Taking Risks: A Jewish Youth in the Soviet Partisans and His Unlikely Life in California

by Joseph Pell, Fred Rosenbaum

On the night the SS rounded up the Jews of his Ukrainian ghetto, eighteen-year-old Yosel Epelbaum crawled on his hands and knees to a nearby forest. There he joined a diverse band of pro-Soviet partisans, led by a kind of warlord in the wilderness, who created a "forest republic" behind enemy lines. With his courageous comrades, Epelbaum disrupted the German war effort for almost a year and a half and saved hundreds of civilans at the same time.After the liberation. the young survivor became caught up in Europe's roaring black market. With little money or formal education, an knowing no English, he immigrated to San Francisco in 1947 and within a year opened an ice cream shop in the city's outlying, foggy Sunset District. Only a decade later Joe Pell was well on his way to becoming one of the leading real estate developers in Northern California.Taking Risks, related in a taut and vivid style, is his story--one of loss and torment but also daring, ingenuity, and uncommon resilience.

242 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2004

Reviews

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unvarnished account of a young Jewish man's muscular fight to survive the Holocaust and take up arms to resist the Nazis following the betrayal of his family by a neighbor. The history of the partisan fighters is part of the Holocaust story which is complex, not easily digested, not (yet) widely known and one that certainly deserves more attention.

The second half of the book shows how the skills learned as a young trader and butcher's son, served the author in establishing himself in his new country (USA). His experience with a broad array of partisans allowed him to create partnerships across cultures, forging successful business relationships in the wider California community as it developed in the 1950s-80s.

While it is hard to imagine what it took for Joseph Pell to revisit so much loss and pain, it is clear that this story is told with an eye to the future, with a warning that tells how easily an apparently stable world can disintegrate into a stew of multiple hatreds.

Yet perhaps the most compelling part of the book are the ending photos of the American family growing and expanding across generations. After experiencing the loss of an entire world, one can sense the deep pride, joy and hope for the future that this family brings to Joseph Pell.

[Darius · Rating 4 out of 5]

An inspiring story!