The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939–1945

Name: The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939–1945
Price: 14.99 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.7 (2947 reviews)
Author: Szpilman, Władysław

by Szpilman, Władysław

Memoir Biography Memoir

4.7 (2,947)

4.7 stars from 2,947 reviews. Top 71% of Memoir books we track.

166 pages~2.8 hr readPublished by Picador

$14.99At peak price

Last checked: Apr 14, 2026

Price history: $1.99 – $15.54

While not the biggest discount we've seen for this book, it's still a great deal and we recommend grabbing it before price returns to its normal range.

Price range: $1.99 – $15.54

Buy on Amazon - $14.99

0 readers are tracking this book's price

Fans of these authors will like this...

Elie Wiesel
Anne Frank
Viktor Frankl

Fans of these books will like this...

Man's Search for Meaning
Night
The Hiding Place

Perfect for you if...

You want a Holocaust memoir that's intimate and specific rather than sweeping and historical.
You appreciate stories about music as a form of resistance and human connection in the darkest circumstances.
You're drawn to accounts written by survivors themselves, in their own words, rather than filtered through later interpretation.

Maybe not for you if...

You need a comprehensive historical overview of WWII or the Holocaust, as this is one man's personal account, not a broad survey.
You prefer longer, more novelistic narratives—this is a short, direct memoir that moves quickly.
You're looking for stories with hopeful resolutions or redemption arcs, as Szpilman's survival comes at enormous personal cost.

About this book

On September 23, 1939, Władysław Szpilman performed Chopin's Nocturne in C-sharp minor live on Polish Radio as shells exploded outside Warsaw. That same day, a German bomb destroyed the station, ending all live broadcasts from the city. Szpilman survived the war in hiding despite losing his entire family. A German officer saved his life after hearing him play the same Chopin Nocturne on a piano found in the rubble. Written immediately after the war and suppressed for decades, this memoir documents Szpilman's survival during the German occupation of Warsaw from 1939 to 1945. The book was named one of the Best Books of 1999 by the Los Angeles Times.

Get the best deal every time

We track price drops, sale patterns, and predict when this book will go on offer next.

Price History

Kindle price over time. Green zones = periods when the book was free.

$1.99 – $15.54

Price has dropped 19 times over the last 22 months. Goes on sale roughly every 35 days. Typically stays discounted for 28 days.

Sales Rank

Amazon sales rank: lower number = better selling book. #1 is the bestseller.

Currently around #219K in the Kindle store — a niche title. Climbing the charts — 31% improvement recently.

Rating & Reviews

Purple line = star rating over time. Blue area = total review count growth.

Currently 4.7★ from 2,947 reviews

Review activity has been quiet recently. Rating has remained stable at 4.7 over the tracking period.

Sale Prediction

Actual Predicted

Based on past patterns, a price drop could happen soon. It typically goes on sale every 35 days and the last drop was 54 days ago. Typical discount: 87% off.

Prices shown in USD from Amazon US. We continuously pull new data to improve tracking. If dates look old, it usually means there has been no significant change since the last data point.