"THE BRENNER ASSIGNMENT: The Untold Story of the Most Daring Spy Mission of World War II," by Patrick K. O'Donnell, Da Capo Press, 286 pages, $25

If moviemakers ever run out of material for James Bond movies, they could always Anglicize the true stories of heroic American war saboteurs Stephen Hall and Albert Chappell.

Hall, a sophisticate who studied at Harvard and Yale but dropped out to travel the world, used his experiences mountain climbing in Europe and his imagination to mastermind a daring plan after the United State invaded Italy during World War II.

Hall sent an audacious, unsolicited proposal to the Office of Strategic Services, the precursor to the CIA: He would parachute behind German lines, round up the help of Italian resistance fighters and sabotage the only route that the retreating German army could take north out of Italy — the Brenner Pass.

In "The Brenner Assignment," Patrick K. O'Donnell tells for the first time the stories of the two men and their dangerous missions among double agents with the help of at least one lovely Bond girl.

OSS Director William "Wild Bill" Donovan bit at Hall's idea, and Hall took a small team into Italy and began to harass the Germans. Chappell, a big, John Wayne-like character, soon followed in an attempt to hook up with Hall.

The two men, their remarkably small support teams and some loyal — and disloyal — Italian resistance fighters drove the Germans to more than distraction, blowing up roads and ammunition dumps and other key targets. Soon, the angry German commander in the area unleashed a dragnet that terrorized the Italian countryside and swept up both men.

Chappell was a swashbuckler who captured 4,000 German troops, including the entire German 26th Panzer Division despite being outnumbered 20 to 1. He even captured the commander whose dragnet snared him only to lose Chappell to a daring escape.

O'Donnell's story is compelling because the author has done so much legwork, but at a short 242 pages it should go by faster. The author tried to add scenery and detail from his enormous research, but in the end the storytelling is dry and the added effort only bogs it down.

World War II book lovers should enjoy "The Brenner Assignment" for the larger-than-life risks and successes of a few daring American paratroopers. Casual readers will find themselves begging O'Donnell to get to the point faster.

O'Donnell's valuable history certainly proved one thing: More than 63 years after it ended, World War II still has incredible stories to tell.

---

E-mail: twalch@desnews.com