Neal Bascomb

Some fifteen years after the end of World War II, Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi official responsible for transporting millions of Jews to their deaths, was spotted in Argentina. After receiving a tip on Eichmann’s whereabouts, Israeli spies tried to confirm Eichmann’s identity. Their first attempt was inconclusive. Three years later, they tried again, and this time they positively identified the man as Eichmann. The Israelis then conceived of and launched a plan to kidnap Eichmann and take show more him to Israel to stand trial for his war crimes.

This is a revision of Bascomb’s Hunting Eichmann for a young adult audience. It’s a powerful, utterly absorbing account of the Israeli mission. The bibliography and notes provide evidence of Bascomb’s extensive archival research and interviews with participants. Photographs of documents and physical artifacts allow readers to view some of the physical evidence that eventually led to Eichmann’s conviction and execution. Bascomb successfully conveys the emotional impact of the Israeli mission. Unlike the operatives involved, many of whom suffered and lost close family members as result of Eichmann’s wartime actions, I can only claim a general feeling of loss to the extent that the Holocaust was a loss for all of humanity, and this account deeply stirred me. show less

When I think of dramatic prisoner of war escapes, I usually think of Colditz in WWII - mostly because my sister was obsessed with it (there were Lego models). So I was fascinated to read this account of the "original" escape in World War I of a group of soldiers and pilots who escaped from the notorious German prison of Holzminden.

Bascomb builds the story slowly, starting with a rough outline of the war and the role pilots played - including the dangers they faced. As one by one men are show more captured and the war continues, the various characters make escape attempts, fail, and gradually come to be incarcerated in a notorious prison camp. Not all survive; if they make it through the initial deadly crash of their primitive planes, they still have to survive escape attempts and recapture, not to mention brutal treatment in the prison camps.

Eventually, a band of men, all of whom have made multiple attempts to escape, are housed together at Holzminden. There, despite the brutal treatment by the commandant Karl Niemeyer, they work together to plan a daring escape. It's not an easy task; some attempts are made and end in death or solitary imprisonment. Some men are sent to other camps. There are traitors and close calls, not to mention the physical labor and dangers of their risky escape tunnel. But eventually, a record number of men make their escape.

Throughout the book Bascomb details the various personalities of the men, bringing them to life as individuals. He doesn't shy away from cruel treatment, the realities of life as a POW, or even a frank discussion of how class continued to affect the soldiers even in a prison. Although honest, the book isn't overly graphic. It's aimed at a middle school audience but a strong middle grade reader would be able to handle it.

Verdict: This is the first book I read of Scholastic's new imprint, Focus, and I'm really excited about it! Action, adventure, history, and an author who doesn't shy away from the realities of war or whitewash the soldiers into one big happy family, including the different attitudes depending on the soldiers' countries, class, and their own personalities. This is sure to grab the attention of history and adventure fans alike.

ISBN: 9781338140347; Published September 2018 by Scholastic Focus; ARC provided by the publisher; Purchased for the library show less

Absolutely fantastic book! Neil Bascomb sets out to separate fact from fiction in one of the most propagandized events in Russian History, and does that quite well! I was worried at first that he was not citing his sources, but they're just hidden in the back of the book. As a scholar of late Imperial Russian history, this was a fantastic read and enlightening on the divide between Social Democrats, the sailors, and the other socialist groups in Russia at the time. At the same time, it reads show more more like fiction and less like a dry history text, much in the same way that Cornelius Ryan's books, like "A Bridge Too far" and "The Longest Day," read. show less

When I say I'm a couch potato, I mean it in the sense that you might describe someone as a "confirmed bachelor": Is, was and always will be, by willful unceasing choice. So I can see you looking askance at my picking up a book about the men who were vying to run the first sub-4-minute mile. To which I say, I also read a book about a bunch of nerds running a student newspaper, and oh wait where was I going with this?

Anyway, Neal Bascomb writes one hell of a thriller. All around the same time, show more three very different men from three continents independently decided they wanted to be the first to break what was thought by some to be an unimpeachable barrier of human achievement: Running one mile in under four minutes.

Bascomb does an excellent job of pacing the story perfectly, though he was greatly helped by actual historical events unfolding in a pretty perfect ready-for-Hollywood fashion. There's the hardscrabble American running out of poverty to the University of Kansas, or two British Empireans (a budding English doctor and an aspiring Australian scientist) ran - before the professionalization of track and field - like no person ever had.

It's engaging throughout, and my only quibble is one you frequently find in historical books: Make sure you skip the pictures until you reach the end of the book, or the captions will spoil the story. That aside, picking up this book will get you as dialed in as the runners: It never really drags, and it'll keep you going until you finally reach the end. show less