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A review by carolynf
Dark Invasion: 1915: Germany's Secret War and the Hunt for the First Terrorist Cell in America by Howard Blum
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.