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bookwoman1967's review against another edition
3.0
I read (audiobook) and enjoyed another of Blum's books, [b:American Lightning: Terror, Mystery, the Birth of Hollywood & the Crime of the Century|3389089|American Lightning Terror, Mystery, the Birth of Hollywood & the Crime of the Century|Howard Blum|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388719867s/3389089.jpg|3428948]. This one details a story few Americans know and it has a great build-up to the action. Large parts of the book, however, seem to be Blum recounting Tunney's autobiography. Also, the ending kind of peters out, in my opinion. Overall, though, it is an interesting piece of history and a bunch of fascinating characters to read about.
tessisreading2's review against another edition
4.0
The language can occasionally get a little too overwrought - it's a work of history, not a spy novel! - but the story is compelling enough to overcome that flaw, and the research is (well, as best I can tell) extremely thorough. Blum does a good job of keeping the narrative compelling and the momentum moving forward; really the only time it bogs down is towards the end, when we learn that one nest of spies (which we have been "following" in "real time," as it were) were not actually uncovered until many years after the war. That was a little jarring - Blum over all did a good job of pulling all the disparate strands together, so that one seemed almost not to belong. A really gripping read, even if at times it seemed to be trying too hard.
radbear76's review against another edition
4.0
Great book that blew my mind. The extent of German operations against the US while it was still a neutral power is amazing. And the scope and creativity of the operations was unreal. Just about any method, direct and indirect, to hinder the Allied war effort was used and we never hear about it today.
kmritter's review against another edition
4.0
I love it when a writer manages to take the non-fiction events of history and writes as if I'm reading a novel. Blum is one such writer. I really enjoyed reading this book and remembering my high school history classes. I roughly remembered that the reason the United States got into World War I was the sinking of the Lusitania by a German U-boat submarine. However, none of the events of this book were ever mentioned in a history class. It was amazing to see how all of these events occurred "behind the scenes" and how the events of the book augmented my education of the events surrounding the United States' entry into World War I.
carolynf's review against another edition
3.0
Technically this book is "history," but I've labeled it historical fiction because the author was including so many details of his own invention - personal thoughts, emotions, etc. It reads more like history than fiction. But he is definitely walking on the line.
Blum tells a story of coordinated German sabotage in the US from 1914-17. It isn't really terrorism. The agents worked for the German government and their goal was to operate in secret. They wanted the problems they caused to be dismissed as accidents. Causing panic among Americans is the opposite of what they wanted to accomplish, because it would have brought the US into the war sooner.
There are a few places where I wish that Blum had been more specific. He talks about the plan to bring reserve officers to Germany using fake passports. He says that the plan was discovered, but makes it sound like at least some officers were able to sneak out of the US. No specific number is mentioned though. Similarly, when he discusses the attempt to spread anthrax among horses awaiting shipment to the Allies, he says that four people die in Virginia but not the number of horses who died - which was their actual goal.
Blum says briefly that additional German cells were created in New Orleans, San Francisco, and Baltimore, but rather than include events there the focus remains on the NYPD efforts to find them, with each tiny lead being described in minute detail. The book would be better if German efforts in other US cities were included. Or if the focus is on NYC exclusively, the book could be cut down to half its length.
Blum tells a story of coordinated German sabotage in the US from 1914-17. It isn't really terrorism. The agents worked for the German government and their goal was to operate in secret. They wanted the problems they caused to be dismissed as accidents. Causing panic among Americans is the opposite of what they wanted to accomplish, because it would have brought the US into the war sooner.
There are a few places where I wish that Blum had been more specific. He talks about the plan to bring reserve officers to Germany using fake passports. He says that the plan was discovered, but makes it sound like at least some officers were able to sneak out of the US. No specific number is mentioned though. Similarly, when he discusses the attempt to spread anthrax among horses awaiting shipment to the Allies, he says that four people die in Virginia but not the number of horses who died - which was their actual goal.
Blum says briefly that additional German cells were created in New Orleans, San Francisco, and Baltimore, but rather than include events there the focus remains on the NYPD efforts to find them, with each tiny lead being described in minute detail. The book would be better if German efforts in other US cities were included. Or if the focus is on NYC exclusively, the book could be cut down to half its length.
mdrfromga's review against another edition
3.0
Compelling material. The biggest downside for a nation that extends liberties to its citizens is that it is vulnerable to sedition and terror. I didn't realize Germany was intentionally causing such widespread damage to the US infrastructure prior to WWI.
While the book is interesting, it could be tighted up in certain sections.
While the book is interesting, it could be tighted up in certain sections.
thomcat's review against another edition
2.0
Fictionalized account of the efforts by German secret agents to undermine US support for the Allies in World War I. The "first terrorist cell" of the subtitle seems like a stretch - this group was funded by Germany and there were covert terrorists and anarchists long before 1915.
Focuses mostly on three stories - fires on American ships delivering materials to the Allies; a murderer who planted a bomb in the capitol building and attacked JP Morgan Jr.; and a group trying to infect horses headed for Europe with glanders and anthrax. The last was the least covered, with many hints in the final chapter that the full story came out in litigation after the war - it would have been appropriate to have the full story here.
All three tales are intermingled to add "page-turning pace" but this really didn't work for me. One example - the story of Muenter's attack on Morgan mentions that after the attack there was an increased mistrust of Germans. What the author doesn't mention is that the well-publicized sinking of the Lusitania two months earlier probably had a lot more to do with anti-Germanic feelings. Dates were elsewhere ignored to my irritation.
I understand the individual threads have all been published elsewhere. I would recommend reading those instead of this.
Focuses mostly on three stories - fires on American ships delivering materials to the Allies; a murderer who planted a bomb in the capitol building and attacked JP Morgan Jr.; and a group trying to infect horses headed for Europe with glanders and anthrax. The last was the least covered, with many hints in the final chapter that the full story came out in litigation after the war - it would have been appropriate to have the full story here.
All three tales are intermingled to add "page-turning pace" but this really didn't work for me. One example - the story of Muenter's attack on Morgan mentions that after the attack there was an increased mistrust of Germans. What the author doesn't mention is that the well-publicized sinking of the Lusitania two months earlier probably had a lot more to do with anti-Germanic feelings. Dates were elsewhere ignored to my irritation.
I understand the individual threads have all been published elsewhere. I would recommend reading those instead of this.
suzannekm's review against another edition
3.0
Mostly well written with a wealth of detail. I was disappointed in the end as I think the author went, somewhat abruptly, a bit too philosophical. A gripping and intricate story and a good read.
notorious_bsb's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating account of the US first anti-terrorist investigations...in 1915.