{"product_id":"book-and-dagger-how-scholars-and-librarians-became-the-unlikely-spies-of-world-war-ii-isbn-9780063280847","title":"Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe untold story of the academics who became OSS spies, invented modern spycraft, and helped turn the tide of the war\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt the start of WWII, the U.S. 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 as part of a new WWII intelligence effort—and these surprising spies would go on to profoundly shape both the course of the war and our cultural institutions.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eBook and Dagger draws on personal histories, letters, and declassified OSS files to tell the story of a small but connected group of humanities scholars turned 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThrillingly paced and rigorously researched, Book and Dagger is an inspiring and gripping true story of espionage about a group of academics who helped beat the Nazis—a tale that reveals the indelible power of the humanities to change the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis riveting work of WWII history reveals:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cli\u003eFrom Academia to Espionage: The untold story of how literature professors, librarians, and historians were recruited into the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and trained in spycraft.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cli\u003eDeclassified Histories: The true stories of operatives like Joseph Curtiss, who turned German spies into double agents, and archivist Adele Kibre, on her secret mission in Stockholm, drawn from newly released OSS files.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cli\u003eThe Chairborne Division: A fascinating look inside the Research and Analysis branch (R\u0026amp;A), the OSS’s intellectual engine that transformed how intelligence was gathered and helped win the war.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cli\u003eThe Birth of the CIA: How this unlikely group of scholars laid the foundations for today’s Central Intelligence Agency, forever changing the world of espionage.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e | \u003cp\u003e\"In her lively \u003cem\u003eBook and Dagger\u003c\/em\u003e, the historian Elyse Graham rescues a cast of scholar-spies from obscurity.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Graham is right to stress that archivists, number-crunchers and humanities professors holed up in mostly drab offices made some of America’s most innovative contributions to the secret war against Hitler. . . . Graham’s account is well-researched and scrupulously footnoted, but she also writes with a pulpy panache that turns the book into a well-paced thriller.” \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A fascinating new study. . . \u003cem\u003eBook and Dagger \u003c\/em\u003etells the story of four such recruits—and surveys many others—with an almost breathless sense of wartime romance and drama. It makes for entertaining, atmospheric reading.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Fascinating.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Snappy and entertaining...Although we likely picture ingenious feats of deception and infiltration when we think of the OSS, in this book Graham persuasively argues that the spy agency’s most consequential achievements were in fact its innovative and resourceful methods of collecting, organizing, and weaponizing information...Perhaps it’s time for Hollywood to tell the story of the scholars and archivists who made victory possible, set in a reading room or in front of a wall of card-catalog shelves, for as Graham concludes, ‘the war may have been fought on battlefields, but it was won in libraries.’” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew Republic\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The spycraft of World War II continues to surprise and delight.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eParade\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Thrilling. . . With a keen ear for narrative prose, Graham builds suspense and intrigue, and the book is a pulpy delight. . . . \u003cem\u003eBook and Dagger\u003c\/em\u003e 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.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBookPage (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“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.”  - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“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.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Written like a spy thriller, this well-researched tale shines a light on a little-known side of espionage history.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eArlington Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"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.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Entertaining. . . Enriched by Graham’s exuberant prose, this is a colorful salute to some of WWII’s more bookish heroes.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003eBook and Dagger \u003c\/em\u003ebrings to light a spellbinding, untold aspect of World War II history...Graham takes readers all over the world to show that as the Nazis burned books, book lovers were defending the freedom of ideas, with relish.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBookPage, 14 Most Anticipated Books of Fall\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Gripping. . . Graham demonstrates the humanities' power to change the course of history and argues for its lasting value as a discipline.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Perfect for booklovers and history buffs. . . Discover the incredible lives of these unsung heroes and how their unique skills helped bring down the Nazi regime in this revelatory volume.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBookBub\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ecco","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44890699202789,"sku":"NP9780063280847","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780063280847.jpg?v=1730233879","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/book-and-dagger-how-scholars-and-librarians-became-the-unlikely-spies-of-world-war-ii-isbn-9780063280847","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}