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The Spies Of Warsaw | 
 enlarge | Author: Alan Furst
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Category: Book
List Price: £16.99
Buy New: £9.34
You Save: £7.65 (45%)
New (16) Used (3) Collectible (1) from £7.95
Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 8636
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.2
ISBN: 0297855417
EAN: 9780297855415
ASIN: 0297855417
Publication Date: July 10, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Alan Furst back in form September 13, 2008
Kittycat (UK)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was somewhat disappointed with Furst's last book, "The Foreign Correspondent," but this book is more like his former pre-WWII spy novels. The year is 1937, the prospect of another war is looming, and Col. Mercier, a French military attache based in Warsaw, is given the task to discover how, should war break out, the Germans will attack France. Again we meet a cast of spies, civil servants and military officers, many of them world-weary and believing that war is inevitable. As in all his other novels, Furst includes a little romance, the Brasserie Heininger with its bullet-shattered mirror (that happens in his book Night Soldiers), the smoky night clubs, the rustic worker's bars. It's Furst's evocation of this era, the terse conversations, the atmosphere, which makes his books so good.
I didn't give it five stars as I still prefer his earlier novels, like Night Soldiers or The Polish Officer. These books were much longer, much meatier. I can't get enough of Alan Furst! If you are interested in espionage novels, or novels about WWII, Furst is definitely one to read.
Consistently good August 17, 2008
P. McAllister (Britain)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is typical Furst. Consistently in his books, the execution of relatively trivial (given our hindsight about the overwhelming events to come) espionage operations against Nazi Germany forms the basis of the plot. It is similar in style and pace to his earlier books which blend elements of travelogue, thriller, history lesson and romance to provide an extremely readable and interesting narrative. Essentially, if you enjoyed Furst earlier novels, then you should enjoy this as well.
 The Coming Storm of World War II from a French Spy's Perspective August 5, 2008
Donald Mitchell (Boston)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Prior to World War II, most people either thought that Hitler and his generals were intent on world domination based on using any tool available or that these were reasonable people who could be persuaded to go elsewhere if you cut a deal with them. In between those views were the French, who thought that their Maginot Line could stop the Germans at the border in any future European war. Those who bet that Hitler and his generals were serious were right.
This book examines those perspectives from the vantage point of the Western spies operating in Warsaw in 1937 and 1938. The fictional Colonel Jean-Francois Mercier steals enough secrets to come to the right conclusion about what France faces. In the process, you learn a lot about spy tradecraft in that era and how the various countries oriented to one another.
The book has an oddly cold tone, as though this story was written in an attempt to keep out emotion, patriotism, and strong feelings of any kind. As a result, the plot, although interesting, failed to engage me into the story. I felt like I was reading a light, nonfiction magazine article about pre-World War II espionage instead.
For a reading public that likes to exalt the importance and impact of espionage, this story is a sort of anti-story . . . suggesting that perhaps espionage was then more a game than serious business.
To me, the best parts of the book were those that attempted to capture tradecraft in that era. Those were well done.
Unlike many spy stories where the ending is up in the air . . . due to an optional, fictitious result, The Spies of Warsaw ends up being a bit too predictable in leading up to the well-known events of 1939 and 1940.
 As good as always July 30, 2008
Kasablanca (U.K)
I'm a big fan of Alan Furst's novels but was a little disappointed with 'The Foreign Correspondent'. I enjoyed this one far more. I thought it was very much like a Le Carre story, concerning the life of spies. There is not a great deal of action, but a fair amount of suspense. I thought it a very complete story and we are even told the fate of the two main characters, at the end. Well to a certain point. Which is not always the case with the this authors novels.
At least two characters from his other stories are in this. Colonel Vyborg; and Doctor Lapp. Mentioned in one sentence only, is Captain De Milja of 'The Polish officer' which is my favorite.
The hero, Captain Mercier is a hard man, a decorated veteran of a cavalry engagement, rather like Nicholas Morath in 'Kingdom of Shadows'. He comes to suspect how the Germans will invade France, but convincing those above him proves difficult.
There is romance as always.
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