https://www.amazon.com/Winter-Fortress-Mission-Sabotage-Hitlers-ebook/dp/B011H55QAA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1514823149&sr=8-1&keywords=the+winter+fortress+by+neal+bascomb
Riveting and poignant . . . The Winter Fortressmetamorphoses 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 Daysand The Colditz Story.” — Ethan Siegel, Forbes
- File Size: 35414 KB
- Print Length: 322 pages
- Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0544368053
- Publisher: Mariner Books; Reprint edition (May 3, 2016)
- Publication Date: May 3, 2016
- Sold by: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- Language: English
- ASIN: B011H55QAA
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
Review
"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
"Neal Bascomb's The Winter Fortress is a riveting, high-action World War II thriller with nothing less than the fate of Planet Earth on the line. Just imagine the horror if Hitler had gotten the atomic bomb? Written with great verve and historical acumen, Bascomb hits the mark of excellence. Highly recommended!"
–Douglas Brinkley, New York Times bestselling author of The Great Deluge and Cronkite
"This book is a must read! A small band of spies commit themselves, their lives, and their family's lives to literally saving the world from the Nazis. An exciting and accurate story detailing a very dark time in world history, when the world pendulum could have tipped either way. If you liked Bridge of Spies, you are going to love this!”
–Scott McEwen, #1 New York Times Bestselling Co-Author of American Sniper.
–Martin Dugard, author of Into Africa and co-author of the "Killing" series
"Neal Bascomb's The Winter Fortress is a riveting, high-action World War II thriller with nothing less than the fate of Planet Earth on the line. Just imagine the horror if Hitler had gotten the atomic bomb? Written with great verve and historical acumen, Bascomb hits the mark of excellence. Highly recommended!"
–Douglas Brinkley, New York Times bestselling author of The Great Deluge and Cronkite
"This book is a must read! A small band of spies commit themselves, their lives, and their family's lives to literally saving the world from the Nazis. An exciting and accurate story detailing a very dark time in world history, when the world pendulum could have tipped either way. If you liked Bridge of Spies, you are going to love this!”
–Scott McEwen, #1 New York Times Bestselling Co-Author of American Sniper.
"What would have happened if Hitler had managed to develop nuclear weapons? In The Winter Fortress, Neal Bascomb brilliantly tells the extraordinary true story of arguably the most important and daring commando raid of WWII: how an amazing band of men on skis made sure Hitler never got to drop the ultimate bomb."
–Alex Kershaw, New York Times bestselling author of The Longest Winter
“Brilliantly written, The Winter Fortress cinematically captures a commando team’s efforts to destroy one of the most important secret facilities in World War II. Bascomb’s riveting prose puts the reader into one of the more daring missions of the war and the Allies’ efforts to sabotage a crucial aspect of Germany's nuclear program. An excellent read.”
–Patrick K. O’Donnell, bestselling author of First Seals and Washington’s Immortals
"This well-told and deeply researched account sheds light on an aspect of World War II that is little known or remembered, creating a valuable history that will be beneficial for most collections."
–Alex Kershaw, New York Times bestselling author of The Longest Winter
“Brilliantly written, The Winter Fortress cinematically captures a commando team’s efforts to destroy one of the most important secret facilities in World War II. Bascomb’s riveting prose puts the reader into one of the more daring missions of the war and the Allies’ efforts to sabotage a crucial aspect of Germany's nuclear program. An excellent read.”
–Patrick K. O’Donnell, bestselling author of First Seals and Washington’s Immortals
"This well-told and deeply researched account sheds light on an aspect of World War II that is little known or remembered, creating a valuable history that will be beneficial for most collections."
–Library Journal
"An exciting, thorough account . . . Featuring excellent characterization and exquisite detail concerning a theater of the war (Norway) not well-mined, this will make a terrific addition to World War II collections.”
–Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"An exciting, thorough account . . . Featuring excellent characterization and exquisite detail concerning a theater of the war (Norway) not well-mined, this will make a terrific addition to World War II collections.”
–Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"Bascomb, a WWII historian and former journalist, thrillingly recounts the commando effort to destroy the Norwegian Vemork hydroelectric plant . . . A fascinating read about how a small group of Norwegians refused to submit to the brutal occupation of their country and contributed significantly to Allied victory."
--Publishers Weekly
"Gripping . . . Parts of the book read like an adventure novel, others like straightforward history, but the combination will appeal to readers of both WWII fiction and nonfiction."--Publishers Weekly
--Booklist, starred review
"An authoritative account . . . Vivid and gripping."
--Foreign Affairs
“Bascomb brings this overlooked tale of wartime nuclear sabotage to life while taking care to explain the science behind the story.”
--Scientific American
"A spellbinding account of the quest to stop Germany from building an atomic bomb….The Winter Fortress is a taut and peerlessly told adventure story full of thrills, derring-do and heart-stopping tension. And it packs an even more powerful punch because so much is at stake.”
—Seattle Times
"Gripping."
—St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"Deeply researched . . .Bascomb interweaves the stories of Hitler’s ‘Uranium Club’ and of atomic chemist Leif Tronstad, who directed the Allied operation, with the thriller-esque tale of the commandos who put the plant out of action in 1943."
—Nature
Biography
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Dr. Tronstad
This is Dr. Leif Tronstad, a brilliant young Norwegian professor, who designed the heavy water plant at Vemork. On the Nazi invasion, he became active in the resistance—and then was forced to flee his country to avoid capture by the Gestapo, leaving behind his wife and two young children. In London, he informed the Allies of German interest in heavy water and learned how essential it was to their atomic bomb plans. After trading his laboratory coat for a military uniform, Tronstad became deeply involved in special operations against the Nazis in Norway, chief among them the sabotage of Vemork. In my research, I had rare access to his voluminous diaries and the many letters he wrote to his family. His is a hero’s story, but also one of war’s impact on the soul.
Photo courtesy of Norsk Hydro Collection/Norsk Industriarbeider Museum.
| Vemork
A hundred miles west of Oslo stands the hydro-electric plant and industrial complex called Vemork. Built of tons of steel and concrete, nestled in a steep valley on the edge of a precipitous cliff, surrounded by miles and miles of frozen tundra, it is indeed a winter fortress. This photograph—and others of Vemork—do little justice to the foreboding nature of the place. During my research, I spent many weeks in the area, living in old cabins buried in snow, hiking and cross-country skiing, and combing through the plant’s archives. Day after day, I would approach the plant and marvel each time at the imposing task the saboteurs faced in attempting to infiltrate and destroy Vemork.
Photo courtesy of Norges Hjemmefrontmuseum.
| Commandos on the Vidda
This narrative is truly a story of epic survival. With rudimentary equipment, the saboteurs dropped by parachute into Norway at a place called the Hardangervidda, where they then lived for months before their operation began. The 3,500 square mile high plateau had no roads, no permanent habitations. Many stretches were barren, lifeless hillsides of broken scree, one mile indistinguishable from the next. On the Hardangervidda, Norwegian legends said, it could grow cold enough, quickly enough, to freeze flames. While there, the team maintained wireless radio contact with London, and their cipher messages speak of terrible blizzards, starvation, desperate hunts for reindeer, and an indomitable spirit to survive in face of such
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