“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 … 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
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I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I never knew about the underground in Norway that had such a strategic impact on the war’s outcome.
Great book
Eye opening – I love history- this one reads like a novel
Amazed at the ingenuity of the military men who countered this threat from the Nazis. Definitely world-changing.
This is a real story of adventure and patriotism. These men fought through cold, distance from additional resource, and the absolute commitment to stop heavy water production not knowing how close Germany was to the weapon even unclear as to what the weapon was. A must read of anyone interested in WWII, adventure, tenacity, and commitment to complete a necessary mission. Tim
A great book that surpasses the usual war-story genre by taking a deep, yet accessible dive into the machinations of nuclear weapon tech at its inception. At stake is the race for the first Atomic bomb – what’s needed is a mundane supply of ‘heavy water’ produced in volume at only a few places on earth.
German scientists have access to enough heavy water to propell their experiments on atomic reactions ahead of the allies and possibly turn the tide of WWII – however its in remote, occupied Norway.
Britain has plans to stop the production but it will take a Resistance force and logistics more usually seen in Ian Flemming novels.
A wonderfully candid look into scientific rivalries, the nature of atomic weaponry and the art of warfare at distance.
Reads like the best of Eric Larsson and Jon Krakauer.
A vivid description of untold Norwegians’ heroic deeds in sabotaging Hitler’s attempt to divert heavy water so as to enable the Nazis to build an atomic bomb, which may have changed the course of history.
Peter Bernhardt, Author: The Stasi File, 2011 ABNA Quarter Finalist; Kiss of the Shaman’s Daughter [sequel]; Red Romeo;
http://tinyurl.com/a7rnpql -http://sedonaauthor.com -https://tinyurl.com/ycyvps3b
Great read about a lesser known part of WWII; great storyline and character details.
I have read many books about WW11, but had no idea about this very important part of history. If it were not for those brave young men from Norway Hitler might have had the atomic bomb and we would be living in a very different world. A very well written book. Excellent.
Delivers on its promise of outstanding historical writing that is accessible, engaging and informative. Could not put it down.
Since I work in the WWII genre, I knew the general story of the raid on Hitler’s heavy water plant at Vemork, Norway. But I wanted details. Neal Bascomb delivered, and then some. This story (actually several stories)—flawlessly told—is one of the greatest of WWII.
And the heroes who pulled off the raids—whew! You may recall the iconic scene from Sylvester Stallone’s “First Blood” film where Col. Troutman explains to the local sheriff (Brian Dennehy) that RAMBO “would eat things that would make a billy-goat puke.” Well, the Norwegian mountain men of this REAL story ate things that would have made RAMBO puke. That will give you an idea of the level of research Bascomb brings; he left no stone unturned.
This is one of my all-time favorite WWII books and I can’t recommend it highly enough.
This is the incredible story of the destruction of a German “heavy” water plant in Norway during WW II It’s destruction likely prevented the Germans from developing the atomic bomb toward the end of the war
It was extremely interesting to read about all that went on to fight the Nazi occupiers besides what happened at the Vemork powerhouse.
Neal Bascomb’s The Winter Fortress is an in-depth look at the British-Norwegian operations to cripple the Norwegian heavy water plant in the midst of World War II.
First, a little science. Heavy water is one of the necessary ingredients for the production of an atomic bomb. In the early days of World War II, before the Manhattan Project and Little Boy and Fat Man and Hiroshima, scientists were fairly certain of this, but hadn’t yet put the pieces together, on either side of the Atlantic. As the war progressed and the Allies became more confident of the nuclear recipe, the necessity of destroying Norway’s Vemork plant, the only plant that produced the heavy water the Nazis needed.
Bascomb provides a bit of the science background early and then delves into the top secret operations devised by the British and Norwegians to sabotage the plant. These operations are fascinating the way Operation Mincemeat was fascinating: it’s incredible to think that someone came up with such multi-faceted, ingenious, hard plans. And that they worked!
Admittedly, I previously knew next to nothing about Norway’s role in World War II, and so this book also served as a bit of a primer for me in that sense. Ultimately, though, one can’t help but be struck by the indomitable spirit of those who were determined to resist and the ability of the human body to adapt and survive. (The will to survive: feasting on reindeer parts for months on end while skiing a dozen miles a day charging and recharging massive batteries in the hope of making contact with London with a makeshift radio. In the midst of blizzards dumping four feet of snow and producing ferocious winds capable of sailing you off the roof.)
(This review was originally published at https://www.thisyearinbooks.com/2019/01/the-winter-fortress-epic-mission-to.html)
The book presents a background, the development of the nuclear race in World War II, Nazi Germany, England, and the United States at the same time.
The main story is the race for heavy water produced in Norway and efforts to prevent it of the Nazis. This is a heroic epic of fighters of various kinds. It is a well-written story. The writer manages to bring the harsh conditions of survival in the Scandinavian winter with improvisation that stems from a lack of supplies and the fear of being discovered. However, somehow the book could not make me keep my eyes fixed to the pages and occasionally found myself thinking about extra things as I read.