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

I read a lot of books about WWII but this was a completely different story than most of the books about this subject. Instead of trying to get out of Auschwitz, Nathan Blum's assignment for the US government is to get inside the prison camp and rescue one man - all in only 72 hours! Nathan is a recent immigrant from Poland who lost all of this family to the Nazis and barely got out of Poland in time. He is very conflicted about taking this assignment and going back to the country that he just escaped from. He agrees to help the Army with this project, knowing that he has a very small chance of surviving but he believes that what you do for one, you do for many. He feels that he failed to help his family and needs to do something for the show more greater good of mankind. The man that the government wants rescued is a doctor who holds the rest of the secret to creating the atomic bomb and the US wants to be sure that they beat Germany in this race.

This is definitely a thriller set in a difficult place and time period. I loved it.

I listened to this book on audio and thought that the narrator did a fantastic job that enhanced the story. show less

4.5 Stars >

A fast, compelling, and compulsively readable historical thriller. This is one that had me reading into the early hours of the morning and I hated parting with these extremely well formed and mostly likable characters.

Set in 1944 Alfred Mendle is held in Auschwitz prison camp., Alfred is a brilliant professor who's knowledge is required to in the race to make the first atomic bomb. While scientists all over the world are working on different formulas and equations, there are only two men with the necessary knowledge to complete one of the most crucial steps in developing the bomb and one of them is working for the Germans and the other is Alfred Mendle.
The story follows Nathan Bloom who is requested by the American show more Government to rescue Alfred from the camps. Nathan has already escaped from the Germans and Poland and left his family to the mercy of the Germans but feels this is a mission he needs to take in order to revenge the Germans.

The One Man is predominately a thriller. It’s certainly (in my opinion) not going to enhance your knowledge of the World War 2 if that is what you are looking for, but if like me you want a unique fast paced suspenseful read then I can highly recommend this one as it is one of the best thrillers I have read this year.

I listened to this one on audible and the narrator and the pacing was excellent.

This is certainly one for my recommended and favourites shelf. show less

Alfred Mendl is one of a few people who has researched how to separate chemical components, more specifically the compounds needed to build the atomic bomb. When he is sent to Auschwitz, the American intelligent community decides that it must do whatever it takes to extract him. They send Nathan Blum, a young man who escaped the Polish ghetto, moved to the states and enlisted in the army. Nathan is told very little about his mission or the importance of Alfred. In the camp, Alfred befriends Leo, a teenager with a photographic memory. Painstakingly, Alfred teaches Leo, going over and over the information he has spent a lifetime learning.

I thought this was a riveting book. The characters were fascinating, and the plot was spun out neatly, show more piece-by-piece. My only criticism is that the constant jumping back and forth in time quickly grew old. Although the book became a bit predictable once Leo was introduced into the plot, the book still held surprises. Overall, highly recommended. show less

Very intriguing story with characters that are real and very human. The writing is above average and the story structure overall is above average. Overall to me this was an outstanding book.

I enjoy Andrew Gross but was seriously wondering if this might be a leap for him from his very comfortable mystery-crime genre. Was I wrong, so very wrong. In reading some reviews before starting this book I remember one reviewer compared this novel to those WWIIs thrillers from Ken Follett early in his career. He was spot on with this book and there could be no more greater compliment than this comparison. Beyond just a thriller this is a story written with a feeling and understanding of the inhumanities and total soullessness of what the Jewish show more people endured under Nazi rule.

Highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoy Andrew Gross and for anyone who would appreciate a compelling World War II thriller. show less

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