Two decades ago, while studying abroad in college, I first heard of Adolf Eichmann. In Luxembourg, a Holocaust survivor explained that she was never able to speak of her terrible experiences during the war until after the famous Eichmann trial in Jerusalem. In a way, she felt the testimonies by many survivors at the trial gave her permission to speak of her own suffering. Yes, the story of the Eichmann capture is a great spy tale, with lots of twists and turns, but in the scheme of history — and in so many personal lives — it is important as well. That’s why I wrote this book.

Researching the story was an incredible journey, one that found me on four continents, interviewing Mossad spies in Tel Aviv, Israel; tracking down former Nazis in Buenos Aires, Argentina; and unearthing rarely seen archives in Germany and elsewhere. Along the way, a crack team of researchers and translators helped me. With one-on-one talks with many of the key individuals in the operation, some of whom had never before been interviewed, I was able to put together what I hope is the most accurate account of these dramatic events. Over the course of the research, I also discovered some important documents, including the passport Eichmann used to escape Europe after the war.

Now, despite my best efforts, my reconstruction of these events is no doubt imperfect. First of all, this is a spy story, and some elements of what exactly happened remain secret — and/or clouded in half-truths. Second, my interview subjects often contradicted one another on specific versions of events. I’ve tried my best to reconcile conflicting accounts, and in the Notes section of the book, I pinpoint a few of these instances. Every writer of history wishes he could work with perfect, complete information, but in the end, we simply have to unearth as much as we can and then make do with that.

I made do with a great deal thanks to the efforts of many people who assisted me. A special shout-out in particular to my researchers Valeria Galvan, Nava Mizrahi, and Franziska Ramson. Many individuals spoke to me in the course of my interviews, but special acknowledgments to Avraham Shalom and Shaul Shaul, who suffered my barrage of questions the longest. Finally, thanks to Liz O’Donnell, who walks through fire with me on every book, and to Cheryl Klein, my sharp-penned, incredibly talented editor at Scholastic.