In the foreword to this special trip into a particular past [World of Our Fathers: The Jews of Eastern Europe], Milton Meltzer articulates what must be an almost universal experience: He tells us that, as a child and as a youth, he expressed no interest in where his immigrant parents had come from or what their life was like. Later, he began to search for his own roots as he became involved in writing history. What he has to tell young readers should fascinate them, no matter what their color or religion, because modern teenagers don't merely accept the present and take the past for granted. The rich and the poor Jews of 19th century Europe come to sturdy life in these pages; the author's research is thorough and his style is compelling….

A review of "World of Our Fathers: The Jews of Eastern Europe," in Publishers Weekly...