Pivot

By John Van Zwienen

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 051505495X
• ISBN13: 9780515054958
• Release Date: January 1980
• Publisher: Jove Books
• Length: 246 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A NY Skyscraper, a lovely September day, an unimaginable plan of destruction - 1944

In "Pivot" (which I first read in 1988!!), the Nazis plan a daring strike to bring the war to America's home soil. With a V-2 missile (the crude yet effective and destructive ancestor of the modern ICBM) towed across the Atlantic in a special barge by a souped-up U-Boat, the Germans aim to strike at the Empire State Building in the heart of Manhattan. If the Germans succeed, the Americans will have to redeploy their naval forces in defense of homeland shores against further attacks (they were probably stretched to the breaking point fighting U-Boats on the open seas) thus weakening the forces they can commit on other fronts. While real V-2's were notoriously inaccurate, the ones in this book use a special seeker head attuned to follow a radio beacon to be placed on the target by a German spy - ensuring a direct hit. No precaution is spared to ensure success and secrecy, even though the Americans don't even know to look for them. "Pivot" was an unforgettable book - even if I couldn't remember the author or title, I recalled enough details to confirm it was the same book when I reencountered it recently. More than just the basic attack plot, "Pivot" spices things up by following (and seldom escaping) the harrowing confines of the submarine. We get the crusty U-Boat vet dragooned into the mission by an old friend (now a powerful Nazi) who needs a favor; we get powerful Nazi's spoiled brat of a son who is the sub's XO; and then we get the spy, the young man tasked with planting the special radio that will lead the Nazi terror weapon into the heart of New York City. "Pivot" is a slim tale, yet satisfying - giving you the big picture while keeping your mind on the main characters. (The novel does have a POV problem, switching from chapter to chapter between third and first person narratives.) The technology and its implications is plausibly mapped out, so the tension is real. All in all, a solid WWII actioner that delivers the goods.