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The Honest Spy
During one of history’s darkest chapters, one man is determined to make a difference.
In the tradition of Schindler’s List comes a thrilling novel based on the heroic true story of Fritz Kolbe, a widowed civil servant in Adolf Hitler’s foreign ministry. Recognizing that millions of lives are at stake, Kolbe uses his position to pass information to the Americans—risking himself and the people he holds most dear—and embarks on a dangerous double life as the Allies’ most important spy.
Summoned from his South African post to return to Nazi Germany, Kolbe leaves behind his beloved fourteen-year-old daughter, a decision made for her safety that nonetheless torments him. And as he lives under the constant threat of arrest, he wrestles with the guilt of putting Marlene Wiese, a married nurse and the love of his life, in danger as they collaborate on Kolbe’s clandestine work.
But no matter the personal cost, Kolbe will not be deterred. In scenes that pulse with suspense, he emerges as a towering figure who risked everything to save innocent lives—and Germany from itself.
In the tradition of Schindler’s List comes a thrilling novel based on the heroic true story of Fritz Kolbe, a widowed civil servant in Adolf Hitler’s foreign ministry. Recognizing that millions of lives are at stake, Kolbe uses his position to pass information to the Americans—risking himself and the people he holds most dear—and embarks on a dangerous double life as the Allies’ most important spy.
Summoned from his South African post to return to Nazi Germany, Kolbe leaves behind his beloved fourteen-year-old daughter, a decision made for her safety that nonetheless torments him. And as he lives under the constant threat of arrest, he wrestles with the guilt of putting Marlene Wiese, a married nurse and the love of his life, in danger as they collaborate on Kolbe’s clandestine work.
But no matter the personal cost, Kolbe will not be deterred. In scenes that pulse with suspense, he emerges as a towering figure who risked everything to save innocent lives—and Germany from itself.
368 pages, Audible Audio
First published July 3, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 538 reviews
May 19, 2018
This is a fabulous book! A real page-turner that kept me reading well into the night. Based on the story of Fritz Kolbe, perhaps the greatest spy ever, it paints a very realistic picture of life in Berlin during the war, and the disgust of one man at the heart of the German office who decides that he cannot stand by and watch all the horrors of the Nazi regime and does something about it. Through a friend in Switzerland Kolbe manages to get in touch with the OSS operatives stationed in Bern, and delivers key Nazi documents to none other than Allen Dulles, who heads up that office. As the trusted assistant of one of the top foreign service officers, he makes several such trips. Along the way, he has a love affair with a married woman, with whom at the end of the war he is finally able to get to safety in Switzerland. The narrative is beautifully written and translated, and Kollender switches between the technique of having Kolbe tell his story to two Swiss journalists after the war, to landing us right in the thick of things in the hotbed of the German Foreign Office. Expertly done; hats off! One of the best books I have read recently.
April 2, 2018
I liked this book but did not love it, I am not sure if the translation has to take some responsibility for this, but the writing style did seem a bit odd at times.
I found it rather difficult to like Fritz Kolbe, if all the deeds he did are indeed all based on fact then he undoubtedly was a brave man and deserves recognition for this.
I found it rather difficult to like Fritz Kolbe, if all the deeds he did are indeed all based on fact then he undoubtedly was a brave man and deserves recognition for this.
January 8, 2018
Well written fictional account of relatively unknown WW2 spy.
Written by German author Andreas Kollender, this book is based on the life of Fritz Kolbe a member of the German Diplomatic Service during World War 2 who had access to top secret information. He provided this information to the Allies for ideological reasons and not for personal gain and smuggled hundreds of top-secret files to American intelligence from 1943 onwards, continuing undetected until the end of the war.
Allen Dulles, who became head of the CIA , but then an OSS officer in Switzerland said of Kolbe "No single diplomat abroad, of whatever rank, could have got his hands on so much information as did this man; he was one of my most valuable agents during World War II."
Although based on Kolbe, the book doesn’t follow his personal life exactly and certainly creates a fiction that allow the author to portray more depth to the man in his personal life and struggles with his conscience.
