In Life in Dark Ages Ernst Pawel tells the intriguing story of his first 30 years.

At the time of the writing, Pawel was dying of lung cancer. He faced his illness with the same mix of candor, humor and anger as he faced fleeing the Nazis from Berlin to Belgrade, where he, a boy of 14, and his Jewish family were tolerated, but hardly welcome. He became part of the Yugoslav underground movement and eventually emigrated to America, where he joined the Army to fight the fascist plague.

Disarming and on target, Pawel tells his story curmudgeonly, yet behind his wide open critical eye we come to recognize a deeply humane man whose intelligence was keen, whose love passionate, and whose integrity inspiring.