Book and Dagger
How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II
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Narrated by:
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Saskia Maarleveld
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Written by:
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Elyse Graham
About this listen
The untold story of the academics who became OSS spies, invented modern spycraft, and helped turn the tide of the war
At the start of WWII, the U.S. 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, letters, and declassified OSS files to tell the story of a small but connected group of humanities scholars turned 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 the humanities to change the world.
©2024 Elyse Graham (P)2024 HarperCollins PublishersWhat listeners say about Book and Dagger
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- Roberta W
- 2024-09-29
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!
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