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Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II
The riveting, untold story of the scholars, librarians, and university professors who were recruited as spies during WWII and helped turn the tide of the war
At the start of WWII, the US found itself in desperate need of an intelligence agency. The Office of Strategic Services (OSS), a precursor to today’s CIA, was quickly formed—and, in an effort to fill its ranks with experts, the OSS turned to academia for recruits. Suddenly, literature professors, librarians, and historians were training to perform undercover operations and investigative work—and these surprising spies would go on to profoundly shape both the course of the war and our cultural institutions with their efforts.
In Book and Dagger, Elyse Graham draws on personal histories, diaries, and declassified OSS files to tell the story of a small but connected group of humanities scholars turned unlikely spies. Among them are Joseph Curtiss, a literature professor who hunted down German spies and turned them into double agents; Sherman Kent, a smart-mouthed history professor who rose to become the head of analysis for all of Europe and Africa; and Adele Kibre, an archivist who was sent to Stockholm to secretly acquire documents for the OSS. These unforgettable characters would ultimately help lay the foundations of modern intelligence and transform American higher education when they returned after the war.
Thrillingly paced and rigorously researched, Book and Dagger is an inspiring and gripping true story about a group of academics who helped beat the Nazis—a tale that reveals the indelible power of humanities to change the world.
At the start of WWII, the US found itself in desperate need of an intelligence agency. The Office of Strategic Services (OSS), a precursor to today’s CIA, was quickly formed—and, in an effort to fill its ranks with experts, the OSS turned to academia for recruits. Suddenly, literature professors, librarians, and historians were training to perform undercover operations and investigative work—and these surprising spies would go on to profoundly shape both the course of the war and our cultural institutions with their efforts.
In Book and Dagger, Elyse Graham draws on personal histories, diaries, and declassified OSS files to tell the story of a small but connected group of humanities scholars turned unlikely spies. Among them are Joseph Curtiss, a literature professor who hunted down German spies and turned them into double agents; Sherman Kent, a smart-mouthed history professor who rose to become the head of analysis for all of Europe and Africa; and Adele Kibre, an archivist who was sent to Stockholm to secretly acquire documents for the OSS. These unforgettable characters would ultimately help lay the foundations of modern intelligence and transform American higher education when they returned after the war.
Thrillingly paced and rigorously researched, Book and Dagger is an inspiring and gripping true story about a group of academics who helped beat the Nazis—a tale that reveals the indelible power of humanities to change the world.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published September 24, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
October 25, 2024
"The war may have been fought on battlefields, but it was won in libraries."
It's hard to imagine, but during World War II, the U.S. did not yet have an intelligence department. The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was formed (and later became the CIA), and the most unlikely of people were recruited to be trained as spies: librarians, historians, and literature professors.
Book and Dagger is undeniably well researched. It gives an in-depth account of the training required to work as OSS spies, and it provides detailed histories of individual spies and the varied work they performed in the field.
The book mostly centers on male spies, as records of female spies were scant or poorly written. "In memoirs that men wrote about the war years," writes Graham, "the names of women are, likewise, often absent—they're 'a shapely analyst,' say, or 'a woman from Harvard.'" Even so, Graham manages to includes information on some cunning, highly intelligent female spies, including Adele Kibre.
I picked up Book and Dagger hoping it would overflow with fascinating spy tactics and little-known historical facts about the invention of modern spycraft, and it did not disappoint.
It's hard to imagine, but during World War II, the U.S. did not yet have an intelligence department. The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was formed (and later became the CIA), and the most unlikely of people were recruited to be trained as spies: librarians, historians, and literature professors.
Book and Dagger is undeniably well researched. It gives an in-depth account of the training required to work as OSS spies, and it provides detailed histories of individual spies and the varied work they performed in the field.
The book mostly centers on male spies, as records of female spies were scant or poorly written. "In memoirs that men wrote about the war years," writes Graham, "the names of women are, likewise, often absent—they're 'a shapely analyst,' say, or 'a woman from Harvard.'" Even so, Graham manages to includes information on some cunning, highly intelligent female spies, including Adele Kibre.
I picked up Book and Dagger hoping it would overflow with fascinating spy tactics and little-known historical facts about the invention of modern spycraft, and it did not disappoint.
September 29, 2024
This goodreads giveaway was very exciting to read and full of intrigue. Many Scholars and Librarians were recruited from American universities To work as undercover spies for the war effort by the OSS during WWII. This book reveals the more cryptic ways that were included in winning this war. From scholars to actors, historians to art connoisseurs and artists, mathematicians to physicists; these men and women had a lot to do with victory against Hitler without shedding any blood. I learned much about the contributions from civilians engaged in their stance against Hitler's tyranny, using the things they love to do, to outwit the Nazi regime and protect the military during their landing in Normandy.
Want to read
October 23, 2024NY Times review: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/24/bo...
