Agent 146: The True Story of a Nazi Spy in America

Rating:
Summary: A Riveting Story
Review: "Page-turners" in literature are a rarity, but Erich Gimpel's book will keep your interest from beginning to end. From his secret submarine trip to Maine in 1944 to his near-hanging, there is never a slack moment. Erich was one of the few German spies who actually operated in America during the war, and in the 1950s a film was made of his adventures entitled "Spy for Germany": it is still being shown on TV.

Rating:
Summary: A powerful story
Review: Agent 146 was a quick read and detailed the time before the author's career as a spy, during the time, and after. The story held my interest from beginning to end. It was interesting to learn how a man became a master spy and all the emotions and issues that come along with the job. The author was a spy and a soldier, but he was also a person with strong emotions. This was a big part of the book as he struggled with love and loyalty. A truly amazing account on a battlefield fought with wit, subterfuge, and proper manners.

Rating:
Summary: interesting information balances flawed presentation
Review: I liked _Agent 146_ more than I disliked it. With any espionage book, of course, one always has the question as to what percentage of the truth is being told. I felt that Herr Gimpel was as fair as possible to those he encountered, both German and American, and remembered many interesting anecdotes that had the ring of truth--both from an American and a German standpoint.

Unfortunately, this book--first published in 1957, according to my copy--was evidently written by a British ghostwriter. There is no other explanation for the fact that each and every single solitary American in the book speaks entirely with British terminology. Until the part where Gimpel is captured by the FBI, it isn't a factor, but thereafter all the terminology, slang and diction of every American depicted is purely that of the United Kingdom. It is very disruptive to the reader to see Americans acting American yet speaking British. It would be just as disruptive had Gimpel fallen instead into English hands and then later had an American ghost make a great colonial hash of all the British participants' speech.

Recommended even so, but the publisher should be severely censured for having so lazily allowed this to pass. We all know that it is very hard, years after the fact, to precisely quote people one only met briefly. Sometimes, as in this case, we are forcibly reminded just how imprecisely the person in question remembers the conversations--for that's the obvious explanation. Gimpel must have furnished sketchy notes, and the ghost turned them into a book, using the form of speech he knew: British English.

If you can get past the surreality of a bunch of Americans having suddenly and inexplicably adopted Anglophilia, it's a pretty good spy book.

Rating:
Summary: interesting information balances flawed presentation
Review: I liked _Agent 146_ more than I disliked it. With any espionage book, of course, one always has the question as to what percentage of the truth is being told. I felt that Herr Gimpel was as fair as possible to those he encountered, both German and American, and remembered many interesting anecdotes that had the ring of truth--both from an American and a German standpoint.

Unfortunately, this book--first published in 1957, according to my copy--was evidently written by a British ghostwriter. There is no other explanation for the fact that each and every single solitary American in the book speaks entirely with British terminology. Until the part where Gimpel is captured by the FBI, it isn't a factor, but thereafter all the terminology, slang and diction of every American depicted is purely that of the United Kingdom. It is very disruptive to the reader to see Americans acting American yet speaking British. It would be just as disruptive had Gimpel fallen instead into English hands and then later had an American ghost make a great colonial hash of all the British participants' speech.

Recommended even so, but the publisher should be severely censured for having so lazily allowed this to pass. We all know that it is very hard, years after the fact, to precisely quote people one only met briefly. Sometimes, as in this case, we are forcibly reminded just how imprecisely the person in question remembers the conversations--for that's the obvious explanation. Gimpel must have furnished sketchy notes, and the ghost turned them into a book, using the form of speech he knew: British English.

If you can get past the surreality of a bunch of Americans having suddenly and inexplicably adopted Anglophilia, it's a pretty good spy book.

Rating:
Summary: From a 15 year old
Review: I loved this book! It is a thrilling and captivating story told by a Nazi spy. It gives you a fascinating look at WW2 from the other side. This new perspective enhanced my understand of the war in many ways. Agent 146 is a book that is entrancing and informative. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in WW2.

Rating:
Summary: From a 15 year old
Review: I loved this book! It is a thrilling and captivating story told by a Nazi spy. It gives you a fascinating look at WW2 from the other side. This new perspective enhanced my understand of the war in many ways. Agent 146 is a book that is entrancing and informative. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in WW2.