Gauntlet: Five Friends, 20,000 Enemy Troops, and the Secret That Could Have Changed the Face of Cold War Europe

click here for more details, find new or used items	Barbara Masin Our price £13.74 (£15.27) New from £13.73 Used from £9.55 Pages: 382 (Hardcover) ISBN: 1591145155 Pub: Naval Institute Press Pub date: 2006-10-15 Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 182237

Reader Reviews:

READS LIKE A CLASSIC NOVEL! (2/3 people found this helpful)

I've read this book so many times that the story and characters swim in my mind on a daily basis, revealing new and interesting details that I seemingly missed on previous passes. Masin's writing style can be summed up as follows: Joe Kanon meets Dennis Lehane meets David Ignatius. This narrative nonfiction story reads like a classic novel!

Masin takes you into the hearts, minds and souls of the young men who originally set out to take a 2-3-day march to the nearest US Army recruiter's office, this one located in West Berlin. What began as a simple, well-planned escape from Communist Czech quickly turned raw, cold, sour, and life threatening for the five friends. Her unique presentation of dialog and exposition recreates highly accurately the entire journey, and allows us to travel along with the friends and FEEL their pain and anguish. If I describe more here, it'll spoil your read. Suffice it to say, this is the best-written narrative nonfiction book I have ever read, and is also the best "novel" I have ever read.

If you don't pick up this baby simply for the adventure and intrigue, read it for its rich historical record. Masin's endless searches and digs in archives revealed surprising tidbits, including an "explosive secret that could have changed the face of Cold War Europe."

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