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My Life as a Spy Behind Nazi Lines
by Pippa Latour
After decades of silence, the last surviving World War II British spy reveals the real, untold story of her time as a secret agent in the deadly world of Nazi France.
From a unique and singular voice comes the incredible true story of the last surviving undercover British female operative in WW2. Pippa Latour parachuted into occupied France in 1944 to conduct sabotage and subversion behind enemy lines. Selling soap to German soldiers and hiding codes on a piece of ribbon, she sent back crucial information about troop positions in the lead up to D-Day, and continued her work until Paris was liberated. From her childhood as an orphan in South Africa to her years as an undercover agent, Pippa's story is that of a woman determined to honor her principles and risk her life to fight against the greatest evil of the 20th century.
The Last Secret Agent is a posthumously published memoir, co-written with journalist Jude Dobson. Pippa was decorated highly for her actions, including being made a Member of the Order of the British Empire and receiving the Légion d'Honneur in France. For years, Pippa kept her involvement in the war effort secret from everyone, including her family, but for the first time, her story can now be told in full.
"[A] fascinating read, all the more so because of Latour's humility...A wartime spy's remarkable tale, told in an authentic voice." —Kirkus Reviews
"This highly readable account will appeal to casual World War II historians as well as those interested in the mechanics of spycraft, with the proviso that this is unapologetically a memoir, with all the narrow focus and bias that would suggest." —Library Journal
"One of history's most amazing women." ―Booklist
"A gripping narrative that will keep you turning the pages until late into the night, The Last Secret Agent delivers a real-life heroine with an unshakable moral code and preternatural poise." ―Heath Hardage Lee, author of The League of Wives and The Mysterious Mrs. Nixon
"Vivid, honest, inspiring and sometimes shocking, Pippa Latour's memoir shows how right the SOE were to assess her as having 'tons of guts'. The Last Secret Agent provides an important and compelling contribution to the record of women's active service behind enemy lines in the Second World War." ―Clare Mulley, author of Agent Zo: The Untold Story of a Fearless World War II Resistance Fighter
This information about The Last Secret Agent 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.
Pippa Latour was the last surviving SEO agent, serving in France until its liberation. For seventy years, Pippa's contributions to the war effort were largely unheralded, but she was finally given her due in 2014 when she was awarded France's highest military decoration, the Chevalier de l'Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur (Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour). She died in 2023 at age 102.
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