Book and Dagger:
How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II
by Elyse Graham
400 pages, Ecco (2024)
If your pulse quickens at the mention of a library book sale and the promise of towering stacks of books to schlep home, then Elyse Graham’s Book and Dagger is a must-read. This 400-page work reveals a secret history where scholars became unlikely agents of wartime espionage. Drawing from OSS declassified files and personal memoirs, Graham’s prose is meticulously cited and shares the hidden world of those who left the safe realms of academia for the war effort.
What makes this book captivating is not just its scholarly heft but its wry acknowledgment of a well-known truth among book lovers: there exists a rare breed whose heart races at the sight of endless paper trails and meticulously archived evidence. The charm of Book and Dagger lies in its blend of rigorous historical research and a lighthearted celebration of our collective love for information. If you find beauty in the convergence of scholarship and subterfuge, this book offers both and scratches that intellectual satisfaction itch.
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