The fragile miracle of Martin Gray

by David Douglas Duncan

'Martin Gray fought as a child street guerilla against the Nazi invaders of Warsaw. Every member of his family, except for a grandmother and an uncle who were living safely in New York, died in the ghetto, or in gas chambers of Treblinka - from which he escaped. Emigrating to america after the war, he married a luminous Dutch girl, then moved to a farmhouse in southern France to raise another family, while also hoping to save his failing vision. He had lost one eye in hand-to-hand combat with a German soldier..One Saturday afternoonn, a forest fire fed by raging winds swept ropund the Gray's hilltop. Dina Gray and her four children perished while attempting to flee. Martin again survived. He later wrote For Those I Loved, a book which became an international bestseller. He donated all royalties to a fund promoting fire prevention, and to a cildren's tree-planting program in France. In Paris, on his way to meet the Prime Minister of the Republic, he was struck from his blind side by a speeding car, which left him temporarily semi-paralysed and with lifelong spinal damage. Press reports told of his being hospitalised; that night theives broke into his empty hilltop home - miraculously untouched by fire - and ransacked it. A handful of years passed, despite other disasters, Martin never lost faith in his fellow man - nor his love for the slowly healing hilltops surrounding his home, to which he always returned and where, in the depths of his anguish, he found these words..' This is a story of courage and tenacity..'.

96 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1979

Reviews

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really unusual and haunting "little" book with lots of photos. At base, true story/photographic essay of child of WWII who grew up, married, and found happiness and simple beauty with his family in a country French home, then lost his wife and four children in a tragic fire, then a bit of what happened later. The heart of the book are the photos of and simple text about the young family before the fire. I found this more affecting and worthwhile than the whole of many longer, more finely written books.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

The work of well-known American photographer David Douglas Duncan, who lived near Martin Gray near Cannes. Martin Gray fought in the Warsaw ghetto during the uprising. His family all died in Treblinka but he alone survived by escaping Treblinka. His life story was one of constant, almost unbelievable, tragic loss. I wish he'd come to know Jesus, but his faith was in faith itself, in the human spirit, the will to survive. But nevertheless, unlike Job's comforters, the best we can do in response to such suffering, the best we can say is nothing, but just to feel deep compassion, and to pray. A very moving account of loss to a degree that I've never experienced.

[Bob T3 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fine book defaced by slapdash blurb

Many typos, easy stuff to catch and correct. Get it together, Goodreads! And not just bc I knew David.