Excerpt: The author "has set out to rescue some of the worker bees of intelligence from obscurity by exploring their contribution to victory in World War II. .... “This was also the historian’s war, the book collector’s war, the artist’s war,” she writes. “It was the professor’s war.”
Excerpt: The author "has set out to rescue some of the worker bees of intelligence from obscurity by exploring their contribution to victory in World War II. .... “This was also the historian’s war, the book collector’s war, the artist’s war,” she writes. “It was the professor’s war.”
November 6, 2024
I did not realize that we recruited librarians during World War 2 to be spies. Very interesting read!
October 16, 2024
Triumph of the nerds. Absolutely fascinating account of how intelligence gathering and analysis was revolutionized by academia during World War II by the UK and USA. Lots of characters and sea stories covering a lot of ground. Focused on European Theater. D- Day. Norway. The Ritchie Boys, Deception operations- absolutely masterful. Sweden. Art Unit and the Monuments Men. The CIA invested and sustained the Iowa Writers Workshop. Unknown to me the Monuments Men and Art Unit strenuously protested the removal of German art to America at the end of war and the government backed down.
September 5, 2024
Not all spies wear tuxedos and drink martinis. This interesting and well written history explores the creation of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS, a precursor to the CIA) during the start of WWII. These intelligent officers came from the ranks of university professors, librarians and researchers who were skilled at finding information, largely in books. This scholarly group was also trained in more traditional spy skills: disguises, false identities/lying, and use of weapons for self preservation or assassination. Yes, nerds can rule in spy craft, too.
July 31, 2024
A fascinating account of the secret OSS agents who have gone largely unnoticed behind the book stacks, cubicles and university offices. So many men and women assisted their country for the war effort putting themselves at great risk without any formal training. It would be an unheard of event today and it just goes to prove that sometimes the pen is mightier than the sword. Very readable story that will appeal to history buffs, spy novel readers and readers who are enjoying all the stories of brave women who served behind the lines and behind the scenes during WWII. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.
October 25, 2024
This is a topic I have long been interested in, since a number of my undergraduate professors at Cincinnati were in the OSS or worked on breaking German and Japanese codes in Naval Intelligence. And one of the younger faculty liked to boast that he learned how to run doctoral oral exams doing counter-intelligence interrogations in the Korean War. Classicists and archaeologists get almost no attention from Graham; for that see Susan Heuck Allen, Classical Spies. Allen was a doctoral student of the late Jack Caskey at Cincinnati. Caskey ran spy boats from the Turkish coast to occupied Greece.
The book is an entertaining account of academics in the OSS. It is very Ivy focused; Graham concentrates heavily on Yale and Harvard professors, as does Robin Winks in Cloak and Gown, a work she uses extensively. Mostly history and literature professors: Joseph Toy Curtis (Yale) and Sherman Kent (Yale, called "the father of modern intelligence analysis") each get extensive attention. Graham is very interested in the use and analysis of information. Each chapter looks at some aspect of spying and the OSS, often focusing on one or two individuals: recruiting academics, training spies, information analysis for strategic intelligence, various operations. One of her final chapters covers the art and monuments units.
Graham's writing varies between academic lite and colloquial (occasionally gratingly so; perhaps a generational difference). She explains most technical matters. The book is well documented and draws heavily on archival sources. It works well as a serious popular history.
The book is an entertaining account of academics in the OSS. It is very Ivy focused; Graham concentrates heavily on Yale and Harvard professors, as does Robin Winks in Cloak and Gown, a work she uses extensively. Mostly history and literature professors: Joseph Toy Curtis (Yale) and Sherman Kent (Yale, called "the father of modern intelligence analysis") each get extensive attention. Graham is very interested in the use and analysis of information. Each chapter looks at some aspect of spying and the OSS, often focusing on one or two individuals: recruiting academics, training spies, information analysis for strategic intelligence, various operations. One of her final chapters covers the art and monuments units.
Graham's writing varies between academic lite and colloquial (occasionally gratingly so; perhaps a generational difference). She explains most technical matters. The book is well documented and draws heavily on archival sources. It works well as a serious popular history.
September 29, 2024
A good historical reading about WWII. I enjoyed reading and recommend.
October 24, 2024
I can't remember if I've ever given a book five stars on here, and I'm waiting this one before I even have a chance to finish it. But the library wants it back so I'll be acquiring a copy for myself so I can read the rest.
It is a very fun popular history about some of the most unlikely people who became some of the major players in the Espionage sector during World War II. Some of the incidents I knew a little bit about from other sources, but others were completely new to me. Anyone who works in any kind of archival or academic sector will probably love this book, as well anyone who likes to hear more about war than just battles and dates
It is a very fun popular history about some of the most unlikely people who became some of the major players in the Espionage sector during World War II. Some of the incidents I knew a little bit about from other sources, but others were completely new to me. Anyone who works in any kind of archival or academic sector will probably love this book, as well anyone who likes to hear more about war than just battles and dates
October 28, 2024
The subject material is so fascinating and the way it is written is so compelling!
