Unbreakable

The Spies Who Cracked the Nazis' Secret Code

The edge-of-your seat true story of the codebreakers, spies, and soldiers who cracked the Nazis’ infamous Enigma encryption machine and turned the tide of World War II—perfect for fans of The Imitation Game.

As the Germans waged a brutal war across Europe, details of every Nazi plan, every attack, every troop movement were sent over radio. But to the Allied troops listening in—and they were always listening—the crucial messages sounded like gibberish. The communications were encoded with a powerful cipher, making all information utterly inaccessible . . . unless you could unlock the key to the secret code behind the German’s powerful Enigma machine.

Complete with more than sixty historical photos, Unbreakable tells the true story of one of the most dangerous war-time codebreaking efforts ever. While Hitler marched his troops across newly conquered lands and deadly “wolfpacks” of German U-Boats prowled the open seas, a team of codebreakers, spies, and navy men raced against the clock to uncover the secrets that hid German messages in plain sight. Victory—or defeat—in World War II would hinge on their desperate attempts to crack the code.

Unbreakable
 is a groundbreaking work of narrative nonfiction from the author of Race to the Bottom of the Earth (recipient of four starred reviews)—perfect for fans of BombThe Boys Who Challenged Hitler, and The Nazi Hunters.

Praise

★ “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

Historical photos, first-person quotes, and well-sourced back matter support 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 thrilling adventure of intrigue and daring worthy of the best James Bond stories and made all the better because it’s completely true. It features a cast of amazing, and often unexpected, heroes trying to solve one of history’s ultimate puzzles, the German Enigma code of World War II. 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 

“Unbreakable is the taut, suspenseful story of the World War II codebreakers who intercepted enemy messages. Here is a war that few people know, a race among brains with freedom at stake, brought vividly to life by Rebecca Barone.” —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. Even knowing how it ends, 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

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