than casual readers. So I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that Hope and Honor is a very personal tale. General Shachnow really takes you inside his life and experiences.

The book starts out with Gen. Shachnow as a young boy growing up in Kovno, Lithuania. The Jews in the city are rounded up and put into the now infamous Kovno ghetto (really a concentration camp, as Gen. Shachnow points out in the book). Gen. Shachnow’s family did what they could to survive the brutal treatment in the camp, but they soon realize that if they are to survive they must find a way out. Gen. Shachnow’s little brother is the first to be smuggled out to live with a Christian family. Gen. Shachnow has to wait until another opportunity for escape is available. During that time he has to endure some terrifying situations.

I’m referring to the author by his military title out of protocol, but you have to realize that this is just a small child that is going through all this. He does a great job telling the story through the perspective of a young boy (and not that of a big-wig general). Gen. Shachnow eventually leaves to hide with a gentile family. Even though he is safe(er) from execution, he endures treatment on par with most POWs.

I don’t want to go too much in detail about the book. It’s a real “page-turner” and I wouldn’t want to spoil anything for potential readers. The details of his life in Europe, immigration to the United States, and his amazing feats in the Army are filled with excitement, emotion, heartbreak, and joy. While few of us Jews in uniform will ever experience the immense challenges Gen. Shachnow faced in his journey to the top, I know that there are many things we can learn and take away from his experiences. Some of the challenges he faced after the war are ones all Jews face at one time or another. Even for those not in uniform, the book offers a lot of valuable life lessons.

All in all, Hope and Honor is an amazing book and one of the few that I could see myself reading again over the years. If you haven’t read it, go buy it! If you have read the book, leave a comment and let us know what you thought.

 

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One comment

  • I spoke with General Shachnow recently (at a JINSA Board meeting, he is a very active memeber) and he self-effacingly said that his book is not a holocaust book, is not a love story, is not a military drama. But it is all of these and much more. It’s a real page turner by a man who seems to have been everyhwere all at once.

    Even as I disagreed with some of his positions, it is a book that describes the triumph of an individual who perseveres in the face of unimaginable adversity.