October 29, 2024
To quote the book "history: boils and all". A very indepth view of how academics and librarians helped start and curate the spy ring that helped the Allies outfox the Axis in WW2
October 31, 2024
Interesting nonfiction outlining the innovative creation of OSS ( forerunner of CIA) and the unlikely participants that demolish the Hollywood version of a spy. The librarians, scholars, artists and tradespeople who were unsung heroes in the intelligence race during WWII. It deserves more than the 3 rating but it can be a difficult read with so much information so I rated it a bit lower than I would like.
October 1, 2024
It was just ok. Plenty of interesting parts to the book, however the parts where the author imagines what was said or what happened in a particular scenario bothered me. The author was upfront that these parts were just conjecture, but I didn’t care for those portions.
October 9, 2024
At the end of World War One, the United States dismantled its intelligence system because the "War To End All Wars" had made it redundant! When Hitler came to power in Germany, other European nations had small and woefully antiquated ("Gentleman don't read each other's mail") services that were no match for the Nazi juggernaut. In the summer of 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt tasked General William Donovan with solving the problem. Donovan's solution involved recruiting scholars, librarians, academics, and other "library rats" to use their specific skills to acquire and organize the necessary information. These Research and Analysis (R&A) agents were known as the Chairborne Division, but their efforts led to astonishing action in the field.
This book needed to be written because few people have any awareness of the stories it tells and the current educational climate has allowed technology to eclipse the humanities. Most people think of secret agents as they are portrayed in movies (Sean Connery as James Bond rather than Alec Guinness as George Smiley) and popular novels. The fictional spy is handsome or beautiful, flamboyant, sybaritic, and he or she relies on high-tech gadgets and personal charisma to achieve their ends. In real life, they would be discovered and probably dead before they accomplished anything. (Real spies are told they can have a weapon or a cover story, but not both.)
Donovan's recruits were ordinary-looking people who spent their time in classrooms, bookstores, libraries, and offices. They had endless patience for details and consumed astonishing quantities of seemingly dull information that they knew how to present in its most useful forms. They pretended to be book buyers and copy editors, both apolitical and, apparently, stupid. Living under constant threat of arrest, torture, and death in cities like Stockholm, Istanbul, and others, they sought to stay under the radar of both German soldiers and the local police who were often more dangerous.
The first half of Book and Dagger, is, unfortunately, a bit slow, as the author goes into sometimes stultifying detail about the efforts of agents to photograph and microfilm things like telephone books and discarded newspapers. What kept me reading were the fascinating stories about things like the Himmler Stamp (a brilliant fictional creation used to undermine German morale) and the courier in occupied France who escaped arrest while transporting her radio in the basket of her bicycle by telling a police officer who questioned her that she was transporting her radio and was going to report him to her contact in London. He thought she was just teasing him and let her off with a warning!
The second half was more fun to read as it included lengthy (and fascinating!) sections about chamoflage artists, radio operators, saboteurs, and a network of art experts known as the Monument Men.
Book and Dagger celebrates the power of small groups and dedicated individuals to overcome a seemingly unbeatable enemy that was limited by its own greed, bigotry, and lack of imagination. I was surprised to learn that bombing a city to destroy morale actually had the opposite effect. Another surprise was that the United States was saved from falling victim to the same selfishness and greed shown by the Nazis only because some of those "library rats" took a stand against their bosses.
Elyse Graham certainly did her homework with research and she writes well. I would suggest that potential readers skim the first half of this book and enjoy the rest.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Ecco for granting me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This book needed to be written because few people have any awareness of the stories it tells and the current educational climate has allowed technology to eclipse the humanities. Most people think of secret agents as they are portrayed in movies (Sean Connery as James Bond rather than Alec Guinness as George Smiley) and popular novels. The fictional spy is handsome or beautiful, flamboyant, sybaritic, and he or she relies on high-tech gadgets and personal charisma to achieve their ends. In real life, they would be discovered and probably dead before they accomplished anything. (Real spies are told they can have a weapon or a cover story, but not both.)
Donovan's recruits were ordinary-looking people who spent their time in classrooms, bookstores, libraries, and offices. They had endless patience for details and consumed astonishing quantities of seemingly dull information that they knew how to present in its most useful forms. They pretended to be book buyers and copy editors, both apolitical and, apparently, stupid. Living under constant threat of arrest, torture, and death in cities like Stockholm, Istanbul, and others, they sought to stay under the radar of both German soldiers and the local police who were often more dangerous.
The first half of Book and Dagger, is, unfortunately, a bit slow, as the author goes into sometimes stultifying detail about the efforts of agents to photograph and microfilm things like telephone books and discarded newspapers. What kept me reading were the fascinating stories about things like the Himmler Stamp (a brilliant fictional creation used to undermine German morale) and the courier in occupied France who escaped arrest while transporting her radio in the basket of her bicycle by telling a police officer who questioned her that she was transporting her radio and was going to report him to her contact in London. He thought she was just teasing him and let her off with a warning!