The book is framed within a fictional post-war interview with a pair of journalists and starts with Kolbe in South Africa at the declaration of war which is interesting in itself, showing how German embassy and legation staff were treated upon the outbreak of war.
There’s good colour to the OSS station on Berne with some of the early career of Allen Dulles being illustrated as well as the contrasts between life in neutral Switzerland versus late war Germany.
Steve Anderson has translated this book from the German and he’s done a great job as the text flows well and moves along at a good pace. Whilst I’d not call it an absolute page turner, the author keeps the tension as the fear of capture and death increases with each day.
If I had to criticise anything it would have been the use of Kolbe’s real name alongside an obvious fiction. Although all history is subject to someone’s interpretation, I have mixed feelings around taking the name of a real person of honour and heroism and creating fiction around them, especially as a fictitious name appears to be used for Kolbe’s friend in Bern.
That being said, this was as entertaining read and a good insight into the quandaries and challenges that faced Kolbe during World War 2.
I was given a copy of this book by the publisher, but was not compelled to write a positive review.
Written by German author Andreas Kollender, this book is based on the life of Fritz Kolbe a member of the German Diplomatic Service during World War 2 who had access to top secret information. He provided this information to the Allies for ideological reasons and not for personal gain and smuggled hundreds of top-secret files to American intelligence from 1943 onwards, continuing undetected until the end of the war.
Allen Dulles, who became head of the CIA , but then an OSS officer in Switzerland said of Kolbe "No single diplomat abroad, of whatever rank, could have got his hands on so much information as did this man; he was one of my most valuable agents during World War II."
Although based on Kolbe, the book doesn’t follow his personal life exactly and certainly creates a fiction that allow the author to portray more depth to the man in his personal life and struggles with his conscience.
The book is framed within a fictional post-war interview with a pair of journalists and starts with Kolbe in South Africa at the declaration of war which is interesting in itself, showing how German embassy and legation staff were treated upon the outbreak of war.
There’s good colour to the OSS station on Berne with some of the early career of Allen Dulles being illustrated as well as the contrasts between life in neutral Switzerland versus late war Germany.
Steve Anderson has translated this book from the German and he’s done a great job as the text flows well and moves along at a good pace. Whilst I’d not call it an absolute page turner, the author keeps the tension as the fear of capture and death increases with each day.
If I had to criticise anything it would have been the use of Kolbe’s real name alongside an obvious fiction. Although all history is subject to someone’s interpretation, I have mixed feelings around taking the name of a real person of honour and heroism and creating fiction around them, especially as a fictitious name appears to be used for Kolbe’s friend in Bern.
That being said, this was as entertaining read and a good insight into the quandaries and challenges that faced Kolbe during World War 2.
I was given a copy of this book by the publisher, but was not compelled to write a positive review.
November 3, 2017
Not your everyday WWII spy novel, and by no means perfect, but a sufficiently gratifying pick from the Kindle First heap and a relatively quick read.
As for genre, this seems to be a mash-up between historical fiction, a garden variety page-turning spy novel, and ... something else, but I'm not sure what. On one level, the novel chronicles - and, apparently, takes any number of liberties with - the career of a (subsequently) celebrated spy, an actual historical figure, of whom there, apparently, was a rather definitive biography written in 2003 (in French), later translated into German (2004) and English (2004 or 2005), A Spy at the Heart of the Third Reich: The Extraordinary Story of Fritz Kolbe, America's Most Important Spy in World War II. Having not read the non-fiction version - which one must assume is more factually accurate but also more dry than this story - it's impossible to compare. Frankly, I wish I'd read the biography first so that I could compare them; but, having read this, I don't see myself rushing out to read another 300 pages on the same topic (particularly now that I spent some time doing online research and figuring out what portions of the story do and don't align with the mostly widely accepted historical record)...
