Customer Reviews

From Tajikistan To The Moon: A Story Of Tragedy, Survival And Triumph Of The Human Spirit

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I have just read "From Tajikistan to the Moon" and found the book to be an interesting memoir from a young person's perspective in the Holocaust. I could not put it down once I started to read it. The author was able to inject his feelings and experiences as if he was once again that young boy running from the Nazis after 50 years. He was able to exhibit the feelings of a young man in a displaced person's camp. An angry immigrant who felt he was inferior to the rich Americans he met. And finally a mature man who found happiness in life and a wonderful family. This is for anyone interested in a different perspective of growing up under the Soviets, anti-Semitism, and unbridled success. A must read for anyone who has immigrated to the US or has family who has. Bernice Greene Ft Washington MD

An excellent account of one man's struggle to overcome the horrors of the Nazi invasion of his home and then subsequent anti-semitism in post WWII Russia. Robert Frimtzis details his life in the displaced person camps in Italy and his quest to immigrate to America. After years of waiting Mr. Frimtzis is allowed to immigrate to the USA and his story becomes the fabled "American dream." From his early beginnings, struggling with English to finding a college to earning a degree while working days and studying at night, Mr. Frimtzis' story leads to the Apollo project culminating in the successful landing of a man on the moon. Working on defense projects he played an important role in keeping America safe during the "Cold War." Today he offers sound advice on immigration in America and how we need to rethink our direction.

From Tajikistan To The Moon - A Review

In life we sometimes have the opportunity to meet a few special people. When a special person is the author of a book we think tells an important life story, the book becomes special as well. From Tajikistan To The Moon by Robert Frimtzis is one such book.

Robert Frimtzis, the author, tells his life story beginning during World War II when his parents and he (Russian Jews) fled their home in western Russia to trek to eastern Russia in an attempt to avoid the onslaught of the Nazis in 1941. For three years they survived living an almost sub-human existence.

After World War II, with the help of the underground, they made their way on foot and over mountains through Eastern Europe to Italy. From Italy they were able to secure passage on a ship to the United States and within a short period of time became American citizens.

Robert, although struggling with the English language, worked his way through engineering school and graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering. In the l960s Robert became one of the head engineers in developing the Apollo 11 simulator to train astronauts for our first landing on the moon. During this time he worked with Neil Armstrong.

This life story is an inspiration to all about facing brutal hardships, surviving them, and then "driving" oneself to become a significant contributor to our society and, in particular, to the success of The United States Apollo missions.

Written by: Sondra Burchfield, former Senior Editor of the Textbook Division of Doubleday and Company.

the way to tell a good book is if you think about it when you're not reading it. The author paints a picture of life as a small child outrunning the holocaust, and living through horrible conditions and anti-Semitism. He does this by tiny snippets of information sewn together to show you what it was like from his point of view. Knowing that there's a happy ending (at least for him) helped to allow me to learn from him and ask questions of myself and society as a result because I wasn't fearful of how this would turn out. It's a very tough subject dealt with in a way that helped me to learn and understand. Excellent story as well!