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Once We Were Brothers
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
35 posts | 42 read | 37 to read
The gripping tale about two boys, once as close as brothers, who find themselves on opposite sides of the Holocaust. Elliot Rosenzweig, a respected civic leader and wealthy philanthropist, is attending a fundraiser when he is suddenly accosted and accused of being a former Nazi SS officer named Otto Piatek, the Butcher of Zamosc. Although the charges are denounced as preposterous, his accuser is convinced he is right and engages attorney Catherine Lockhart to bring Rosenzweig to justice. Solomon persuades attorney Catherine Lockhart to take his case, revealing that the true Piatek was abandoned as a child and raised by Solomon's own family only to betray them during the Nazi occupation. But has Solomon accused the right man? Once We Were Brothers is Ronald H. Balson's compelling tale of two boys and a family who struggle to survive in war-torn Poland, and a young love that struggles to endure the unspeakable cruelty of the Holocaust. Two lives, two worlds, and sixty years converge in an explosive race to redemption that makes for a moving and powerful tale of love, survival, and ultimately the triumph of the human spirit.
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Prairiegirl_reading
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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My friend recommended this book to me and I ordered it (and a few others) right away. I got it three days ahead of schedule! 😲 I did however check my order multiple times a day. The waiting is the worst thing about buying online.

Tove_Reads I do that too. It‘s easier with ebooks (if they‘re published). 4y
35 likes1 comment
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lovleebooks
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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#currentlyreading Invisible by Jennifer Rothschild - 18% complete and Once We Were Brothers by Ronald Balson - 37% complete. Next up is Always and Forever by Jenny Han!
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
#theinvisiblebook #oncewewerebrothers #alwaysandforever #bookupdate #may #goodreads #jenniferrothschild #ronaldbalson #jennyhan

lovleebooks Instagram saw it first 4y
6 likes1 comment
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SilversReviews
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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Thanks to:

#MagicalMay
@eggs

Today‘s Prompt: BROTHERS

Ronald H. Balson‘s books are ones you don‘t want to miss.

ONCE WE WERE BROTHERS is a powerful, well-researched first novel that will have you glued to the pages as Ben tells his story of hatred, horror, and the annihilation of his and other Jewish families during WWII.

FULL REVIEW: https://tinyurl.com/ybrrxj39

#ronaldhbalson
@stmartinspress

Eggs My choice as well. Great minds... 4y
46 likes2 comments
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Kshakal
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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Eggs
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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#brothers
#magicalmay

These two brothers were changed forever by the rise of Nazism and the tragedy that was WW2

Butterfinger Such a good book and series. 4y
MyNamesParadise I have this book! I bought it used from the library a while back. As fascinated as I am about that era, it‘s hard for me to read books about it. Watching a movie or documentary is easier for some reason. 4y
Eggs And I‘m just the opposite. I can stomach the words but seeing people portray these monstrous characters is too emotional for me😳😬 4y
Eggs Thanks @Butterfinger 👏🏻🤗💕 4y
64 likes4 comments
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marleed
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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Pickpick

I experienced this one on audio and loved it. It felt like I was sitting and listening as an octogenarian recounted to me his harrowing Jewish life in Poland leading up to and during WWII.

#ReadingEurope2020 #Poland

Gissy That book is part of a trilogy. 4y
marleed I saw that as I was marking it as read on Goodreads. Now I want to read the others! 4y
Curiouser_and_curiouser @Gissy is this one the first of the trilogy? 4y
See All 7 Comments
Gissy @Curiouser_and_curiouser Yes! You can find the other two in BookOutlet. 4y
marleed @Curiouser_and_curiouser @Gissy I really want to continue this series! 4y
Curiouser_and_curiouser @Gissy Thanks so much 😊 4y
Curiouser_and_curiouser @marleed Awesome, I hope you enjoy them just as much as the first 🙂 4y
65 likes2 stack adds7 comments
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Paginetta
Volevo solo averti accanto | Ronald H. Balson

L'ho letto in due giorni e ho fatto sempre fatica a staccarmene.