Of course, we're reading a translation, so I'm in no position to fully apportion my (mostly minor) frustrations with the book between the author and the translator. There's no question that it's a compelling story, and any life, let alone such a life, at such a time and place, must have its share of joys and sorrows. My gripe with the author is that I didn't find two of the major artistic decisions worth the candle. The temporal ping-pong between the retelling and the action story didn't seem worth it (to me) in light of the minimal pay-off at the end; nor did the introduction of a reporter and a photographer (two additional voices that, again, to me, felt like interlopers) add much to the suspense, texture or overall presentation. (OK, introducing romantic tension between characters unrelated to the historical story line had me scratching my head, particularly since we learn that the definitive biography of Kolbe was written long after his death.) Other than that, I wasn't inspired by the prose, and I found the vocabulary inconsistent and, in spots, disappointing. But these are mostly quibbles that kept an enjoyable, entertaining, informative, page-turning read from being something really special.
As for genre, this seems to be a mash-up between historical fiction, a garden variety page-turning spy novel, and ... something else, but I'm not sure what. On one level, the novel chronicles - and, apparently, takes any number of liberties with - the career of a (subsequently) celebrated spy, an actual historical figure, of whom there, apparently, was a rather definitive biography written in 2003 (in French), later translated into German (2004) and English (2004 or 2005), A Spy at the Heart of the Third Reich: The Extraordinary Story of Fritz Kolbe, America's Most Important Spy in World War II. Having not read the non-fiction version - which one must assume is more factually accurate but also more dry than this story - it's impossible to compare. Frankly, I wish I'd read the biography first so that I could compare them; but, having read this, I don't see myself rushing out to read another 300 pages on the same topic (particularly now that I spent some time doing online research and figuring out what portions of the story do and don't align with the mostly widely accepted historical record)...
Of course, we're reading a translation, so I'm in no position to fully apportion my (mostly minor) frustrations with the book between the author and the translator. There's no question that it's a compelling story, and any life, let alone such a life, at such a time and place, must have its share of joys and sorrows. My gripe with the author is that I didn't find two of the major artistic decisions worth the candle. The temporal ping-pong between the retelling and the action story didn't seem worth it (to me) in light of the minimal pay-off at the end; nor did the introduction of a reporter and a photographer (two additional voices that, again, to me, felt like interlopers) add much to the suspense, texture or overall presentation. (OK, introducing romantic tension between characters unrelated to the historical story line had me scratching my head, particularly since we learn that the definitive biography of Kolbe was written long after his death.) Other than that, I wasn't inspired by the prose, and I found the vocabulary inconsistent and, in spots, disappointing. But these are mostly quibbles that kept an enjoyable, entertaining, informative, page-turning read from being something really special.
October 11, 2017
Enjoyed it very much. Good tension leading to a surprise twist at the end. Glad it was based on a true story of an uncommon hero.
If you like WWII drama, this is a book you can't put down. Who doesn't like a wartime love story .
If you like WWII drama, this is a book you can't put down. Who doesn't like a wartime love story .
July 24, 2018
Thank goodness I didn't have to mark this as abandoned! Halfway through reading this, I dropped my Kindle and it stopped working. For months it kept turning itself on and off, wouldn't hold a charge, etc. It was very sad, not least because I hate abandoning a book, unless it's terrible. Then I'm okay with it.
Anyways, after six months, my Kindle started working (mostly) and I was able to finish. Points that I was able to pick it up and get right back into it. I remembered most of the characters and a lot of the plot developments. I had forgotten, however, that this was based on a true story until I got to the epilogue. I definitely want to read more about the real Fritz Kolbe and the aftermath, which this book didn't really get into it. The book seemed more interested in the love story between Fritz and Marlene, whose husband was in the war and she apparently didn't care. I really didn't care about it though. I felt the ending was a little rushed, but maybe that's how the war felt too. And there were some loose ends, but again, maybe that's just a reflection of real life. I'll have to look more into the real history here!
This was originally written in German, but translated into English and was part of the Kindle first program from Amazon. That's how I stumbled upon it.
Anyways, after six months, my Kindle started working (mostly) and I was able to finish. Points that I was able to pick it up and get right back into it. I remembered most of the characters and a lot of the plot developments. I had forgotten, however, that this was based on a true story until I got to the epilogue. I definitely want to read more about the real Fritz Kolbe and the aftermath, which this book didn't really get into it. The book seemed more interested in the love story between Fritz and Marlene, whose husband was in the war and she apparently didn't care. I really didn't care about it though. I felt the ending was a little rushed, but maybe that's how the war felt too. And there were some loose ends, but again, maybe that's just a reflection of real life. I'll have to look more into the real history here!