The second half was more fun to read as it included lengthy (and fascinating!) sections about chamoflage artists, radio operators, saboteurs, and a network of art experts known as the Monument Men.
Book and Dagger celebrates the power of small groups and dedicated individuals to overcome a seemingly unbeatable enemy that was limited by its own greed, bigotry, and lack of imagination. I was surprised to learn that bombing a city to destroy morale actually had the opposite effect. Another surprise was that the United States was saved from falling victim to the same selfishness and greed shown by the Nazis only because some of those "library rats" took a stand against their bosses.
Elyse Graham certainly did her homework with research and she writes well. I would suggest that potential readers skim the first half of this book and enjoy the rest.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Ecco for granting me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
October 31, 2024
Fascinating, well-researched, and often, entertaining, this compact overview of WWII librarian and scholar spies was an extremely satisfying and educational read. This hit a sweet spot for me because of my love of reading about spies and librarians. Graham does a stellar job walking the reader through chapters that lay out the history of the OSS and the scholars and librarians who became a different kind of spy for the US during WWII, re-inventing espionage out of necessity. I came away with a better understanding of how misinformation and illusion work. The author’s intent to write a history of the forgotten library rats while also underscoring how with fascism on the rise, censorship rearing its ugly head again, and violent bigotry once again fashionable—it does not hurt to revisit what happened in WWII and how some stood on principle and made huge sacrifices to change the course of history. The use of scholars was innovative and the expertise of trained geographers, historians, and librarians, etc., were strong suits when digging for the stories of how railroads were run and where ball bearing factories were located that aided the military in effectively carrying out their plans. Many of the chapters revolve around specific examples of spies and they become like CHs in a, sometimes, wry spy novel. Graham does admit and makes very clearly when she uses them that some of the conversational exchanges are imagined based on her research of these people. This adds a humorous and realistic quality to the drier explanations which are few because she makes the people in the book vibrate with humanity, the places come alive with her rich descriptions, and illuminates the spy craft that propels the books page-turning Pace. She includes a Introduction stating her intent for the book, and fills the pages with fully-cited footnotes (listed at the back under Notes), and starred notes. She also includes an Index. Really well-done and I would suggest anyone who enjoys nonfiction on spies, the role of librarians and scholars in the espionage world, and the appreciation for a good story pick this up. RED FLAGS: WWII violence is well integrated but sometimes jarring and graphic. Readalikes may be Sandra Purnell’s A Woman of No Importance, Jennet Conant’s The Irregulars, and Ben MacIntyre’s Agent Zigzag, or for readers who like novels like Madeline Martin’s The Librarian Spy.
October 2, 2024
Book and Dagger tells the story of the formation of the US’s spy service, which at the time was called the OSS, the Office of Strategic Services. Its job was to gather information and then “to turn information into intelligence - to take the mass of incoming material and get the truth out of it.” To do that, a cadre of university professors, librarians and art experts were brought in.
I was amazed to learn that after WWI, the US had basically disbanded its intelligence services, because “gentlemen didn’t read each other’s mail”. Ditto for the British. So, the OSS was basically starting from scratch.
I did struggle with the initial chapters of the book when Graham resorted to an informal style, writing as if the reader was being trained. “Your clothes and your accessories should always be a little old.” Graham attempts to fill in the numerous blanks with a lot of “might haves” or “one imagines”.
The book focuses on three individuals - Joseph Curtiss operating in Istanbul, Sherman Kent, operating out of the DC offices and Adele Kibre, operating out of Stockholm. It took a while before Graham began giving actual examples of what the spies were doing to provide aid to the Army. Once she does, the book definitely improves. I found the book to be uneven and was really only interested in the actual examples of how the spies aided the war effort.
I enjoyed learning more about the war in Africa and Norway and how the neutral countries played into the war. And I really enjoyed the chapter on the ghost war that was fought alongside the real one. Thanks to some fiction, I was aware of parts of it, such as Operation Mincemeat and the decoy units in Scotland, but this book gave a real overview of the extent of the ghost war. The chapter on the Art Looting Investigation Unit felt out of place, as it didn’t so much play into how the OSS helped with the actual war effort.
Graham’s book is a reminder of the importance of the US melting pot. The “university-in-exile” that was the R & A section of the SOE was made up of European, often Jewish, exiles, young women mathematicians, Blacks and people with disabilities. It was everyone the Nazis rejected.
My thanks to Netgalley and Ecco for an advance copy of this book.
I was amazed to learn that after WWI, the US had basically disbanded its intelligence services, because “gentlemen didn’t read each other’s mail”. Ditto for the British. So, the OSS was basically starting from scratch.
I did struggle with the initial chapters of the book when Graham resorted to an informal style, writing as if the reader was being trained. “Your clothes and your accessories should always be a little old.” Graham attempts to fill in the numerous blanks with a lot of “might haves” or “one imagines”.
