jensen1's reviews
427 reviews

This was mind-bogglingly boring for something marked as a thriller. It was obvious who did it early on and the long, stretched out mystery was so repetitive I could not care about the end.

I received this advanced reader copy from Harper Collins Goodreads giveaway. Thanks for the opportunity to read this book!

Overall, this book is a well-researched glimpse of spy craft that actually created many more questions and curiosities for me than I had prior to reading it. Though I think the title is perhaps a bit misleading - I understand the prominence of scholars/librarians, but it didn’t seem to me that this subject was neatly threaded through each chapter - I enjoyed it greatly nonetheless. I was a bit put off when reading the introduction as it claimed “the war was won in libraries,” which, to me, is a too-often used superlative that a certain group single-handedly won WWII for the Allies. I shy away from bold statements like this because in a complex and deeply tragic event like WWII, I think it unjust to render other operations less important than another. However, I did not see this as a recurring argument so was satisfied. The examples and topics made it an excellent read for anyone wondering about spies in WWII. Perhaps not a book for truly extensive understanding, but a great place to examine and expand horizons of the typical history knowledge of WWII. 

It discusses major parts of the war (the Manhattan Project, Operations Mincemeat and Overlord, etc) in a terrific new lens that adds an awesome relief to the abundance of purely military history and adds in a layer of mystique and subterfuge that I, personally, have not read extensively. I was unaware of the lack of preparation the US had in intelligence before entering the war. 

The writing itself was succinct and flowed with a good narrative. There were a couple spots where the author didn’t include nearly as much as I’d have liked, but this just illustrates Elyse Graham’s ability to enrapture myself as a reader. For example, there was a tidbit about how radio operators were most endangered and only were expected to live 6 months while in this role. Then, we quickly moved on from there !! Wait !! I wanted more! The only thing I didn’t love was her made up scenarios, but she did mention these in her introduction. Therefore, though I didn’t think they added much, I can’t really say they weren’t expected. 

Something that hits home especially after this past grievous election, Graham hits upon fascism rising in the US and also gave great accolades to those that are typically left out of narratives about military history - women, the Black American population, and the Jewish refugees. One aspect I thought interesting, though, was that Native American people were not included. I expected something about the Navajo coders, at least, but this book is primarily about the European front and not the Pacific. 

The greatest part and ongoing argument that I particularly enjoyed was Graham’s assertion that nothing in the archives is unimportant. The information scholars were able to gather from the most arbitrary of sources speaks directly to my enjoyment of historical sources, arguments, and interpretation. How amazing to have a mind that truly gleans all kinds of information from things others would toss out! 

Definitely worth my time and read - thank you again for the opportunity to read this book.

These parents really love to hear themselves talk. 

It was fast-paced and well-written, but I hated the daughter and the ending felt kind of anti-climatic to me.