This was originally written in German, but translated into English and was part of the Kindle first program from Amazon. That's how I stumbled upon it.
June 11, 2016
Dieser Kriminalroman enthält eine Spionagegeschichte und ist zugleich ein Historischer Roman mit biografischen Elementen. Es ist die Würdigung eines äusserlich unscheinbaren aber mutigen Mannes mit hohen ethischen Prinzipien der sein Leben riskiert hat, um dem Wahnsinn des 2. Weltkriegs ein möglichst frühes Ende zu setzen oder zumindest dem herrschenden Regime der Nazis Sand in die gut geölte Kriegsmaschinerie zu streuen. Mit der Weitergabe von elementaren Geheiminformationen wird er indirekt zum Saboteur des Regimes. Das diese Geschichte auf einer realen Person und wahren Begebenheiten beruht habe ich erst ganz am Ende des Buches bemerkt.
Fritz Kolbe ist ein bescheidener Mann der während des 2. Weltkriegs im Auswärtigen Amt in Berlin arbeitet. Mit seiner dezenten wie unauffälligen Art aber einigem Arbeitseifer macht er sich bei seinen Vorgesetzten beliebt. Er ist unter anderem dafür verantwortlich, streng geheime Dokumente zu vernichten. Das er einige Berichte vor dem Feuer rettet oder vorher Kopien anfertigt bleibt unbemerkt. Fritz Kolbe wird sogar ausgewählt als diplomatischer Kurier nach Bern zu reisen. Dort nutzt er die Möglichkeit die vertraulichen Dokumente amerikanischen Geheimdienstleuten zu übergeben. Aus dem braven Beamten Fritz Kolbe wird ein eminent wichtiger Spion. Sein Doppelleben in Berlin Aufrecht zu erhalten und Informationen weiterzugeben wird mit dem sich abzeichnenden Ende des Krieges und der aufkommenden Nervosität und Verzweiflung der Politgranden immer schwieriger. Das gegenseitige Misstrauen auf den Fluren des Amtes ist spürbar und wird zu einer grossen Gefahr.
Der Schriftsteller Andreas Kollender schreibt einen von A bis Z überzeugenden Roman. In seiner Struktur und dem Verzicht auf unnötige Actionszenen weicht er zwar vom klassischen Kriminalroman ab aber dank der eingängigen Schreibweise und der feinen Personenzeichnung bleibt der Spannungsbogen über die ganzen 448 Seiten hoch. Der Autor fädelt geschickt eine aufkeimende Liebelei mit Marlene ein und als Leser identifiziert man sich mit den beiden und hofft es möge gut ausgehen. Ein lesenswertes Buch über eine schwere Zeit in der Moral und Menschlichkeit lebensgefährlich waren.
Fritz Kolbe ist ein bescheidener Mann der während des 2. Weltkriegs im Auswärtigen Amt in Berlin arbeitet. Mit seiner dezenten wie unauffälligen Art aber einigem Arbeitseifer macht er sich bei seinen Vorgesetzten beliebt. Er ist unter anderem dafür verantwortlich, streng geheime Dokumente zu vernichten. Das er einige Berichte vor dem Feuer rettet oder vorher Kopien anfertigt bleibt unbemerkt. Fritz Kolbe wird sogar ausgewählt als diplomatischer Kurier nach Bern zu reisen. Dort nutzt er die Möglichkeit die vertraulichen Dokumente amerikanischen Geheimdienstleuten zu übergeben. Aus dem braven Beamten Fritz Kolbe wird ein eminent wichtiger Spion. Sein Doppelleben in Berlin Aufrecht zu erhalten und Informationen weiterzugeben wird mit dem sich abzeichnenden Ende des Krieges und der aufkommenden Nervosität und Verzweiflung der Politgranden immer schwieriger. Das gegenseitige Misstrauen auf den Fluren des Amtes ist spürbar und wird zu einer grossen Gefahr.
