Shimon Redlich, a child survivor of the Holocaust, was born in Lwow in 1935 and lived in nearby Brzezany until 1945, when he was repatriated to Lodz. He left Poland for Israel in 1950. He studied at Hebrew University, Harvard, and New York University. He taught History at Ben-Gurion University for close to forty years. Redlich has written numerous books and articles on the history of the Jews in Eastern Europe.

[Shimon Redlich's] brief but illustrative tale of life in the kibbutz Merhavia in the Jezreel Valley, followed by settling in the northern town of Afula, and his tour of service in the IDF (Israel Defence Force) is a memoir that will interest a wide ranging audience.

• DedicationPreface and AcknowledgmentsChapter One The Promised LandChapter Two Kibbutz MerhaviaChapter Three AfulaChapter Four Training Base FourBibliographyIndex