El cuchillo de mi abuelo

A knife adorned with a swastika and the head of an eagle. As a boy, Joseph Pearson was terrified by the gun he hung on a hook in his grandfather's basement, a trophy taken from the enemy in battle. When he later inherited the knife, he discovered a story far more disturbing than he ever could have imagined. By this time Joseph Pearson -living in Berlin, turned writer and cultural historian- was drawn to other objects from the Nazi era: a pocket diary, a recipe book, a stringed instrument and a cotton bag. Each belonged to a 20-something during World War II -a country boy, a brooding youth, a cook, a musician wounded on the front lines, and a survivor- and embarked on a journey to illuminate their stories before they faded from view. living memory. A detective story and a gripping tale of a historian's search for answers, My Grandfather's Knife is both a moving meditation on memory and a unique addition to our understanding of Nazi Germany. Through rigorous research and beautiful prose, Joseph Pearson illuminates the often dark history of the 20th century by bringing to life what is hidden in everyday objects in the hands of ordinary people.