Der Schriftsteller Andreas Kollender schreibt einen von A bis Z überzeugenden Roman. In seiner Struktur und dem Verzicht auf unnötige Actionszenen weicht er zwar vom klassischen Kriminalroman ab aber dank der eingängigen Schreibweise und der feinen Personenzeichnung bleibt der Spannungsbogen über die ganzen 448 Seiten hoch. Der Autor fädelt geschickt eine aufkeimende Liebelei mit Marlene ein und als Leser identifiziert man sich mit den beiden und hofft es möge gut ausgehen. Ein lesenswertes Buch über eine schwere Zeit in der Moral und Menschlichkeit lebensgefährlich waren.
January 7, 2021
Set in WWII, and based on a true story, this is a well written and engaging story about an official in the German Foreign Office passing on military and other secrets to the Americans.
The use of two time settings, and the narration of the story to two journalists was effective, and ensured that there was sufficient momentum in the story.
Not being aware of the true story, I enjoyed this novel.
I was given a copy of this story by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
The use of two time settings, and the narration of the story to two journalists was effective, and ensured that there was sufficient momentum in the story.
Not being aware of the true story, I enjoyed this novel.
I was given a copy of this story by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
October 19, 2017
A powerful, well written novel, October 15, 2017
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Honest Spy (Kindle Edition)
It is easy for those of us of the 20th and 21st centuries living in Western democracies to say that the Fritz Kolbe of this novel did the right thing. That he should have had no moral qualms about betraying the evil Nazis. It was not so evident from his or other Germans' point of view. He was not a Nazi but he was a German. He was not betraying just the Nazis but his country as well. All of those who died because of the information he passed to the Americans were not Nazis. Kolbe was a hero not just because of the danger he braved but also because he made a most difficult moral decision about what he believed to be right. That decision and its consequences understandably haunted him for the rest of his life. He was able to see and hear of bombing raids, U-boat sinkings and other death and destruction which resulted from the information he provided. That story of inner conflict and soul searching is captured in this powerful, well written novel.
This novel is said to be based on historical events. However, it is not history and should not be relied upon as such.
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Honest Spy (Kindle Edition)
It is easy for those of us of the 20th and 21st centuries living in Western democracies to say that the Fritz Kolbe of this novel did the right thing. That he should have had no moral qualms about betraying the evil Nazis. It was not so evident from his or other Germans' point of view. He was not a Nazi but he was a German. He was not betraying just the Nazis but his country as well. All of those who died because of the information he passed to the Americans were not Nazis. Kolbe was a hero not just because of the danger he braved but also because he made a most difficult moral decision about what he believed to be right. That decision and its consequences understandably haunted him for the rest of his life. He was able to see and hear of bombing raids, U-boat sinkings and other death and destruction which resulted from the information he provided. That story of inner conflict and soul searching is captured in this powerful, well written novel.
This novel is said to be based on historical events. However, it is not history and should not be relied upon as such.
October 19, 2017
Interesting and important read. We and future generations should NEVER be allowed to forget what happened in the Great Wars.
The book was well written, although I found the switching between the two timelines confusing at times.
The book was well written, although I found the switching between the two timelines confusing at times.
May 12, 2018
An OK, WW2 espionage tale that became a little too circular of a story in the last third of the book. I really enjoyed the first two-thirds of the book about Berlin, the Foreign Office and Bern. Maybe the relationship with Marlene was too much of a stretch for me.
July 25, 2018
Annoyingly histrionic main character does things like stab pictures of Hitler with a fork. Along with the spying of course.
