Writers, readers and story lovers support survivors of sexual violence!
Item #52: Signed book
Your Donor:
RESTRICTIONS: Available to United States addresses
The untold story of an Israeli spy’s epic journey to bring the notorious Butcher of Latvia to justice—a case that altered the fates of all ex-Nazis.
Before World War II, Herbert Cukurs was a famous figure in his small Latvian city, the “Charles Lindbergh of his country.” But by 1945, he was the Butcher of Latvia, a man who murdered some thirty thousand Latvian Jews. Somehow, he dodged the Nuremberg trials, fleeing to South America after war’s end.
By 1965, as a statute of limitations on all Nazi war crimes threatened to expire, Germany sought to welcome previous concentration camp commanders, pogrom leaders, and executioners, as citizens. The global pursuit of Nazi criminals escalated to beat the looming deadline, and Mossad, the Israeli national intelligence agency, joined the cause. Yaakov Meidad, the brilliant Mossad agent who had kidnapped Adolf Eichmann three years earlier, led the mission to assassinate Cukurs in a desperate bid to block the amnesty. In a thrilling undercover operation unrivaled by even the most ambitious spy novels, Meidad traveled to Brazil in an elaborate disguise, befriended Cukurs and earned his trust, while negotiations over the Nazi pardon neared a boiling point.
The Good Assassin uncovers this little-known chapter of Holocaust history and the pulse-pounding undercover operation that brought Cukurs to justice.
Stephan Talty
Stephan Talty is the New York Times bestselling author of six acclaimed nonfiction books, including the title that formed the basis for the Oscar-nominated film “Captain Phillips.” His works include the first account of the Dalai Lama’s escape from Tibet and a sweeping history of Napoleon at war.
As a ghostwriter, Talty’s work includes A Captain’s Duty, which Publisher’s Weekly called “fascinating” and “heartening.” His most recent ghostwriting project, Under the Same Sky, traces a North Korean boy’s harrowing experiences during the Great Famine and his escape to America.
Several of Talty’s books have been optioned for films, including Agent Garbo, the story of World War II’s most important spy and The Secret Agent, which is in development with the director Tomas Alfredson. In addition to books, Talty has written for GQ magazine, Playboy, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times. His two recent e-books, The Secret Agent and Operation Cowboy were both #1 Amazon bestsellers and Agent was named “best Kindle Single of the Year” by thinreads.com.
Talty grew up in Buffalo, NY and attended Amherst College, where he majored in English and graduated magna cum laude. He trained as a reporter at the Miami Herald before working in Dublin and New York. He now lives outside New York City with his wife and two children.
You can visit his website at www.stephantalty.com.
Starting bid: $10
Any bids submitted before 12:00am on Monday, April 5, 2021 or after 8:59:59pm EST on Friday, April 9, 2021 will be deleted.