Avenue of Spies. A Book Review.

Avenue of Spies by Alex Kershaw, subtitled The Story of Terror, Espionage, and one American Family's Heroic Resistance in Nazi-Occupied Paris, is the story of American doctor Sumner Jackson, his wife Toquette, and their son Philip. From their home on the posh Avenue Foch in Paris, and from Jackson's office at the American hospital, Jackson, along with his wife and son, secretly aided the French Resistance as they pushed back against the Nazis.

This is a meticulously researched account of Nazi-occupied Paris and of those who resisted. Interviews with Philip Jackson provide much of the source material for Kershaw. The book also includes several pages of black and white photos.

From his office at the American Hospital, and from their home on Avenue Foch, the Jacksons smuggled papers and people out of Paris. Eventually their activities were discovered by their Nazi neighbors, and they were arrested. What follows proves the courage of this family in taking the risks they did.

Avenue of Spies is the story of the resistance in Paris, but it is particularly the story of the Jackson family on Avenue Foch, living perilously close to danger, which included Gestapo headquarters just a few doors down the Avenue Foch. Avenue of Spies provides an account of the Nazi occupation of Paris, and of the atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis, but it is, above all, the story of the Jackson family and their personal courage.

Avenue of Spies was not one of those books that once begun, can't be put down, but it did hold my interest and give me a sense of what happened in Paris as the Nazis took up residence there. It would be a great read for those interested in history, particularly the history of World War II.

Blogging for Books provided me with a free copy of Avenue of Spies in exchange for my honest opinion.