October 22, 2017
Doing what is right regardless of the outcome
The incredible story of Fritz Kolbes espionage during WWII as a foreign diplomat within the German Government. He paid s terrible price for his acts of courage
The incredible story of Fritz Kolbes espionage during WWII as a foreign diplomat within the German Government. He paid s terrible price for his acts of courage
December 10, 2017
Based on a true story, this is the fictionalized account of Fritz Kolbe, who used his position in the civil service to pass on information about Reich activities, including locations of important industrial complexes, and even a detailed map of the Wolf's Lair, Hitlers alpine hideout, to the Americans. Forced to return from South Africa to Germany, having left his young daughter behind for her own safety, Kolbe struggles with his conscience when evidence of the appalling Reich policies , including the Final Solution cross his desk, and eventually on a work trip to Switzerland he approaches the Allies with some important and convincing information. The section of the book dealing with this first trip was probably the most dynamic and exciting of the book, there was a palpable tension throughout. As well as the dilemma he faces in his work, Kolbe's life is further complicated by his feelings for a married woman, and when the information he provides results in the death of a close friend he begins to reconsider his actions.
While the true story behind this book is no doubt an interesting one, I really struggled with the way it was written, it jumped back and forwards in time and from one country to another with very little to clearly delineate when or where the reader is, This made it difficult to stay focused on the story being told, instead I found myself trying to figure out what was really going on.
In general I am a fan of this genre , but this book was something of an uphill struggle for me.
While the true story behind this book is no doubt an interesting one, I really struggled with the way it was written, it jumped back and forwards in time and from one country to another with very little to clearly delineate when or where the reader is, This made it difficult to stay focused on the story being told, instead I found myself trying to figure out what was really going on.
In general I am a fan of this genre , but this book was something of an uphill struggle for me.
December 17, 2021
Not your usual WW2 novel. I get it's historical fiction but I'm left wondering what elements were fiction. Some parts seem to fit better with fiction than history. Firstly, I can't see Kolbe reaching the position he did without being a Nazi Party member. Being a member would have certainly attracted less attention to himself. Many times he appears frustrated to the point of recklessness that I struggled to imagine he would survive. Anyway, minor gripes, it a great book with plenty of suspense and gives insight to the war from a Berliner's perspective. If you like this genre I'm confident you'll enjoy it.
October 17, 2017
Fact Can Be Better Than Fiction, But Fiction Can Improve Fact
This novel does a fine job of weaving an interesting fictional narrative around the real life and accomplishments of Fritz Kolbe. After initially wanting to match the story to reality, I finally let myself become engrossed in a very well told story. Even though I knew some of what had to occur by the end, the telling kept me wondering if it would ultimately stray to far. The story kept me reading even when I was too tired to continue.
This novel does a fine job of weaving an interesting fictional narrative around the real life and accomplishments of Fritz Kolbe. After initially wanting to match the story to reality, I finally let myself become engrossed in a very well told story. Even though I knew some of what had to occur by the end, the telling kept me wondering if it would ultimately stray to far. The story kept me reading even when I was too tired to continue.
October 10, 2017
A Keeper
I recommend this book to all my fellow spy novel lovers. This account balances the fictional portrayals that improvise and romanticize with the awful reality of the sacrifice of those who truly lived the life.
I recommend this book to all my fellow spy novel lovers. This account balances the fictional portrayals that improvise and romanticize with the awful reality of the sacrifice of those who truly lived the life.
October 20, 2017
A true story in novel form, so not really non-fiction. Certainly not as good a book as Schindler's Ark
October 20, 2021
Fritz Kolbe is a bureaucrat in Germany who hates Hitler and all that the Nazis stand for. He is frequently asked to destroy classified documents, and decides instead to offer them to the allies. This novel is based on a true story. As a general rule when reading about actual people and events, I prefer a researched nonfiction account.
September 30, 2017
This was a gripping story, told somewhat simplistically. Based on a real-life WWII espionage case, the book portrays a German man who avoids the nationalistic frenzy of the Third Reich. Fritz Kolbe is depicted as a man for whom the ties of family and friendship transcend social pressures to conform. He is an unlikely hero, one whose company I enjoyed. Still, it felt a bit as if I were being led along and educated as I read. I was given a Netgalley advanced reader's copy of this book.
October 8, 2017
Excellent
Well written. Full of intrigue. A love story. Most of all, a story about doing what's right despite the danger. The true story of a German spy who took great risks to make a difference in WWII.