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Paginetta
Volevo solo averti accanto | Ronald H. Balson
Pickpick

splendido

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Eggs
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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Two boys growing up in WWII were close as children, like brothers, but their paths diverged as they grew into young men. The differences between their belief systems, characters, and behaviors were so vast that they no longer had a relationship. Dual timeline, legal thriller, unputdownable, unforgettable.

#benevolentbrothers
#newyearnewyou

Butterfinger I enjoy this series. 4y
64 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Eggs
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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First thing that came to mind when I think of #brothers: two boys during WW2 Poland who were very close, but whose paths diverged as they became young men. Dual timelines, legal thriller, hard to put down and unforgettable.

#brothers
#soulseptember

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ErinGoBragh1011
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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Pickpick

I can't say enough about how good this book is. Please do yourself a favor and read it.

Bklover I‘m convinced! 5y
15 likes1 comment
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ErinGoBragh1011
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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This book is really good. It's not a fast read, but it is eextremely hard to put down. There is always some basis of truth to fiction and no matter how many different books I read on the subject of WWII, I am still amazed how a monster could treat people this way.💔 pg 214 of 387

13 likes1 stack add
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ErinGoBragh1011
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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Rainy day in New Mexico. Hanging out with Annabel Lee and Reading. Pg. 182 of 387 #catsoflitsy #minipanther #literarycats

Leftcoastzen So cute !😻 5y
ErinGoBragh1011 @leftcoazen thanks! She's a Mamma's girl. 5y
19 likes2 comments
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ErinGoBragh1011
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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I've been in a bit of a reading slump the past few months, but am slowly getting back into it. I've had a lot of big life events happen lately and I am not the least bit thrilled about it, but it is what is. I've left Philly (kicking and screaming) to move to NM. I am working on a 3-4yr plan to get back there.

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SqueakyChu
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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successful people trashed; that‘s how the tabloids were built.”

Truthfully, I‘m sick of people being trashed and wish we had a kinder, more gentle world. ☹️

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SqueakyChu
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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and it‘s a service profession...It‘s not just about the money...and how many institutional clients you can collect. It‘s about using that license to further #justice.”

13 likes1 stack add
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jessconley
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
Pickpick

Difficult and emotional topic, but neat legal spin and story from the Jewish -Polish perspective of World War II.

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SqueakyChu
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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Thank you to LTer paulstalder for gifting me a #SantaThing membership on #LibraryThing this year and to LTer AmberTew for picking this as one of four books this LTer chose for me. I started reading it right away!

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Loric
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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Pickpick

Such a powerful and well written novel by Ronald Balson, designed to grip your soul. There were so many layers to this story, a love story, historical fiction, legal thriller and mystery that were beautifully and eloquently written, rich with detail. I couldn‘t put it down. Such a gripping read about love, strength, endurance and the will to survive. A must read for historical fiction fans.

16 likes1 stack add
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vlwelser
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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Pickpick

This one was really good. It's about getting justice years after the Holocaust.

#bookclub

Quirkybookworm One of my fav! 6y
19 likes1 comment
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erzascarletbookgasm
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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Two boys, once as close as brothers, find themselves on opposite sides of the Holocaust. Blurb says ‘Two lives, two worlds, and sixty years converge in an explosive race to redemption that makes for a moving and powerful tale of love, survival, and ultimately the triumph of the human spirit.‘

#SeptemberDanes #rocketbrothers

Loric This has been on my tbr too long now. Time to move it up! 6y
Kalalalatja Okay, this book sounds amazing! Great pick 👏 6y
Cathythoughts I put something small in the post for you today from your TBR. I hope it dosnt take forever to get to you Xxx 6y
See All 8 Comments
Cathythoughts And great choice here 👍🏻❤️ 6y
Quirkybookworm I love love love this book. Way better Nightingale and lilac girls! 6y
Cinfhen Nice choice! My bookclub loved this but for some reason it didn‘t resonate with me 🤷🏼‍♀️ 6y
erzascarletbookgasm @Cathythoughts Thank you, my friend. And what a coincidence! I was just planning to put together something for you, too, just been stalking your TBR list this morning. 😁 6y
erzascarletbookgasm @Quirkybookworm good to know! I have the other two books on my TBR too! 😅#tbrmountain 6y
82 likes7 stack adds8 comments
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Kshakal
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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Kshakal
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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Got to spend the morning with my lovely book club ladies... good food, good company and good discussion!! 🤓

minkyb I‘ll join! 6y
37 likes1 comment
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Kshakal
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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Pickpick

