Ladder to the Sky

This fictionalized autobiography of a young Italian Jew, who leaves his beloved country when, overnight, the 1938 racial laws make him a pariah, is a testament to the strength of the human soul. Leaving Italy for the United States with little cash and a strong will to live the life of a free man, young Bruno settles down in New York City and struggles to find his balance. When the U. S. enters WWII, he enlists in the army and participates in the liberation of the Philippines. Bruno's Jewish identity is the common thread of this book and omnipresent in all his decisions.
He returns to Italy, gets married, has children, and finally settles down in Israel, the only place where he can find himself again. Ettore (Edgar) Luzzatto (1914-2011) was the son of an aristocratic Italian Jewish family. His grandfather, Riccardo, who greatly influenced his formative years, was an Italian hero and one of Garibaldi's "Mille." During his life, the first part of which spanned two world wars, Ettore Luzzatto never stopped trying for something more than the ordinary, professionally and personally, taking chances on his abilities, and never stopping searching until his last day.