The book focuses on three individuals - Joseph Curtiss operating in Istanbul, Sherman Kent, operating out of the DC offices and Adele Kibre, operating out of Stockholm. It took a while before Graham began giving actual examples of what the spies were doing to provide aid to the Army. Once she does, the book definitely improves. I found the book to be uneven and was really only interested in the actual examples of how the spies aided the war effort.
I enjoyed learning more about the war in Africa and Norway and how the neutral countries played into the war. And I really enjoyed the chapter on the ghost war that was fought alongside the real one. Thanks to some fiction, I was aware of parts of it, such as Operation Mincemeat and the decoy units in Scotland, but this book gave a real overview of the extent of the ghost war. The chapter on the Art Looting Investigation Unit felt out of place, as it didn’t so much play into how the OSS helped with the actual war effort.
Graham’s book is a reminder of the importance of the US melting pot. The “university-in-exile” that was the R & A section of the SOE was made up of European, often Jewish, exiles, young women mathematicians, Blacks and people with disabilities. It was everyone the Nazis rejected.
My thanks to Netgalley and Ecco for an advance copy of this book.
November 1, 2024
Book and Dagger is not the only recent publication to detail the work of librarians and academics in the espionage campaigns of World War II. In 2019 there was Scholars of Mayhem by Daniel C Guiet and Timothy Smith followed by 2020's Information Wars by Kathy Peiss. All three books are works of research and scholarship, but Book and Dagger presents the materials in a lively and engaging way.
Graham presents the narrative chronologically, describing the recruitment, training and changing and highly challenging situations those featured experienced. The person at the center of the book is Adele Kibre, an American archivist and medievalists. She had lived in Europe for most of the 1930s working as a researcher for hire who would photograph European Library materials for American academics. This background was key to her success as an agent in Sweden during the war where she was tasked with capturing copies of public documents. From these analysists were able to derive a clearer pictures of German capabilities or create strategies to thwart their war strategies and economic production.
Graham also profiles the careers both official and secretive of the controversial anthropologist Carletoon Coon, Yale professor Sherman Kent and a few others. It is not comprehensive, as there were hundreds of agents, but highlight detailed for those described. Chapters alternate between the different agents while also looking at specific missions or surveying general strategies and workflows.
Graham also notes the differences between the endings of wars. After world war I/the great war, many of the belligerent powers wound down their espionage operations meaning they had to restart or reinvent organizations. This was not the case after world war II, especially in the United States, where the work of those featured was instrumental in the creation of the CIA. Graham argues that humanities studies were key to the success of several agents and should be a necessary component of any education.
Recommended to readers of history, espionage and World War II.
I received a free digital version of this book via NetGalley thanks to the publisher.
Graham presents the narrative chronologically, describing the recruitment, training and changing and highly challenging situations those featured experienced. The person at the center of the book is Adele Kibre, an American archivist and medievalists. She had lived in Europe for most of the 1930s working as a researcher for hire who would photograph European Library materials for American academics. This background was key to her success as an agent in Sweden during the war where she was tasked with capturing copies of public documents. From these analysists were able to derive a clearer pictures of German capabilities or create strategies to thwart their war strategies and economic production.
Graham also profiles the careers both official and secretive of the controversial anthropologist Carletoon Coon, Yale professor Sherman Kent and a few others. It is not comprehensive, as there were hundreds of agents, but highlight detailed for those described. Chapters alternate between the different agents while also looking at specific missions or surveying general strategies and workflows.
Graham also notes the differences between the endings of wars. After world war I/the great war, many of the belligerent powers wound down their espionage operations meaning they had to restart or reinvent organizations. This was not the case after world war II, especially in the United States, where the work of those featured was instrumental in the creation of the CIA. Graham argues that humanities studies were key to the success of several agents and should be a necessary component of any education.
Recommended to readers of history, espionage and World War II.
I received a free digital version of this book via NetGalley thanks to the publisher.
October 31, 2024
Definitely interesting stories about how scholars and librarians engaged in espionage during WWII. I recognized a few of the people highlighted such as Joseph Curtiss, but many were unfamiliar names who played key roles. A few takeaways that stood out for me include the idea, mentioned several times, that you could either have a weapon or a cover (name & story) but not both because having both made it likely you would be outed as a spy.
Another key theme was the power and effectiveness of sabotage vs violence (such as damaging machines in factories that made key parts rather than bombing the factories and causing structural damage to the buildings and potential civilian casualties without necessarily rendering the machines unusable). There was also a discussion about the power of diversity in the scholars recruited for intelligence work because they didn't look the part of a spy and therefore were less likely to arouse suspicion: "An unusual circumstance that helped us was the melting-pot nature of the American population. No other nation has in its population so many diverse national strains as are found in ours...the vast pool of linguistic skills and special racial and regional knowledge became one of our primary assets."
