It doesn't matter if you are a history buff or if you love human interest stories, I've found this book to be the most unexpected page turner that I've read in a very long time. It's the story of Charles Pierce who lived through six, terrifying years of being a slave to the Nazis facing death most virtually one minute after the next and...miraculously surviving. Then, having the courage to build a lasting, loving and happy marriage with a woman he would call his bride for over a half century.

What I found most intriguing about this incredible true tell-penned by Charles Pierce and J. Marlando-in 164 fast reading pages-is that it truly touches both the heart and mind giving the reader a clear view of man's inhumanity of man while, at the same, inspiring us to overcome the obstacles that we all meet over the course of our lives.

The story begins as all our own stories begin, in childhood when our world view is positive and we see only bright and joyful futures. Then evolves the Nazi occupation and death camps! While this story is about the horrors and struggles of World War II, it is far from being a repeat telling of the holocaust; this is a highly personal story of one man's experiences and in his own words learning not only to survive slavery but what it takes to survive one's freedom.In the second half of the book we are given what Charles calls the secret of a happy successful marriage-something so many people seek and never find in lifetimes. In this light, I am convinced that The Art of Survival belongs in every home library. It's history as it actually unfolded when the world was at war...its history as it actually unfolded as a love story for an ordinary man who experienced most unordinary circumstance; a book that not only makes you think...but makes you feel.

It the true story of Charles Pierce. The Art of Survival. I can't recommend it more. It is bound to touch the very fiber of your own life.