Thirteen

The author was born in 1935 in Prague, and in 1948, he and his family escaped to Germany — on skis. This book is his memoir of growing up in Czechoslovakia during the war, a time of dramatic upheaval for his family and for all of Europe.

Jan Drabek A one-time Vancouver taxi driver, refugee representative in Austria, Czechoslovak ambassador and Canadian schoolteacher, Drabek emigrated to North America from Prague in 1948. He received his university education in America and served in the US Navy. He has long been active in the Canadian writing scene-he is the former president of the Federation of British Columbia Writers, and has served on the National Council of the Writers Union of Canada. He is the author of many books, includingVLADIMIR KRAJINA: WORLD WAR II HERO AND ECOLOGY PIONEER (Ronsdale Press, 2012).