The One Man

In The One Man, Andrew Gross tells a story about the US government's efforts to rescue one man from Auschwitz so that he can help them win the race against the Germans for the atomic bomb.

Alfred Mendl is a physics professor who was trying to make his way to America when he and his family were transported to Auschwitz. His entire life's work was destroyed until he meets a teenage chess prodigy with an eidetic memory and the ability to remember huge amounts of data. Mendl decides to teach him all his formulas in the hope that, someday, his work will survive.

Nathan Blum escaped Poland early in the war and made his way to the United States where he joined the army. His ability to speak multiple languages led to his assignment in show more Intelligence but he wants to do more, especially since learning his family was killed by Nazis. He is asked to take on a potential suicide mission. He has to somehow get himself smuggled into Auschwitz, find out if Mendl is still alive, and get him out. He only has three days between being dropped off and being picked up. If he's discovered or can't make the rendezvous, his life will surely end in a terrifying and painful way.

What a fantastic book. I've never really read anything by Andrew Gross, best known for his collaboration with James Patterson and standalone thrillers. The suspense is the driving force of the story and the plot never loses energy. The characters are wonderfully developed and I became so involved that I never wanted to book to end. Even the secondary characters make a tremendous impact. This is a beautifully written and heartbreaking novel that definitely had me on an emotional roller coaster. If you are sensitive to novels that deal with the Holocaust you might want to skip this, because they do document some of the atrocities during the story. It's inevitable in any novel set in Auschwitz. Otherwise, I can't recommend this book any higher. It's definitely going to be on my favorites list and I can't imagine it will not make my Top Five favorites of 2016. show less

In The One Man, Andrew Gross tells a story about the US government's efforts to rescue one man from Auschwitz so that he can help them win the race against the Germans for the atomic bomb.

Alfred Mendl is a physics professor who was trying to make his way to America when he and his family were transported to Auschwitz. His entire life's work was destroyed until he meets a teenage chess prodigy with an eidetic memory and the ability to remember huge amounts of data. Mendl decides to teach him all his formulas in the hope that, someday, his work will survive.

Nathan Blum escaped Poland early in the war and made his way to the United States where he joined the army. His ability to speak multiple languages led to his assignment in show more Intelligence but he wants to do more, especially since learning his family was killed by Nazis. He is asked to take on a potential suicide mission. He has to somehow get himself smuggled into Auschwitz, find out if Mendl is still alive, and get him out. He only has three days between being dropped off and being picked up. If he's discovered or can't make the rendezvous, his life will surely end in a terrifying and painful way.

What a fantastic book. I've never really read anything by Andrew Gross, best known for his collaboration with James Patterson and standalone thrillers. The suspense is the driving force of the story and the plot never loses energy. The characters are wonderfully developed and I became so involved that I never wanted to book to end. Even the secondary characters make a tremendous impact. This is a beautifully written and heartbreaking novel that definitely had me on an emotional roller coaster. If you are sensitive to novels that deal with the Holocaust you might want to skip this, because they do document some of the atrocities during the story. It's inevitable in any novel set in Auschwitz. Otherwise, I can't recommend this book any higher. It's definitely going to be on my favorites list and I can't imagine it will not make my Top Five favorites of 2016. show less

If you have ever read any books written by Andrew Gross and thought you had him pegged, think again. This historical thriller was not what I would have expected. It is an amazing read that kept me turning the pages except when I had to put it down to get a handle on my emotions.

The One Man is set during WWII mainly in Auschwitz. The United States is on a mission to save Dr. Alfred Mendl, a Jewish Pole who just happens to be an electromagnetic physics professor who is a resident of Auschwitz. They are convinced that what he knows will knock at least six months off the race to create the atomic bomb (and win the war). They are considering the unthinkable, sending someone to break into Auschwitz to get Mendl out.

Nathan Blum escaped from show more the Polish ghetto in Krakow a few years earlier and when he arrived in the U.S. he joined the army. He always felt guilty about leaving his parents and sister behind, even though it was their request. He learned that they were killed in the ghetto in retribution for the killing of a Gestapo officer. He is currently working at a desk job as an Intelligence Officer in the United States Army, but has made no secret of the fact that he wanted to do more. Because he speaks Polish and German, he was approached to take on the top secret mission. Blum agrees to break into Auschwitz to rescue Mendl and bring him back to the United States.

The story that Andrew Gross has written is mesmerizing. It is exciting, creative, emotional and moves very quickly. This is not a memoir, but the descriptions of life in the camp are gut-wrenching and similar to many I have read in other books. The ending of this book had me tearing up, it was a totally unexpected ending, but once I read it, it was very fitting.

