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How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II
by Elyse Graham
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 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.
What are you reading this week? (2024-10-31)
I just finished Book and Dagger by Elyse Graham. A fascinating book about academics' roles and contributions to spycraft during WW II. For readers who like to read non-fiction that reads like ficti...
-Gabi_J
"Entertainingly conveyed, with great respect and deep appreciation for their ingenuity and drive, Graham's history is a powerful symphony for these unsung heroes whose professional skills and personal courage brought down the Nazi state. The modern intelligence community owes its existence to their rigor and resourcefulness. Readers fascinated by espionage will be eager to checkout Graham's fresh telling of the surprising story of the OSS." —Booklist (starred review)
"Thrilling... With a keen ear for narrative prose, Graham builds suspense and intrigue, and the book is a pulpy delight...Book and Dagger is a necessary reminder of the value of the humanities and of the freedom of information and ideas at a time when both of those things are under threat." —BookPage (starred review)
"An engaging study of wartime American intelligence...Graham makes a good case for studying the humanities as both an instrument of learning and a weapon of war. Bibliophiles with a taste for cloak-and-dagger work will enjoy this lively book." —Kirkus Reviews
"This deeply researched and engaging account shines a light on a vital but little-known aspect of intelligence gathering. Readers interested in World War II espionage and the role scholars have played in surveillance and reconnaissance campaigns will enjoy this volume." —Library Journal
"Written like a spy thriller, this well-researched tale shines a light on a little-known side of espionage history." —Arlington Magazine
This information about Book and Dagger was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Elyse Graham is a historian and professor at Stony Brook University, a flagship university in the SUNY system. She holds degrees from Princeton, Yale, and MIT, and has learned how scholars whisper, scheme, launder information, and guard secrets. She is the author of three academic books: You Talkin' to Me? (Oxford University Press), A Unified Theory of Cats on the Internet (Stanford University Press), and The Republic of Games (McGill-Queens University Press).
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