SURPRISING SPIES

Spies played a critical and fascinating role in World War II.

Ruelle provides interesting and sometimes suspenseful biographies of eight active, important, and often heroic spies who worked during World War II. Ruelle profiles Juan Pujol Garcia, a talented Spanish storyteller; Jasper Maskelyne, a British magician; Josephine Baker, an African American performer; Eddie Chapman, a British thief; Virginia Hall, an American State Department employee and amputee; Noor Inayat Khan, a biracial (Indian/White) Sufi woman who grew up in France and England; Roy Hawthorne, a Navajo Code Talker; and Moe Berg, a Jewish American major league baseball player. (With the exception of Baker, Khan, and Hawthorne, Ruelle’s subjects presented White.) They took varied paths to their dangerous new careers, but many were already experienced travelers who were fluent in several languages. All of them seem to have shared steely nerves and a willingness to put their lives in significant peril. For young Noor Khan, her efforts would ultimately result in her execution by the Nazis. Brief, unobtrusive, but useful sidebars provide additional information, and ample period photographs and maps are sprinkled throughout the text. Covering similar material and aimed at the same age group, this effort is far superior to Jennifer Swanson’s Spies, Lies, and Disguise, illustrated by Kevin O’Malley (2019). Additional material includes information about several other spies, codes, and suggestions for crafting secret messages.

An engaging examination of the important although often unsung work of spies.