“A stunning book, a powerful investigation, utterly compelling, at times stomach-churning and deeply shocking, but also by turns tragic, wistful and curiously uplifting. . . . There are timely questions here of the fragility of historical truth. Just as compelling, however, is the final part of the book and Heath’s own journey of investigation and discovery….This one will sit with me for long months to come.”—James Holland, The Telegraph

“This chillingly meticulous chronicle of a dozen escapees from a Nazi extermination camp underscores the mechanics of heroism and the fallibility of memory. . . . Heath painstakingly sifts through the conflicting accounts over the decades, analyzing discrepancies, details, and contradictions. Ultimately, he learned, just like the survivors, ‘of how great the distance could be between speaking out and being heard.’ Utterly absorbing in its powerfully detailed horror and inspiring redemption—a must-read in Holocaust studies.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“In 1944, 80 men—nearly all Jewish—were held captive at a Nazi death camp in Ponar, Lithuania. Tasked with the gruesome work of systemically excavating, counting, and burning the buried remains of tens of thousands of victims and knowing they would be killed once their work was complete, they spent weeks secretly digging a tunnel. In the chaos of their escape attempt, a dozen evaded pursuit and survived. . . . Heath eschews simple narrative, letting each man’s story develop fully, allowing inconsistencies and gaps in the record to remain. This chronicle about escape and survival is also about lives and stories lost and the fragility of both personal and collective memory. What starts as a recounting of a single, heroic incident becomes much more.”—Booklist (starred review)