The young boy, way too thin for his age, stares down the long railroad tracks covered in undisturbed ice and snow, wondering aloud, "Will this really be how it all ends? Will I be just another body lying frozen in the snow like the others I saw in the streets on the way here? Will anybody ever know what happened to me? Will my mother or father ever know . . . if they are even alive?"
The astonishing and inspiring true story of a young Dutch boy's survival during World War II, One Step Ahead traces his remarkable survival. This harrowing tale, as told to Barbara Harwood by Jack Prins, begins with six-year-old Jack watching the bombing of the ship Statendam in the harbor across from the apartment where he has been placed with virtual strangers.
Facing certain death around every corner, Jack miraculously manages to survive the invasion and occupation of Nazi fanatics bent on murdering every Jewish child in Europe. From his remarkable tale of deprivation, hunger, and courage, through his teen-age years in an orphanage, and on to his journeys to Israel and eventually America, Jack's sense-of-humor and resilience remain intact, making his story a reader's delight.
About the Author: Jack Prins earned a B.S. in Engineering after immigrating to the United States. After graduation, he worked for IBM while earning a PhD in Statistics. Jack co-authored a Computer Statistics Manual still in use today and has taught at three universities.
Barbara Harwood began her journalism career at the Denver Post, eventually moving on to shows at KBTV-ABC in Denver and Time-Life Broadcasting. She owned the Plano Chronicle in Texas, then wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times. Shifting her focus to sustainable architecture, Harwood has written multiple books and articles in the field, including a best-seller, The Healing House. Her expertise has been rewarded with numerous honors, including appointments to three Commissions of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development under three Presidents. Harwood recently retired from the faculty of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture to return to her first love, writing.