I definitely recommend this book! If you like historical fiction, you will enjoy this book. If you like reading about WWII, you will like this book. If you enjoy a good thriller/suspenseful read, you will like this book. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley. This did not affect my review in any way. show less

The Nazis, the Holocaust, and the race to develop the atom bomb are subjects that never get tired: this well-researched action adventure combines all three.

Despite co-authoring five books with James Patterson, Andrew Gross is a good writer, and this story is close to his religious and cultural roots: the US sends a spy to infiltrate Auschwitz and rescue a Jewish scientist, the One Man with the knowledge the Manhattan Projects desperately needs.

Chess, electromagnetic physics, Judaism, political pragmatism, Great escapes, romance, and a couple of exciting twists, The One Man is the perfect distraction, and not just for WW2 buffs.

4.5 What a fantastic thriller, though it takes place in one of the most terrible and in the most horrific circumstances, ever created by man. Decided to give psychological thrillers a rest and return to police procedural and historical thrillers, and am so glad I did. I love this author, once met him at a book fair, and after reading Britany's review, (thanks, friend), knew I had to grab this one.

A rescue mission to find and bring out the one man who can shorten the time needed to complete the making of the first atomic bomb. Seventy two hours, a race against time and I can't tell you the amount of time I spent holding my breath. Suspenseful, tightly plotted, possibly the author's best book to date. Respected the quest to stay as show more historically accurate as to the cruelty in the camps, those in charge and other circumstances that make reading books set during this time period so difficult. Loved the humanity of the invented characters, the reasons they acted as they did and the realism of the plot line. One can imagining things happening as they did. The ending slayed me, needed tissues.

The author's note explains the reason he wrote this book, what he changed and what he moved around for stories sake. Always appreciated. An outstanding historical thriller, one of the best I have read in quite a while.

ARC from Netgalley. show less

3.5 stars

The American military recruits a Jewish Polish man, Nathan Blum, who managed to get out of Europe before the rest of his family was rounded up to Auschwitz. He already works for the U.S. military and they convince him to go to Auschwitz with a detailed plan to help get someone out! But he only has 72 hours.

Meanwhile in the camp, Professor Mendl is an expert in physics and recruits a young 17-year old, Leo, to memorize a bunch of his formulas. The professor is pretty sure he won’t make it out, but is hoping Leo might one day. This info he is having Leo memorize is very important, though he won’t tell Leo why it’s so important. In his “spare” time, Leo plays chess with one of the camp’s SS officer’s wives.

This was show more good. It may also be a “victim” of me being fully saturated with WWII books (as I know many others are, as well). I listened to the audio and I had no issues with it. In all honesty, I can’t imagine anyone would agree to do that rescue, as they knew enough about Auschwitz by then. Oh, but the test they had Nathan do ahead of time to “prove” he could? No. Just no. If they wanted him to go so badly, I think he could/should have called them on it and not done it. He was already trained by then. I can’t imagine they’d find anyone else to do it, so let them call it off; I can’t imagine Nathan wanted to go in so badly… show less

The most compelling element of Andrew Gross’ thriller, THE ONE MAN, is the setting. His descriptions of Nazi brutality at Auschwitz in the spring of 1944 are chilling and quite realistic. Murder is casual and without consequence or remorse, starvation is the norm, disease is rampant, the most rudimentary hygiene is nonexistent and hopelessness pervades everywhere.

The plot has several outlandish elements that detract from the enjoyment of the novel. The Allies and Germans were struggling to make an atom bomb and the Allies need just one component to purify of sufficient quantities of fissionable uranium to make a bomb. It turns out that the one man who had solved that riddle was Dr. Alfred Mendl, who was a being detained at Auschwitz show more by the Nazis. How Mendl knows exactly what the Allies need, or how the Nazis overlook this prominent scientist remains unclear. The American decision to spring Mendl from Auschwitz using an untested Polish refugee, Nathan Blum, seems bizarre. But the strangeness doesn’t stop there. Brutish guards destroy Mendl’s notes and his only recourse becomes teaching Leo Wolciek, a young chess master with an unusually good memory, to learn complex physical formulas, despite his having absolutely no background in physics. Any reader who is paying attention would realize that this tactic would become important to save the day before the story ends. Likewise, Leo is paired with the empathic and beautiful young wife of the camp’s commandant because of their mutual interest in chess (among other things). Clearly, one also knows that this plot element will play before the final curtain. There is one further jaw dropping plot twist that truly begs credulity, but revealing it here would spoil the story. Suffice it to say that Blum has a shocking surprise in store for him at Auschwitz.

Gross’ narrative is well paced to maintain a high level of suspense throughout. An unrelenting mood of threat pervades the story and fully engages the reader. The plotting is meticulous despite a strong sense of contrivance in many places. The characters are interesting but lack nuance. Important themes are mentioned (“how much one life is worth”) but not explored in depth. show less