Ill Met by Moonlight

As wartime capers go, it can hardly get more daring and debonair than this one: the kidnapping of a Nazi general in occupied Crete by a team of local partisans and British commandos. One of the commandos, the late Patrick Leigh Fermor, retold the tale recently in Abducting a General, but the classic version was published in 1950 by his partner, "Billy" Moss, and it's a wonder, as impressive for its style, generosity, and observation—all composed as a diary by the 22-year-old Moss while in hiding during the mission itself—as for the dash and audacity of the feat itself.