Finally, the most bizarre story IMO was Operation Mincemeat, the ploy devised to convince Germany that the Allies were going to attack Greece & Sardinia instead of their intended target of Sicily. Intelligence figures invented a fictional man, planted details in alignment with this fictional identity on a corpse that they then dropped where it would wash up on Spanish shores correctly assuming that the Spanish would share their findings with the Germans. This ruse actually worked and led to the Germans shifting resources to Greece & Sardinia leaving Sicily less defended. Devious but effective!
Another key theme was the power and effectiveness of sabotage vs violence (such as damaging machines in factories that made key parts rather than bombing the factories and causing structural damage to the buildings and potential civilian casualties without necessarily rendering the machines unusable). There was also a discussion about the power of diversity in the scholars recruited for intelligence work because they didn't look the part of a spy and therefore were less likely to arouse suspicion: "An unusual circumstance that helped us was the melting-pot nature of the American population. No other nation has in its population so many diverse national strains as are found in ours...the vast pool of linguistic skills and special racial and regional knowledge became one of our primary assets."
Finally, the most bizarre story IMO was Operation Mincemeat, the ploy devised to convince Germany that the Allies were going to attack Greece & Sardinia instead of their intended target of Sicily. Intelligence figures invented a fictional man, planted details in alignment with this fictional identity on a corpse that they then dropped where it would wash up on Spanish shores correctly assuming that the Spanish would share their findings with the Germans. This ruse actually worked and led to the Germans shifting resources to Greece & Sardinia leaving Sicily less defended. Devious but effective!
October 6, 2024
Thank you Libro.fm / HarperAudio, for the ALC and Lavender Public Relations & Ecco Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Book and Dagger in exchange for my honest review.
Some of the best historical fiction books I’ve read were because they involved spies, especially female spies – such as The Alice Network, The Secret Life of Violet Grant, The Nightingale, Three Hours in Paris, A Woman of Intelligence, and The Secrets We Kept. So, it was a no-brainer when I was asked if I wanted a copy of this book…of course I did! I am always on the hunt for good nonfiction I can not only enjoy but also learn from and this totally delivered on both parts!
This book is as much informative as it is fascinating. I loved the personal histories the author was able to use to make this book more accessible and easier to read. In many ways, this book reads more like a novel, which I loved. From the little details, like clothing & how to keep your room while on assignment, to a much larger scope, this book gives us those details about why librarians, scholars and ordinary woman made the best spies!
Audio thoughts: I paired the print book with the audio once I found out Saskia Maarleveld was narrating! She did an amazing job, as I would have guessed, and I found myself completely captivated by her voice the entire time. She made listening to this such a treat!
You can see all my reviews at: https://www.alwayswithabook.com/
Some of the best historical fiction books I’ve read were because they involved spies, especially female spies – such as The Alice Network, The Secret Life of Violet Grant, The Nightingale, Three Hours in Paris, A Woman of Intelligence, and The Secrets We Kept. So, it was a no-brainer when I was asked if I wanted a copy of this book…of course I did! I am always on the hunt for good nonfiction I can not only enjoy but also learn from and this totally delivered on both parts!
This book is as much informative as it is fascinating. I loved the personal histories the author was able to use to make this book more accessible and easier to read. In many ways, this book reads more like a novel, which I loved. From the little details, like clothing & how to keep your room while on assignment, to a much larger scope, this book gives us those details about why librarians, scholars and ordinary woman made the best spies!
Audio thoughts: I paired the print book with the audio once I found out Saskia Maarleveld was narrating! She did an amazing job, as I would have guessed, and I found myself completely captivated by her voice the entire time. She made listening to this such a treat!
You can see all my reviews at: https://www.alwayswithabook.com/
October 8, 2024
As a librarian who loves historical research, I was so excited to read this book. It's very well-researched (the last quarter of the ebook is all references), and the author's enthusiasm for research is evident throughout the book. I particularly appreciated the author's efforts to always indicate when a scenario or someone's feelings were imagined rather than known -- it's a pet peeve of mine when authors who write historical accounts give the impression that a conversation or an emotion is fact rather than conjured up from the author's imagination. This author drew a very clear line between what is known and what can only be imagined, and she always noted this in the book.
I enjoyed the informal writing style and thought most of the book was engaging. I did feel that the book could be better organized. The author jumped around to different topics and people, and it was sometimes confusing. Given how much information is in the book, I would have liked to see more organization (and some things probably could have been left out, like the chapter about art recovery after the war). I also was expecting more about the actual academics and librarians who were spies during the war, what their jobs were like, the work they did, and how that work helped the war effort. While there was definitely some of that, the book also went off on many unnecessary tangents.
My thanks to NetGalley and Ecco for the eARC.
