Friday, November 24, 2023

The Book Spy by Alan Hlad


 

 My Rating: 4.2


1942: With the war’s outcome hanging in the balance, President Roosevelt sends librarians and microfilm specialists to neutral cities throughout Europe. By acquiring and scouring Axis newspapers, books, technical manuals, and periodicals, the librarians can gather information about troop location, weaponry, and military plans.


Maria Alves, a microfilm expert working at the New York Public Library, is dispatched to Lisbon, where she meticulously photographs publications and sends the film to London to be analyzed. Working in tandem with Tiago Soares, a Portuguese bookstore owner on a precarious mission of his own—providing Jewish refugees with forged passports and visas—Maria acquires vital information, including a directory of arms factories in Germany.


I learned a lot about Portugal during the war and the library program was interesting. I do enjoy Hlad's writing but don't feel this was his best book but will definitely continue to read more by him.

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