The Bastard Brigade

The True Story of the Renegade Scientists and Spies Who Sabotaged the Nazi Atomic Bomb

By: Sam Kean

Narrated by: Ben Sullivan

Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

From New York Times best-selling author Sam Kean comes the gripping, untold story of a renegade group of scientists and spies determined to keep Adolf Hitler from obtaining the ultimate prize: a nuclear bomb

Scientists have always kept secrets. But rarely have the secrets been as vital as they were during World War II. In the middle of building an atomic bomb, the leaders of the Manhattan Project were alarmed to learn that Nazi Germany was far outpacing the Allies in nuclear weapons research; Hitler, with just a few pounds of uranium, would have the capability to reverse the entire D-Day operation and conquer Europe. So they assembled a rough and motley crew of geniuses—dubbed the Alsos Mission—and sent them careening into Axis territory to spy on, sabotage, and even assassinate members of Nazi Germany's feared Uranium Club. No theater of the war, from battlefields to laboratories, was considered off-limits, and for good reason: the entire outcome of the war rested on its shoulders.

The details of the mission rival the finest spy thriller, but what makes this story sing is the incredible cast of characters—both heroes and rogues alike—including:

• Moe Berg, the major league catcher who abandoned the game for a career as a multilingual international spy; the strangest fellow to ever play professional baseball.
• Werner Heisenberg, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist credited as the discoverer of quantum mechanics; a key contributor to the Nazi's atomic bomb project and the primary target of the Alsos mission.
• Colonel Boris Pash, a high school science teacher and veteran of the Russian Revolution who fled the Soviet Union with a deep disdain for Communists and who later led the Alsos mission.
• Joe Kennedy Jr., the charismatic, thrill-seeking older brother of JFK whose need for adventure led him to volunteer for the most dangerous missions the Navy had to offer.
• Samuel Goudsmit, a washed-up physics prodigy who spent his life hunting Nazi scientists—and his parents, who had been swept into a concentration camp—across the globe.
• Irène and Frederic Joliot-Curie, a physics Nobel-Prize winning power couple who used their unassuming status as scientists to become active members of the resistance.

Thrust into the dark world of international espionage, these scientists and soldiers played a vital and largely untold role in turning back one of the darkest tides in human history.

©2019 Sam Kean (P)2019 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

NPR Science Friday's Best Science Book of 2019

"A thrilling tale of wartime derring-do meets a richly researched story of postwar intellectual exploitation . . . . Perfect as a first foray into this period, and I defy any reader not to be drawn into the world of unlikely spies and Nazi Nobel Prize winners that Kean paints so vividly and infuses with such energy."—Science

"Thrilleresque science history."—Nature

"An exciting read for fans of World War II history, espionage tales, and the development of nuclear weapons."—Library Journal, starred review

Another Beauty By Sam Kean

I want to set this up by telling you that I accidentally came upon Sam's books by accident- I was on an airplane and somebody lent me their book to read- The book was The Disappearing Spoon and I read only one chapter- Aluminum (or Aluminium if you prefer). I was hooked - I bought the book at my destination and have devoured his writings since. As a science teacher the books are especially interesting and make great teaching tools- And the material is presented so that any person can understand everything. I do not regularly gift books but his books I do and this book is FASCINATING whether you are interested in science; physics; history; WWIi; and baseball, yes baseball. Since I acquired this book so quickly I am now stuck waiting for Sam to put out a new book !!
I loved it and I highly recommend it !
*The narrator is excellent as well -
Tom

A historical account and also a thrilling tale

The author does such an incredible job picking the exciting stories from these actual WWII events. There's spies and unbelievable sabotage missions and well-developed, complex characters with all their quirks and feelings. I couldn't put it down

Amazing!

The characters can be a bit difficult to follow, but it's a very good book. I learned so much about WWII.

Mind-blowing and thrilling

Sam Kean has a knack for presenting historical events like an action movie and connecting current events to past causes. He also highlights historical figures that may be lesser known to the general public but played major parts in events that lead to present day life, and sometimes, he paints a darker picture of well known heroes.

Interesting

Interesting information to learn about the behind the screens of nuclear race during world war 2 and all the espionage between the Allie’s and the Germany !

A True Story that reminded me how close we came...

I keep telling people about this book and how the slightest twist in the arc of history might have made me a German Speaker today. Thrilling. Challenging. There are a great many players and it is hard to keep track but eventually, you see how it all came together and how each one of these people played their part; whether great or small. The author made the science make sense. If you can handle the technical stuff, you will not be disappointed. Anyone who has seen the movie or read the book, "The Heros of Telemark" will enjoy an extra treat at being part of that unbelievable operation in WWII.

informative and captivating!

I couldn't wait to hear more. I found it so informative and I loved listening.

engaging and informatics

This is a wonderful accounting about how nuclear fission came to be. The author is engageing, entertaining, historical, and very informative. The author is able to weave the frailties that humanity often faces with the science and historical accounting of the circumstances surrounding the A-bomb.

Interesting Look at the Race for the Bomb

I have read a lot of books on WW II but this tale of high stakes espionage was all new to me. The characters were colorful and the narrative was well done.

Science and history

Excellent story. Interesting personal histories. Thorough research. I can’t get enough of this Sam Kean!