Crash of the Heavens

‘Hannah Senesh isn’t just a hero. She’s a reminder of what happens when Jews stop running and start fighting. Crash of the Heavens captures the essence of that moment — when young volunteers, men and women, parachuted into the heart of Nazi Europe not as victims but as warriors.’

-- Aaron Cohen, author of Brotherhood of Warriors

‘What a story! This book is a magnificent masterwork, and you won’t be able to put it down.’

-- Colonel Jack Jacobs, US Army (retired), Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, author of If Not Now, When?

‘Impeccably researched, powerfully told, Crash of the Heavens is a testament to courage, determination, and resilience. A story for our times.’

-- Esther Gilbert, founder and editor of Holocaust Memoir Digest

‘Haunted and blessed by the specter of Hannah Senesh since childhood, it’s only now, via Century’s wonderful new narrative, that I feel I understand her as an adult, as a woman, as a Jew, and as a human being. Her heroism and lyricism were a gift, and this fresh perspective is a joy.’

-- Elisa Albert, author of Human Blues

‘In breathless prose and cinematic detail, the book presents the men and women from all backgrounds joined in concert to save something of European Jewry. We hear the roar of airplane engines, feel the wind as they jump, and brace for impact as they land. We follow them through Eastern European woodlands and shadow them through city streets … This is a book of inspiration for our time, when heroism and self-sacrifice have lost their luster.’

* Kirkus Reviews *

‘Powerful … Cinematic … Douglas Century’s Crash of the Heavens excavates the brilliant young woman — frustrated, lonely, headstrong, determined — long encrusted in myth … Her story, told here with great intimacy and detail, is riveting … A stirring testament to both her undeniable gifts and tragic fate.’

* Forward *

‘Douglas Century’s Crash of the Heavens brings to life the headstrong, charismatic heroine who was both a fearless warrior and a precocious writer … Mr. Century, a veteran investigative journalist, has drawn on those writings, as well as many other firsthand accounts, to give his narrative a rich, novelistic sheen. Structurally, Mr. Century uses short chapters to create a tick-tock cadence of Senesh’s final months while also broadening his lens to capture the courageous exploits and casual barbarisms of a genocidal age. In cinematic detail, the author limns the visceral intensity of a world gone mad.’

* Wall Street Journal *

‘Douglas Century retells Hannah Senesh’s story with a vital urgency and relevance for today. The result: a page-turner of a book that reads almost like a novel … Much of the historiography of the Holocaust focuses on men, and when it tells women’s stories, they tend to be victims. We cannot only know about Anne Frank’s attic. We must also know of Hannah Senesh’s parachute.’

* Jewish Book Council *

Praise for The Last Boss of Brighton:

‘A brilliant, blood-soaked biography.’

* The Sunday Telegraph *

Praise for Barney Ross:

‘An excellent story of a man and his times.’

* The New York Times Book Revi