Mission to Paris

255 pages

English language

Published Jan. 8, 2012 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson.

OCLC Number:
778270379

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3 stars (2 reviews)

Frederic Stahl, born of Viennese intelligentsia, ran away to sea at the age of seventeen. Embarking in America, his matinee idol looks and Old-World charm took him to Hollywood, and a life of movies and women. But by autumn 1939, the unease in Europe has spread even to Stahl's glamorous enclave.

3 editions

reviewed Mission to Paris by Alan Furst (Night soldiers -- 12)

Review of 'Mission to Paris' on Goodreads

3 stars

While in Paris working on a film, a famous American movie star gets caught up in politics, propaganda, and espionage in the months leading up to Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939.

Having read most of Alan Furst's novels about espionage in World War 2, I'm starting to think he's covered the most interesting aspects already. There's very little new territory uncovered in this one, save the film-making process circa 1938 and a bit of insight into the propaganda machine Hitler had in place in Paris in preparation for war. Unfortunately that second one, which should have lead to a great deal of suspense, didn't really evoke much intrigue or interest from me. It seemed to lack punch or any sense of immediacy.

Like "Spies of the Balkans", this one seems as if it was phoned in. The sex was still good, and the protagonist Frederic Stahl was unusual for …

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rated it

3 stars

Subjects

  • Fiction
  • History
  • Americans
  • World War, 1939-1945
  • Motion picture producers and directors