Max's Story Is Our Story. Max's War, Our Victory

Most World War Two fiction centers around the great struggles on the battlefield. Libby Fischer Hellmann has given us a fresh look at the conflict through her novel, Max's War. In it, we see the birth of fascism in Germany  through the eyes of Max Steiner, a German Jew. All the familiar historical events are covered...the rise of Hitler, the purges of the Universities, Kristallnacht. We also see the back story, the secret war waged against the Nazis with the help of Europe's refugees. The writing is so fresh, so straight forward, you'd think Libby was writing about current events. And in a disturbing sense, she is.

Seen at such a personal level, it's easy for the reader to believe Max's suffering is happening to your next door neighbor. Fear and fury at the injustice will strike you like a punch in the mouth that you never saw coming. Libby's writing pulls you into the story and at times will shake your faith in humanity. Every small victory for Max will make you smile and turn the page with fresh hope.

By the time Max and his parents decide to leave Germany, their exit strategy has narrowed. Max's father, a prosperous businessman calls in every favor he can to help Max escape Europe. But some doors are closed in his face. Others open to betrayal.

Once safe, Max seeks justice (or is it revenge?) through the only avenue open to him. He joins the U.S. Army, and discovers his language skills and knowledge of Germany are invaluable to his new homeland. By the time Max returns to the fight in an American uniform, we're eager to follow his exploits and cheer him on.

Most readers may never know the extent to which escaped refugees like Max helped America win the war.  German and Italian scientists helped build the first atomic bomb. Some, like Max, gathered intelligence and infiltrated enemy lines, saving countless lives along the way.

In a broader sense, this is story of every refugee who has fled to America for the past 400 years. Fleeing persecution for a better life is an old story in this country, and it continues to this day.  Who will write the next great refugee novel of the migrants from South America and Mexico? Who will tell their story, their suffering and their success?

The answer may come sooner than you think. Libby Fischer Hellmann is still writing.

WRITERS BORN TODAY - IAN FLEMING

    It's the birthday of Ian Fleming, born May 28, 1908. His younger days saw him flourish in journalism and then in naval intelligence during World War II, where he worked on schemes to mislead the Nazis. By 1952, he was semi-retired and bored. Living by the ocean in Jamaica, he decided to write a novel. He based his story on some of the spies and rogues he had met during his wartime activities, and created one of the most famous spies in literary history...James Bond. He would go on to sell over 100 million Bond books.

    His first novel, Casino Royale, gave little hint at the tremendous success that awaited him. After two months at his typewriter, he had a finished draft. But when he re-read it, he thought it was a ghastly effort filled with clichés and could only have been penned by an adolescent mind. He eventually found a publisher despite its flaws. Sales, however, were mediocre. In the United States it sold only 4,000 copies. Nevertheless he kept writing, and by 1961 had published six more Bond novels and a collection of short stories. Sales were good, but not great.

    All that changed in 1961, when LIFE magazine published an article about the new American President, John F. Kennedy. In the article, Kennedy mentioned that one of his favorite books was Fleming's fifth novel, From Russia, With Love. After that sales rocketed. All of his previous works, some of which had gone out of print, were re-issued. The first Bond movie was released in 1962. Dr. No starred Sean Connery as James Bond.

    Fleming continued to write and publish one Bond novel a year until his death in 1964. He was only 56 years old, but years of heavy drinking and a four pack a day cigarette habit resulted in a fatal heart attack, 

    Two more Bond novels were published posthumously, and since Fleming's death, his estate has authorized additional Bond novels, fourteen written by John Gardner and six by Raymond Benson. Others have been penned by Kingsley Amis, Anthony Horowitz and Jeffery Deaver. There have also been 27 Bond films released with the latest, No Time To Die, coming in 2021.