I read a lot of historical fiction, especially about WW2 and this one is one of the best. Such intriguing characters and I loved how the storyline is woven between the past and the present.... such a powerful piece of work... ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SassyBookworm Sounds wonderful! Thanks for the review! Definitely adding to my TBR list! 6y
48 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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Kshakal
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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“Find a reason to turn up your nose at a culture, to denigrate people because they are different, and it‘s not such a giant leap from ethnic subjugation to ethnic slaughter.”

I found this to be very true, especially in our world today!

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Kshakal
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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Taking advantage of the beautiful night to do a little porch reading!!! #ilovesummer

TheBookKeepers Yes!! ❤️ 6y
RebelReader 👍🏻👍🏻 6y
44 likes2 comments
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Kshakal
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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Becker
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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As others mentioned, there is some weak dialogue in here but I thought it was a limited issue and I was still able to enjoy the story. I liked the historical storyline much more than the present day one but thankfully the focus of the book was on the historical story. I found myself quite sucked into the story.

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JulAnna
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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Pickpick

This was not a perfect book, but overall I liked it. The story went back and forth between present and past, with the main character telling his WWII story to a present day lawyer. There were points in the present day story that I felt were redundant and points in the past story that the main character said he knew facts that I doubt he could have know at that point in time. However, it was compelling and I stayed up late to finish it 👍🏻😊

RebelReader Not knowing this was a loose WWII trilogy, I read Brothers and the third one Karolina‘s Twins. I have Saving Sophie on my TBR shelf yet. I agree they aren‘t perfect, but I like WWII stories and I have enjoyed both of these. 😀 6y
JulAnna @RebelReader How was Karolina‘s Twins? I actually heard about that one first, but when I went to get it, saw that it was part of a trilogy and thought I would read them in order. 6y
RebelReader @JulAnna I liked it. May have been a bit predictable, but it kept my interest. I feel like both were stand alone novels. He has a new book out now that isn‘t about WWII, but I haven‘t read it yet. It‘s called The Trust. 6y
SilversReviews I read both ONCE WE WERE BROTHERS and KAROLINA‘S TWINS. Both were good for me. I liked his newest too..it is not WWII. The title is THE TRUST. 6y
Becker I‘m reading this right now. I‘m really enjoying the story but I do have a few issues with the dialogue. Like you said...not a perfect book but still shaping up to be a good read. 6y
35 likes1 stack add5 comments
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Kimlayman7
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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Pickpick

This is a reread for me and I‘m loving it just as much the second time!

SilversReviews It was so good as well as so sad. 7y
37 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Eggs
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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Ron Balson's first novel, Once We Were Brothers, combines the best of historical fact, spellbinding fiction and personal drama. Although set in war-torn Europe and the legal world of modern Chicago, it's not your typical courtroom drama with historical flashbacks; it's also a love story that crosses both time and geographical boundaries.

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MeJeMiller
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
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Pickpick

I love WWII novels and I do love this one. I didn't love Katherine and Liam's relationship but the rest was great. Tugs at your heartstrings and you celebrate with the protagonist

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MirandaJean
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
Pickpick

Such a powerful story about family, conflict, and personal struggles. And... Karma :-)

1 like1 stack add
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Michelle
Once We Were Brothers | Ronald H. Balson
Pickpick

This book was amazing! Best book I've read in awhile. The story is so detailed with just the right about of history lesson tucked in with making you feeling like you're reading a textbook. Couldn't put it down!