Behind the Wall of Silence

Nearly 60 years after the end of World War II, the capacity of that conflict to stir up strong feelings shows little sign of ebbing. It was a clear-cut struggle against evil. A new take on the nature of that evil is explored in an absorbing, meticulously-researched account of how the 1943-55 quasi-fascist regime led by Argentine dictator Juan Perón spirited thousands of wanted war criminals from Europe. The author of The Real Odessa (Granta, 382 pages), Buenos Aires journalist and TIME contributor Uki Goñi, manages to arouse a new sense of shock about this episode.

The existence of an...