Smooth Sailing From Hell is a memoir that tells the harrowing tale of my family's experiences during World War II and its aftermath, from the horrors of the Holocaust to the oppression of the Soviet Union, and beyond. At the heart of this story is our steadfast determination to escape Soviet Russia and fulfill our destiny in the newly created State of Israel, the safe haven for Jews worldwide. After narrowly surviving the unimaginable brutality of Hitler's Final Solution, my parents-both soldiers in the Soviet Red Army-battled yet another harsh dictator: Joseph Stalin. I was born into this...