cover image Escape into Danger: The True Story of a Kievan Girl in World War II

Escape into Danger: The True Story of a Kievan Girl in World War II

Sophia Orlovsky Williams. Rowman & Littlefield, $35 (328p) ISBN 978-1-4422-1468-2

Williams' story is an intimate look at her survival in Russia and Germany during WWII. The daughter of a Roman Catholic and a Jew, at age 16%E2%80%94just a year before Germany would invade Russia in 1941%E2%80%94Williams unwittingly chose to list her nationality as "Jewish" on her passport, "an easy choice to make," but one that would change her life. Williams spent the entirety of the war narrowly escaping the grasp of the Nazis, eventually immigrating to the U.S. in 1952. While laden with the expected drama of a WWII survival story, Williams' tale is primarily a lengthy list of men who helped rescue her again and again, from Aleksandr, whom she adored; to the sympathetic German officer whom she insists was a "father protector;" to Guido, an officer with the Luftwaffe. For all her looking back, it seems like Williams' most memorable incident involves getting caught trying on her benefactor's wife's lingerie. While likely fascinating to friends and family, clunky dialogue and not enough editing will limit the book's appeal to a general audience. Photos. (Feb.)