The Wolves At The Door: The True Story Of America's Greatest Female Spy - Couverture rigide

Pearson, Judith

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 159228762X ISBN 13 : 9781592287628

Editeur : The Lyons Press, 2005

Synopsis

Virginia Hall left comfortable Baltimore roots of privilege in 1931 to follow her dream of becoming a Foreign Service Officer. She watched as Hitler rolled into Poland, then France, and she decided to work for the British Special Operations Executive (SOE). There she learned things her wealthy Baltimore contemporaries would never have imagined - demolitions, assassination, secret radio communications, and resistance organization. She was deployed to France where the Gestapo imprisoned, beat, and tortured spies. Against such an ominous backdrop, Hall managed to locate drop zones for the money and weapons so badly needed by the French Resistance, helped escaped POWs and downed Allied airmen flee to England, and secured safe houses for agents in need. Soon, Wanted posters appeared throughout France offering a reward for the capture of "The most dangerous of all Allied spies...we must find and destroy her. "By winter of 1942 Hall had no choice but to flee France via the only route possible: a hike on foot through the frozen Pyrenees Mountains into neutral Spain. The escape was arduous, and Hall's artificial leg (nicknamed "Cuthbert") became very painful. In a radio message to London during the journey, she mentioned that Cuthbert was giving her trouble. Forgetting her leg's nickname, London replied, "If Cuthbert is giving you trouble, have him eliminated. "Upon her return to England, the OSS recruited her and sent her back to France disguised as an old peasant woman. While there, she was responsible for killing 150 German soldiers and capturing 500 others, sabotaging communications and transportation links, and directing resistance activities. This is the true story of Virginia Hall, a remarkable woman who has been ignored by the history books for over fifty years.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

She was soon deployed to France where the Gestapo imprisoned, beat, and tortured spies. Against such an ominous backdrop, Hall managed to locate drop zones for money and weapons, helped escaped POWs and downed Allied airmen flee to England, and secured safe houses for agents. Soon, wanted posters appeared throughout France offering a reward for her capture. By winter of 1942 Hall had to flee France via the only route possible: a hike on foot through the frozen Pyrenees Mountains into neutral Spain. Upon her return to England, the OSS recruited her and sent her back to France disguised as an old peasant woman. While there, she was responsible for killing 150 German soldiers and capturing 500 others, sabotaging communications and transportation links, and directing resistance activities. This is the true story of Virginia Hall, a remarkable woman ignored by history books for over fifty years.

Revue de presse

"Judith Pearson does a remarkable job of bringing one of America's greatest spies back to life. I highly recommend this story of derring-do and white knuckles suspense."-Patrick O'Donnell, Combat Historian and Author of Operatives, Spies, and Saboteurs "A great, true, spy tale." --Grand Rapids Press

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: The Lyons Press
• Date d'édition: 2005
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 159228762X
• ISBN 13: 9781592287628
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 260
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible