Review: America's Most Important Spy
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 09 6, 2013
This is reminiscent of A Man Called Intrepid, the true story of Sir William Stephenson (code-named Intrepid) and "the spy network he founded that would ultimately stall the Nazi war machine and help win World War II." Stephenson was from my hometown of Winnipeg which always amazed me. Talty's tale goes a long way to providing recognition for Eric Erickson who he bills as "the most important American spy of World War II" (I believe the most important spies are ones never written about).It is an incredible story dealing with a key strategy for weakening the Nazis. Unfortunately the writing creates no suspense or tension. And it is difficult to connect with Erickson, his old world gentlemanliness is eroded with personal foibles. My favorite line deals with 'courtesy' towards the end of the book. Overall, it comes across as a slightly expanded magazine article missing the intrigue mandatory to spy stories.