Utterly depressing until the final chapters, however that doesn't mean it was a bad book, just that it made me feel that way. It's most striking because the story of misery and hopelessness is probably completely true. I didn't read this as fiction, which made it even sadder. Books like this are important in our current political climate. I especially loved that at the end of this Kindle version there were questions about the book as discussion starters because one of the themes of the book to me was that of education and thought before war.