I enjoyed the informal writing style and thought most of the book was engaging. I did feel that the book could be better organized. The author jumped around to different topics and people, and it was sometimes confusing. Given how much information is in the book, I would have liked to see more organization (and some things probably could have been left out, like the chapter about art recovery after the war). I also was expecting more about the actual academics and librarians who were spies during the war, what their jobs were like, the work they did, and how that work helped the war effort. While there was definitely some of that, the book also went off on many unnecessary tangents.
My thanks to NetGalley and Ecco for the eARC.
October 19, 2024
Have any good books you want to read lined up? If not, take a trip into the world of espionage during WW2. America was behind in the spy game, but our lack of established spycraft ( even though there were spies throughout our history) didn’t daunt Wild Bill Donovan in recruiting folks from every walk of life to help during the war. I’ve read a lot of books about different spies in this era, but this book focuses on librarians and professors and how they were able to amass information that helped America in the fight. Read how: a winter coat and boots fooled the enemy, a research librarian was able to use a microfilm camera to send data back to the US, and how a corpse fooled the Nazi’s into thinking allied forces were invading one place, when in fact they were invading another. ( We also have Operation Mincemeat here which is devoted to this stroke of genius by the Brits)
Two things of which I disagree with this author: 1. That “the war was won in libraries”., No it was everyone who fought, spied, and resisted the Nazis. 2. She has sprinkled throughout imaginary conversations between people. This is history, imaginary interjections shouldn’t be made; especially by one who is using 2024 terminology to have a conversation between two famous people in the early 1940’s.
Other than those two small sticking points I found this read fascinating. Many individual biographies I have read corroborate what she says.
Two things of which I disagree with this author: 1. That “the war was won in libraries”., No it was everyone who fought, spied, and resisted the Nazis. 2. She has sprinkled throughout imaginary conversations between people. This is history, imaginary interjections shouldn’t be made; especially by one who is using 2024 terminology to have a conversation between two famous people in the early 1940’s.
Other than those two small sticking points I found this read fascinating. Many individual biographies I have read corroborate what she says.
October 15, 2024
What a fascinating book! In Book and Dagger, Elyse Graham pulls back the curtain on the Intelligence War and reveals that the undercover heroes of WW2 weren't dashing James Bond types.. Rather, they were unassuming men and women of academia. These professors and librarians not only played a vital part in winning the war,, but they helped create modern intelligence gathering
From Instanbul to Norway to Paris, Graham's book is chock full of anecdotes about ordinary citizens doing extraordinary work. The book also serves as a how-to of sorts, as Graham demonstrates how many of the espionage tools work. You'll learn how to create an effective whisper campaign, how to misdirect the enemy, the various ways to make invisible ink and more.
Finally, the book is a love-letter to the power of reading and books. In this age of STEM and business education, Grahm provides a strong argument on the importance of studying humanities.
If you are interested in WW2 or espionage, you will enjoy this book. If you're a writer, you'll find yourself discovering dozens of plot bunnies. (I know I did.!)
Thank you Netgalley for an advanced read in exchange for this honest review.
From Instanbul to Norway to Paris, Graham's book is chock full of anecdotes about ordinary citizens doing extraordinary work. The book also serves as a how-to of sorts, as Graham demonstrates how many of the espionage tools work. You'll learn how to create an effective whisper campaign, how to misdirect the enemy, the various ways to make invisible ink and more.
Finally, the book is a love-letter to the power of reading and books. In this age of STEM and business education, Grahm provides a strong argument on the importance of studying humanities.
If you are interested in WW2 or espionage, you will enjoy this book. If you're a writer, you'll find yourself discovering dozens of plot bunnies. (I know I did.!)
Thank you Netgalley for an advanced read in exchange for this honest review.
October 19, 2024
"Book and Dagger" deals with the formation of the OSS (precursor to today's CIA), largely calling on academics in a variety of disciplines: mathematics, economics, history, languages, literature, and others. These academics, mostly pulled directly from university campuses, created a means of synthesizing true intelligence from mundane, published sources, yielding important improvements in how the Allies fought World War II. (One story is telling: one scientist, presented with volumes of data on bullet holes in aircraft fuselages, was asked which parts of the aircraft should they reinforce with more armor. His answer was to forget about the fuselage, since all those planes made it back. Reinforce the engine, because that's the place a bullet can bring the plane down.) Though the topic of the book is very interesting, the writing is a bit dull at times, but still engaging enough to finish.
September 29, 2024
5+ stars
This was a FASCINATING book! Very well researched account of how librarians, archivists and professors played an active role in WWII. The types of documents they sought out, whether through toiling through library stacks and archives, or collecting on the ground overseas, was very diverse. It was as interesting to hear of what they collected, as it was to learn how their findings were put to use (which, thankfully, this book includes). Related subjects covered was the work of art historians (which I was largely aware of, from other books) and the efforts of set designers and artists to build illusions (such as fake army bases or flotillas good enough to fool fliers above), and to create ‘dummy’ paratrooper dolls to drop behind enemy lines to confuse whoever saw them. A great listen!
