The Winter Fortress: The Epic Mission to Sabotage Hitler’s Atomic Bomb

by Neal Bascomb

Hardcover, 2016

Status

Available

Call number

940.54

Genres

History

General Nonfiction

Collection

Your library

Publication

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2016), Edition: 1st, 400 pages

Description

History. Military. Nonfiction. HTML: "Riveting and poignant . . . The Winter Fortress metamorphoses from engrossing history into a smashing thriller . . . Mr. Bascomb's research and, especially, his storytelling skills are first-rate."�??The Wall Street Journal "Weaving together his typically intense research and a riveting narrative, Neal Bascomb's The Winter Fortress is a spellbinding piece of historical writing." �?? Martin Dugard, author of Into Africa and co-author of the Killing series In 1942, the Nazis were racing to complete the first atomic bomb. All they needed was a single, incredibly rare ingredient: heavy water, which was produced solely at Norway's Vemork plant. Under threat of death, Vemork's engineers pushed production into overdrive. If the Allies could not destroy the plant, they feared the Nazis would soon be in possession of the most dangerous weapon the world had ever seen. But how would the Allied forces reach the castle fortress, set on a precipitous gorge in one of the coldest, most inhospitable places on earth? Based on a trove of top-secret documents and never-before-seen diaries and letters of the saboteurs, The Winter Fortress is an arresting chronicle of a brilliant scientist, a band of spies on skis, perilous survival in the wild, Gestapo manhunts, and a last-minute operation that would alter the course of the war. "A taut and peerlessly told adventure story full of thrills, derring-do and heart-stopping tension." �?? Seattle Times "Told with both historical and scientific accuracy . . . this book has rocketed into my pantheon of the top suspense-filled stories about [World War II], along with The 900 Days and The Colditz Story." �?? Ethan Siegel, Forbes… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member slug9000

This was a fantastic, thrilling book about Allied efforts to destroy a Nazi-occupied hydroelectric plant in Norway that produced heavy water, a substance that was being used in nuclear weapons research at the time. I went into this book knowing nothing about the German occupation of Norway, the

Norwegian resistance, or the state of atomic weapons research, and this book was a fascinating read. The author provides enough history of the German occupation that you can appreciate the state of affairs at the time of this operation, but I didn't feel as though the book was bogged down with extraneous details. The science in the book is also presented in layman's terms; you don't need to be a physicist to understand the basics, and you can even skip over those sections if you aren't interested.

The actual operations themselves (the destruction of the heavy water plant and a subsequent operation to destroy stores of it) aren't terribly long. The book is mainly about the preparations for the operations, the Norwegian special forces' struggle for survival in the Norwegian wilderness, and their efforts to avoid German capture. It is a book about war, endurance, survival, and clandestine operations under the nose of the SS. It is exciting and fast-paced, and hard to put down. I highly recommend.

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LibraryThing member labdaddy4

A very interesting read about a slice of WWII history I was not aware of. The story was slow to get going but as I continued to read the paced really picked up. At times this read more like a thriller than a work of non-fiction. The Norwegian men that played central roles in this tale were true

heroes - exhibiting courage, intelligence, toughness, incredible stamina, and - when needed - ruthlessness.

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LibraryThing member breic

I couldn't decide between two of Bascomb's books, this and "Hunting Eichmann." So I read them both. This book has the same flaws, too much detail and lackluster writing. In both books, Bascomb does a poor job giving the context and bigger picture for the story. In "Hunting Eichmann" he didn't even

try. In this book, he goes for it, but slips on a banana peel. This material could have made a great magazine story, but it couldn't sustain a book.

> The nine were still not exactly sure how this target could possibly be of such value. They had been told that the plant produced something called heavy water, and that with this mysterious substance the Nazis might be able "to blow up a good part of London." The saboteurs assumed this was an exaggeration to ensure their full commitment to the job.

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LibraryThing member lamour

Reading like a novel, this is the detailed description of how the Norwegian Underground and British military battled to keep Hitler from obtaining an atomic bomb. Starting with the attacks on the hydro plant in Vemork by British special forces which ended in disaster for the soldiers attempting to

fly in to Norway in gliders to the successful bombing by the Norwegian underground of the heavy water plant inside the hydro plant, Bascomb gives incredible detail of the operations from both sides of the battle.

The Norwegians while planning and organizing their attack during the severe winters conditions of the area, lived in the most winter conditions with limited access to food. That these men would ski hundreds of miles to obtain supplies including weapons on meager amounts of food is an important part of their success in hindering the German efforts to guard the heavy water plant.

This is a first rate adventure story that is true and highlights the sacrifices some men will make to preserve their freedoms.

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