Publishers Weekly
★ 10/24/2022
“It was unlike anything codebreakers had seen before.… No one could break the German Enigma.” Imparting urgency and drive to a telling that begins well before WWII, Barone (Race to the Bottom of the Earth) writes a thriller-like chronicle of the high-stakes quest to decipher the German Enigma machine. The narrative highlights both the complexity of the machine’s encryption and the extensive machinations involved in deciphering it, starting with the machine being inadvertently sent to Polish customs in 1929, an event that offered insight into its make and assembly. Vivid portrayals describe the individuals involved in myriad countries’ intelligence efforts, including French Intelligence Bureau agent Rodolphe Lemoine; German civil servant Hans-Thilo Schmidt, who sold information to the French government; and Britain’s network at Bletchley Park, which included computing pioneer Alan Turing as well as thousands of members of the Women’s Royal Navy Service. It’s a breathlessly told account of clandestine operations whose success contributed to the war’s end. Maps and b&w photographs throughout offer insight to both the mechanical and the historical. Back matter includes an epilogue, timeline, and extensive bibliography. Ages 10–14. Agent: Michael Bourret, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
A Booklist Best Book of the Year
A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year
"A thrilling adventure of intrigue and daring worthy of the best James Bond stories and made all the better because it’s completely true. A common refrain throughout the story is, 'Never repeat something you want kept secret.' So let me say twice, to ensure that word gets out, 'Read this book. Read this book.'" —James Ponti, New York Times best-selling author of City Spies
* "A riveting true-life adventure story combining brains, courage, and heart." —Kirkus, starred review
* "Engagingly told as a grim race against time, deeply researched, and with ample space for the play of differing perspectives and outsized personalities . . . highly recommended." —School Library Journal, starred review
* " Suspenseful writing. . . Highly recommended." —Booklist, starred review
* "A breathlessly told account of clandestine operations whose success contributed to the war’s end." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
* "Barone delivers another impressive feat of narrative nonfiction storytelling." —Horn Book Magazine, starred review
“A taut, suspenseful story. Here is a war that few people know, a race among brains with freedom at stake, brought vividly to life by.” —Phillip Hoose, author of the National Book Award winning and Newbery Honor book Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice
"A captivating tale of perseverance and grit, Barone kept me on the edge of my seat, reading well into the night. I could not put it down. " —Beth McMullen, author of the Mrs. Smith's Spy School for Girls series and the Lola Benko, Treasure Hunter series
Praise for Race to the Bottom of the Earth:
FOUR starred reviews!
"I raced to the end of this book!" —Alan Gratz, New York Times–bestselling author of Refugee
"A nail-biting tale of adventure, tragedy, and superhuman determination." —Elizabeth Wein, #1 New York Times–bestselling author
"A huge treat for adventure story fans—not one, but two incredible races across the fearsome and fascinating Antarctic!" —Steve Sheinkin, New York Times–bestselling author
"Absorbing, compelling, and truly touching. Kids will love this book!" —Deborah Heiligman, YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award–winning author
"A riveting tribute to epic tests of men against the elements." —Kirkus, starred review
"A compelling narrative focused on science and technology, embedded in a cluster of thrilling adventure stories . . . Highly recommended." —School Library Journal, starred review
"Readers will be caught up in the real-time action sequences." —Booklist, starred review
"Exemplary." —BCCB, starred review
Newbery Honor and National Book Award–winnin Phillip Hoose
Here is a war that few people know, a race among brains with freedom at stake, brought vividly to life.”
New York Times bestselling author James Ponti
A thrilling adventure of intrigue and daring worthy of the best James Bond stories.”
School Library Journal
★ 09/02/2022
Gr 5–8—Deciphering the infamous German military code—helping to end the Second World War—began with the mistaken delivery of an early Enigma code machine to a Polish customs office in 1929. But the focus here is mostly on the heroic work done in the 1930s and 1940s by Polish, French, and British spies and mathematicians, around the clock and under tremendous, often life-threatening, pressure. Some readers will be familiar with computing pioneer Alan Turing and his significant work on the codebreaking project at England's Bletchley Park. But Barone brings much deserved attention to some fascinating figures not often celebrated in popular histories, from Hans Thilo-Schmidt, a German spy and brother of a prominent military officer who secretly shared intelligence with French counterparts for years; to the Polish electronics expert Antoni Palluth, who worked to reverse-engineer the Enigma machine; and British undergraduate Harry Hinsley, whose behavioral insights and math wizardry helped the team at Bletchley Park find new ways of thinking about the code. A showdown between a Gestapo officer and Palluth's wife, Jadwiga, is particularly harrowing. Historical photos highlight important figures and war machinery throughout the text, though the mostly unbroken layout will appeal more to stronger readers. The volume concludes with an annotated time line, extensive bibliography, and a dozen pages of meticulous source notes. VERDICT Engagingly told as a grim race against time, deeply researched, and with ample space for the play of differing perspectives and outsized personalities, this titles is highly recommended for upper elementary and middle school libraries.—Bob Hassett
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2022-07-27
A meticulous accounting of the marathon race to crack the military code the Germans thought was unbreakable.
The story begins 10 years before the start of World War II, when the German Embassy demanded the immediate return of a box accidentally mailed to the customs office in Warsaw. Intrigued, Polish intelligence officers dismantled, examined, and reassembled the machine inside before doing so. It was an Enigma machine, a new device for encrypting German military transmissions. Now the Poles had seen the secret machine. A few years later, a German spy sold the French information on how Enigma operated. But the machine could be set in an astronomical number of ways. Alan Turing, a genius British cryptographer working at Bletchley Park, invented the bombe, a machine designed to test the different possibilities. But actually breaking Enigma required code books recovered by British naval officers searching captured German ships—as well as the labor of thousands of enlisted women from the Women’s Royal Navy Service who ran the actual bombes. Their grueling cooperative efforts are estimated to have shortened the war by three years. It’s an engrossing, complex story, and Barone tells it exceptionally well, with a fluidity and clarity that bely the number of people, not to say countries, involved. Historic photographs illustrate the account, and an epilogue tells what happened to the major players after the war.
A riveting true-life adventure story combining brains, courage, and heart. (author’s note, map, timeline, bibliography, endnotes) (Nonfiction. 10-16)
