In February, award-winning author Yannick Haenel will visit Australia to promote his latest work. The Messenger is the compelling account of Jan Karski, a Polish Resistance fighter charged with telling the world about the plight of the Jews in Poland during World War II. Ultimately his message fell on deaf ears.

Below, Mark Baker introduces this extraordinary book. Mark is the Director of the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation and Associate Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Monash University. He is the author of The Fiftieth Gate.