This book contains tales, sounds, sights, and memories of a world that nearly destroyed itself. It focuses on the compositions of Dimitri Shostakovich, Benjamin Britten, Richard Strauss, and Arnold Schoenberg. It is powerful and poignant how these men's humanity and the recollections of the atrocities of the past are shown. ( )

Eichler writes a stirring account of how music bears witness to history and carries forward the memory of wartime past. He plays homage to some of the 20th century’s most celebrated composers who memorialized the 2nd WW and the Holocaust in their music. Named a NY Times Best Book of the Year and winner of 3 National Jewish Book Awards!