This was a FASCINATING book! Very well researched account of how librarians, archivists and professors played an active role in WWII. The types of documents they sought out, whether through toiling through library stacks and archives, or collecting on the ground overseas, was very diverse. It was as interesting to hear of what they collected, as it was to learn how their findings were put to use (which, thankfully, this book includes). Related subjects covered was the work of art historians (which I was largely aware of, from other books) and the efforts of set designers and artists to build illusions (such as fake army bases or flotillas good enough to fool fliers above), and to create ‘dummy’ paratrooper dolls to drop behind enemy lines to confuse whoever saw them. A great listen!
October 8, 2024
*Thank you to Libro.fm and HarperAudio for the free ALC in exchange for an honest review*
This was absolutely fascinating! What a cool look into the development, art, and practice of spycraft in WWII - especially from sources initially seemingly so unlikely as scholars, librarians, booksellers, and artists. This was really well researched, and I think anyone who's into intrigue, fictional or non, will get a lot from this. While obviously well-known figures of the time and theater are mentioned, this really centers on the "small numbers" as the author says. People who were largely unknown, and used their nerdy skills to outwit the brawn of war.
p.s. there's a really cool bit about the MFA Programs & The Iowa Writer's Workshop at the end. Did anyone else realize these were crucial parts of the wartime (and post-war) propaganda machine? Fascinating.
This was absolutely fascinating! What a cool look into the development, art, and practice of spycraft in WWII - especially from sources initially seemingly so unlikely as scholars, librarians, booksellers, and artists. This was really well researched, and I think anyone who's into intrigue, fictional or non, will get a lot from this. While obviously well-known figures of the time and theater are mentioned, this really centers on the "small numbers" as the author says. People who were largely unknown, and used their nerdy skills to outwit the brawn of war.
p.s. there's a really cool bit about the MFA Programs & The Iowa Writer's Workshop at the end. Did anyone else realize these were crucial parts of the wartime (and post-war) propaganda machine? Fascinating.
October 23, 2024
Look at me, actually winning a Goodreads giveaway! And a history book, nonetheless, one about WWII, bookish spies, and art, to top it off.
This was very informative and highly enjoyable. I had to admit I had very little idea how the American security agencies came to be. I also didn’t know that, after WWI, the Americans did very little intelligence work. So, when the second global conflict was brewing, they realized they were at a disadvantage, and decided to assemble various people able to process and extract data from the most diverse sources - university professors, rare book dealers, art connoisseurs, in order to learn how their enemy worked and what it tried to hide.
This book covers several different areas the agents recruited were involved in - from secret trading in Istanbul to the creation of the atomic bomb, and the recovery of art stolen by the nazis. Due to the variety of directions it tries to touch on, it could feel a bit disjointed, but I approached it as a good starting point to learn about the variety of tasks set by the American forces, and what further research one might need to do to explore this subject better.
This was very informative and highly enjoyable. I had to admit I had very little idea how the American security agencies came to be. I also didn’t know that, after WWI, the Americans did very little intelligence work. So, when the second global conflict was brewing, they realized they were at a disadvantage, and decided to assemble various people able to process and extract data from the most diverse sources - university professors, rare book dealers, art connoisseurs, in order to learn how their enemy worked and what it tried to hide.
This book covers several different areas the agents recruited were involved in - from secret trading in Istanbul to the creation of the atomic bomb, and the recovery of art stolen by the nazis. Due to the variety of directions it tries to touch on, it could feel a bit disjointed, but I approached it as a good starting point to learn about the variety of tasks set by the American forces, and what further research one might need to do to explore this subject better.
November 2, 2024
First let me say, I liked this book. The subject matter was interesting and well covered. The writing held my attention and moved at a good pace. The caveat goes under "don't judge a book by its cover". My over all goal is to read about the lives of women. Between the cover picture and descriptions of the book, I thought there would me more women's stories. This is not to say I didn't expect men to be included but I did expect more that one woman to be discussed in detail. I don't' think this was from lack of trying on the author's part. Where ever possible women were included both directly on topic and more peripherally. This is a problem with the historical record and the secretive nature of the work dicussed.
September 18, 2024
The U.S. found itself in need of an intelligence agency during WWII. The Office of Strategic Services (OSS), a precursor to today’s CIA was formed. The OSS turned to academia, just like the monuments men!
Elyse Graham writes a very well researched history of the academics of the OSS. Elyse used personal histories, letters, and declassified OSS files to write “Book and Dagger” It reads like a novel! I can’t get enought about the men and women of OSS and counterpart of SOE.
Thank you NetGalley and Ecco for an advanced copy. #BookandDagger #NetGalley.
Elyse Graham writes a very well researched history of the academics of the OSS. Elyse used personal histories, letters, and declassified OSS files to write “Book and Dagger” It reads like a novel! I can’t get enought about the men and women of OSS and counterpart of SOE.
Thank you NetGalley and Ecco for an advanced copy. #BookandDagger #NetGalley.
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