This is an admirable little book because it combines two adventures of unequal weight: an adolescent friendship and the rise of Nazism. Charming young Conrad von Hohenfels befriends the narrator, Hans Schwarz, son of a Jewish doctor and grandson of a rabbi. Young Schwarz is dazzled by the aura that surrounds the Hohenfels, and his friendship with Conrad takes a passionate turn, described by Fred Uhlman with exquisite tact. It's the beautiful story of adolescence and friendship between two boys whom History separates and ultimately destroys because Hitler is about to seize power.