Hannah's War

By: Jan Eliasberg

Narrated by: Orlagh Cassidy

A "mesmerizing" re-imagination of the final months of World War II (Kate Quinn, author of The Alice Network), Hannah's War is an unforgettable love story about an exceptional woman and the dangerous power of her greatest discovery.
Berlin, 1938. Groundbreaking physicist Dr. Hannah Weiss is on the verge of the greatest discovery of the 20th century: splitting the atom. She understands that the energy released by her discovery can power entire cities or destroy them. Hannah believes the weapon's creation will secure an end to future wars, but as a Jewish woman living under the harsh rule of the Third Reich, her research is belittled, overlooked, and eventually stolen by her German colleagues. Faced with an impossible choice, Hannah must decide what she is willing to sacrifice in pursuit of science's greatest achievement.
New Mexico, 1945. Returning wounded and battered from the liberation of Paris, Major Jack Delaney arrives in the New Mexican desert with a mission: to catch a spy. Someone in the top-secret nuclear lab at Los Alamos has been leaking encoded equations to Hitler's scientists. Chief among Jack's suspects is the brilliant and mysterious Hannah Weiss, an exiled physicist lending her talent to J. Robert Oppenheimer's mission. All signs point to Hannah as the traitor, but over three days of interrogation that separate her lies from the truth, Jack will realize they have more in common than either one bargained for.
Hannah's War is a thrilling wartime story of loyalty, truth, and the unforeseeable fallout of a single choice.

Critic reviews

"Jan Eliasberg knows how to open big with strong suspense and wry humor and take us for a hurtling ride through one of America's most complex moments. The wonderful characters of Hannah's War bring together a moving love story, a high-stakes mystery and a fascinating look into the moral compass of an exceptional woman."—Amy Bloom, author of White Houses

"Eliasberg moves effortlessly between Hannah's past and present to deliver a historical love story full of intrigue and suspense. Hannah's War shines a much-needed light on one of the most influential women in history."—Booklist

"An exhilarating war thriller, Hannah's War moves at breakneck pace between 1930s Berlin and 1940s New Mexico. A paean to Lise Meitner, it is the compelling portrait of a woman who combined a lively scientific curiosity with an impassioned personal ethic."—Historical Novels Review

"Hannah's War is a gripping cat-and-mouse tale of love, war, deception, and espionage you won't be able to put down. Jan Eliasberg elevates the spy thriller with her clear, fierce admiration for the women of the past who refused to be edged out of the world of scientific discovery. Mesmerizing."—Kate Quinn, author of The Alice Network

"I flew through Hannah's War, a gripping true story long overdue to be told, of a brilliant woman physicist working to develop the first atomic bomb and the secret she fights to protect."—Martha Hall Kelly, author of Lilac Girls

"At the center of this novel you will find love and physics entangled together in the life of a heroic woman whose bravery and brilliance helped to change the course of modern history. Jan Eliasberg's extraordinary novel is a fictionalized version of what really happened, and despite its serious subject matter, the story moves forward with great speed and power, giving off both heat and light. This is a great story about a woman of genius."—Charles Baxter, author of The Feast of Love

Great read

Loved the dialogue between characters. A little hard to follow story at times going back & forth in time, but loved the story

Outstanding and Meaninful

Well written story and very meaningful. The story did drag a bit in parts. Ending was very cool and great summary. Orlagh Cassidy has a fantastic voice. She is the only narrator that should have been considered for this book. Great sincerity in her narration.

Great Narrator and Book

Wow! Could not stop listening to this story! Very cool twist. I really enjoyed the narrator. She brought Hannah to life.

Wonderful

One of the most beautifully written and performed books of which I’ve ever listened. Amazing narration.

Good Story But Not My Cup of Tea

I enjoyed the story as I enjoy most WW2 novels…but this one was a love story set during the creation of the A-Bomb in New Mexico. I am not a love story person, but I did enjoy how the novel ended. A German scientist suspected of being a spy and an American an intelligence agent sent to root her out.