COSTANU Volume 1

'COSTANU: Escaping from the Valley of Hell' is Colonel Ioan Costea's story of a childhood spent growing up in disempowered poverty in a remote valley in the Transylvanian foothills, a location literally torn in two during the Second World War and for which various geographical and geopolitical events in history have earned it its title of Valea Iadului: The Valley of Hell. This very personal account also paints a rich and detailed portrait of rural, mid-century Romanian life. Costea retired from the Romanian army in 2007 following a long and distinguished career which included promotion in 1989 to Commander of the Anti-Aircraft Regiment in Cluj County, a position which he held for fourteen years.