Kaplan's Quest by Richard Steinitz

     Samuel Kaplan was named after his great-uncle Samuel. While growing up, there were many comparisons between the two. It only stood to reason the younger Samuel would write his thesis about his uncle's disappearance.  The elder Samuel was an outstanding athlete and had managed to get out of Germany before WWII started.  His family could not figure out why he went back to Berlin when he could have gone with his family to Jerusalem.  After WWII, there wasn't any more information to show his whereabouts. His family had no idea what happened to him.  The younger Samuel begins digging into historical documents, photos and books. His hope was he'd find his uncle.  He never knew his journey would take him to many places and provide him with an abundance of information.  

     First let me say I read this particular book five times. Yes, you read correctly, five times.  Mr. Steinitz takes us on a journey few will ever make.  The writing is solid and the characters three dimensional. I was lost in the story each time I read it! I decided to read it so many times because I didn't want to miss any detail.  I'm a history buff but I still learned many new details while reading this.  You'll be amazed at the historically accurate book.  Your emotions will be pulled in many directions as you follow the information Samuel discovers. Mr Steinitz has the uncanny ability of storytelling without making it seem like storytelling.  This is a keeper and should be on your TBR pile immediately.

     The only thing I would change is the charts. I think you can explain them very well without diagrams.  It's the only issue I found.

     I gave this book 5 cheers out of 5 because it's very in-depth.