The Last Mission

Harry Mazer

Bantam Doubleday/Dell Books for young readers, 1981 - Juvenile Fiction - 188 pages

In 1944, as World War II is raging across Europe, fifteen-year-old Jack Raab dreams of being a hero. Leaving New York City, his family, and his boyhood behind, Jack uses a false I.D. and lies his way into the U.S. Air Force.

From their base in England, he and his crew fly twenty-four treacherous bombing missions over occupied Europe. The war is almost over and Hitler near defeat when they fly their last mission -- a mission destined for disaster. Shot down far behind enemy lines, Jack is taken prisoner and sent to a German POW camp, where his experiences are more terrifying than anything he'd ever imagined.

About the author

Harry Mazer was born on May 31, 1925 in New York City. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Air Force and received a Purple Heart and an Air Medal with four bronze oak leaf clusters. He received a B.A. from Union College in 1948 and a M.A. in education from Syracuse University in 1960. Before becoming a full-time writer, he was as a welder in a factory, a railroad brakeman and switchtender for New York Central, and an English teacher. He has written more than 20 books for young readers including Please, Somebody Tell Me Who I Am; My Brother Abe; The Last Mission; The Boy at War trilogy; The Wild Kid; The Dog in the Freezer; The Island Keeper; and Snow Bound. He along with his wife, Norma Fox Mazer, received an ALAN award in 2003 for outstanding contribution to adolescent literature. He died on April 7, 2016 at the age of 90.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Last Mission
• Author: Harry Mazer
• Edition: reprint
• Publisher: Bantam Doubleday/Dell Books for young readers, 1981
• ISBN: 0808516922, 9780808516927
• Length: 188 pages
• Subjects: Juvenile Fiction / Historical / Military & Wars; Juvenile Fiction / Religious / Jewish; Young Adult Fiction / Historical / Military & Wars