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74 reviews for:
Hunting Eichmann: How a Band of Survivors and a Young Spy Agency Chased Down the World's Most Notorious Nazi
Neal Bascomb
4.16 AVERAGE
74 reviews for:
Hunting Eichmann: How a Band of Survivors and a Young Spy Agency Chased Down the World's Most Notorious Nazi
Neal Bascomb
4.16 AVERAGE
I enjoyed the book and it gave a lot of insight into everything that was involved in the capture. I will admit that at times I had a hard time keeping track of who was who and who was doing what. There is a large cast of people involved. At times I feel as though the book got bogged down in minute details. I didn't lose interest in reading the book and finishing, but there were times I had to just power through passages. All in all a good read that I would probably suggest to the right person.
Rare five star for me. This non-fiction book by Neal Bascomb concerns locating, capturing and putting on trial one of the key Nazis who escaped from Germany after WWII--Adolf Eichmann. Eichmann was in charge of orchestrating the removal of Jews from Hungary and other locations and getting them to the death/labor camps. Millions died as a result of his zealousness. The book covers his wartime efforts, his escape to Argentina aided by sort of an "underground railroad" via Catholic churches to the fascist friendly Argentina and ultimately his capture by the Mossad in the early 1960s. All of it is riveting stuff. Bascomb is a terrific writer of non-fiction as he spins the tale in a well-written, gripping way that it's like you are reading a work of fiction. It's non-fiction masquerading as a thriller. That's high praise for a non-fiction writer as a lot of history writing can be stiff, dull and fact-centric. This has facts, yet is heart-poundingly good. Highly recommended!
Hunting Eichmann is the story of how Nazi party official and SS officer Adolf Eichmann was found and caught after the end of World War II. Eichmann was one of the men responsible for organizing the logistics of sending millions of Jewish people to Nazi extermination camps. After the war ended, he managed to hide his identity while moving around Germany before finally ending up in Argentina. The beginning of this book is mostly backstory on Eichmann, his role in the Holocaust, and his path to Argentina. We are also introduced to several people who have taken it upon themselves to hunt down former Nazis and bring them to justice.
The bulk of the book is dedicated to the attempts to track Eichmann down, and then the organization and execution of the plan to capture him and bring him back to Israel to stand trial. We are introduced to each and every person that is involved and told a bit of their personal history so we understand their personal and professional investment in this mission. There are many people, so it becomes a lot to keep track of. Thankfully, author Neal Bascomb does a good job of keeping the narrative fairly straight forward so losing track of which person is doing what does not affect the understanding of the story as a whole. Reading this book, one can get a sense of the enormous effort required from everyone involved. There is plenty of intrigue and interesting insights into how espionage work was done at the time.
We are also given glimpses into the minds of the people who had to spend time with Eichmann after his capture. They grapple with a confusing mix of emotions--particularly when they find themselves pitying the man who they blame for the deaths of their family members.
In the end, the trial itself is given a quick summary, but we are told that the effect of the mission on the men and women involved has stuck with them for the rest of their lives. It is not just a story of how Eichmann was brought to justice, but of the incredible effort of those involved who made it happen. Highly recommended.
The bulk of the book is dedicated to the attempts to track Eichmann down, and then the organization and execution of the plan to capture him and bring him back to Israel to stand trial. We are introduced to each and every person that is involved and told a bit of their personal history so we understand their personal and professional investment in this mission. There are many people, so it becomes a lot to keep track of. Thankfully, author Neal Bascomb does a good job of keeping the narrative fairly straight forward so losing track of which person is doing what does not affect the understanding of the story as a whole. Reading this book, one can get a sense of the enormous effort required from everyone involved. There is plenty of intrigue and interesting insights into how espionage work was done at the time.
We are also given glimpses into the minds of the people who had to spend time with Eichmann after his capture. They grapple with a confusing mix of emotions--particularly when they find themselves pitying the man who they blame for the deaths of their family members.
In the end, the trial itself is given a quick summary, but we are told that the effect of the mission on the men and women involved has stuck with them for the rest of their lives. It is not just a story of how Eichmann was brought to justice, but of the incredible effort of those involved who made it happen. Highly recommended.
informative
medium-paced
First book finished in 2021!
Very enjoyable book which had a relatively sluggish middle. It outlined Eichmann's life and role in the Holocaust, as well as giving perspectives from multiple individuals who who directly involved in trying to find him (Who also usually had family who perished in the holocaust themselves). Of course, I don't really need to say what this book is about (As it's in the title), but I will say I enjoyed the operational aspect of the book, where they were giving duel aspects; one was the gathering of evidence as to the whereabouts of Eichmann, the second being what was occurring in his life the whole time, so you got to follow both groups of individuals.
Very enjoyable book which had a relatively sluggish middle. It outlined Eichmann's life and role in the Holocaust, as well as giving perspectives from multiple individuals who who directly involved in trying to find him (Who also usually had family who perished in the holocaust themselves). Of course, I don't really need to say what this book is about (As it's in the title), but I will say I enjoyed the operational aspect of the book, where they were giving duel aspects; one was the gathering of evidence as to the whereabouts of Eichmann, the second being what was occurring in his life the whole time, so you got to follow both groups of individuals.
informative
slow-paced
This book outlines how the Mossad, as well as a few others tracked Adolf Eichmann, fugitive SS man, across the world. He was eventually pinned down in Argentina and arrested. This book detailed his actions during the war as well as how he was finally found. I thought this was a very interesting book, and it is amazing to me that they were able to do all this leg work without technology. I suppose because I grew up in the technology age, with all of these advances.
This book was fascinating! The process of capturing a monster right under the noses of a foreign government kept me riveted. It was also satisfying to see Israeli agents able to get justice for some of the atrocities committed against them, but especially doing so with so much precision, professionalism, and detachment. It would have been so easy for them to let desire for revenge get the better of them but they didn't in the slightest, despite several members of the team having personally suffered as a result of Eichmann's decisions and orders.
If I had a complaint, it would be wanting a little more backstory. Anyone who's done much reading on the Holocaust knows the name Adolf Eichmann and the basics of what he was responsible for, but I would've liked more detail on everything.
If I had a complaint, it would be wanting a little more backstory. Anyone who's done much reading on the Holocaust knows the name Adolf Eichmann and the basics of what he was responsible for, but I would've liked more detail on everything.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
An account of the journey to bring Adolf Eichmann to justice that is both emotionally tender to his victims and clinically focused on facts, methods, and the legal/diolomatic quagmire. I was obsessed with every word.