The bestselling classic of World War II--now in a digest edition. "Taken prisoner by the Russians in 1941 and shipped by cattle car to a forced labor camp, Esther (Hautzig), her mother, and her grandmother managed to stay together and to keep each other alive through near starvation and arctic winters".--ALA Booklist.

This is the remarkable true story of a family during one of the bleakest periods in history, a story that "radiates optimism and the resilience of the human spirit" (Washington Post).

In June 1941, the Rudomin family is arrested by the Russians. They are accused of being capitalists, "enemies of the people." Forced from their home and friends in Vilna, Poland, they are herded into crowded cattle cars. Their destination: the endless steppe of Siberia.

For five years, Esther and her family live in exile, weeding potato fields, working in the mines, and struggling to stay alive. But in the middle of hardship and oppression, the strength of their small family sustains them and gives them hope for the future.

The first winner of the Sydney Taylor Awards was Esther Hautzig's The Endless Steppe: Growing Up in Siberia, and 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of this powerful classic.