€œI was probably less than five years old when my father fired a shot at my head.€ From this first line, Dan Vittorio Segre€s memoir moves from one startling turning point to the next. The child of aristocratic parents, Segre fled Fascist Italy and Mussolini€s anti-Semitic laws only to be thrust into the pioneering culture of Palestine, completely unprepared for the dangers of life in Israel during World War II. Beautifully narrated, Memoirs of a Fortunate Jew is an ironic, philosophical meditation on the historical reverberations of the twentieth century.
 
€œTaut and illuminating . . . memorable . . . written with the humility of he who confesses himself and with the honesty of he who bore witness.€€"Primo Levi
 
€œThe writing of memoirs is a difficult art that Dan Segre fully possesses. Under his pen, history and psychology merge in one captivating narrative which illuminates the turmoils, fears and triumphs of his generation.€€"Elie Wiesel
 
€œBeautifully written. . . . [A] labyrinthine, spell-binding autobiography, full of passionate tenderness.€€"New York Review of Books
 
€œAn unusually attractive book€"attractive in its irony, its energy and its moral insight. Mr. Segre had some rich material to work with, and he has done it justice.€€"New York Times