Well written. Full of intrigue. A love story. Most of all, a story about doing what's right despite the danger. The true story of a German spy who took great risks to make a difference in WWII.
October 7, 2017
Very interesting story
Very well do about a German diplomat that risked so much because of his hatred of the Nazi's and Hitler. The book chronicles how he was able to smuggle vital secret German documents to US intelligence.
Very well do about a German diplomat that risked so much because of his hatred of the Nazi's and Hitler. The book chronicles how he was able to smuggle vital secret German documents to US intelligence.
October 6, 2017
Wow!
I could not put this book down! I could not help wondering how someone could do all of the things Fritz Kolbe did. He was a hero in his own right with the bravery and fortitude that he exhibited standing up to the Na,I Regime.
I could not put this book down! I could not help wondering how someone could do all of the things Fritz Kolbe did. He was a hero in his own right with the bravery and fortitude that he exhibited standing up to the Na,I Regime.
April 4, 2020
Someday ... I imagine pretty soon ... we'll see the story of Fritz Kolbe, The Honest Spy, in movie theatres. Christoph Waltz, with his head shaved into male pattern baldness -- or better yet Ulrich Mühe -- should play Fritz Kolbe. If a Yankee actor is chosen, which one more than likely will be, they should go with Woody Harrelson, but the producers will surely go with someone more bankable, sexier, someone a US audience can believe as a romantic lead and a man with the guts to steal top secret Nazi documents out from under the nose of Reichsminister von Ribbentrop, someone like George Clooney or Brad Pitt or Leonardo DiCaprio. Someone crap.
While listening to the audio of Andreas Kollender's novelization of Kolbe's WWII years, I was able to picture the real Fritz Kolbe, since it was his face that was in my mind, and there was nothing but my imagination and the agreeable voice of Malcolm Hillgartner to conjure the angry little man who was so important to Allied victory, and even more important to the rise of the CIA. Being freed from Hollywood's corruptive influence should have made this story -- a true story of bravery under Nazism -- an uplifting and compelling experience. Unfortunately, Kollender's novel s already deeply corrupted by Hollywood's influence, and he has crafted a telling of the Kolbe story that leans heavily into the idea that love and only love can motivate such selflessness as Kolbe displayed. The Honest Spy is much weaker for that narrative thread than it should have been.
Kolbe may not actually have been as important as some historians have claimed him to be (both to the Allied war effort and the birth of the CIA), but he was undoubtedly a brave man, and his story is compelling. He deserves better than The Honest Spy, and I hope the inevitable movie version doesn't compound the weakness of Kollender's telling. I think I will try the Kolbe biography instead.
Still, The Honest Spy could have been worse. I just wish it had been much, much better.
While listening to the audio of Andreas Kollender's novelization of Kolbe's WWII years, I was able to picture the real Fritz Kolbe, since it was his face that was in my mind, and there was nothing but my imagination and the agreeable voice of Malcolm Hillgartner to conjure the angry little man who was so important to Allied victory, and even more important to the rise of the CIA. Being freed from Hollywood's corruptive influence should have made this story -- a true story of bravery under Nazism -- an uplifting and compelling experience. Unfortunately, Kollender's novel s already deeply corrupted by Hollywood's influence, and he has crafted a telling of the Kolbe story that leans heavily into the idea that love and only love can motivate such selflessness as Kolbe displayed. The Honest Spy is much weaker for that narrative thread than it should have been.
Kolbe may not actually have been as important as some historians have claimed him to be (both to the Allied war effort and the birth of the CIA), but he was undoubtedly a brave man, and his story is compelling. He deserves better than The Honest Spy, and I hope the inevitable movie version doesn't compound the weakness of Kollender's telling. I think I will try the Kolbe biography instead.
Still, The Honest Spy could have been worse. I just wish it had been much, much better.
June 28, 2017
German Audio book--story of Fritz Kolbe, a German diplomat during World War II and how he works against Hitler. He refuses to join the Nazi party. A story of love of a daughter, woman and his country.
Sommer 1943: Hitler muss weg! Das steht für Fritz Kolbe fest. Als Mitarbeiter des Auswärtigen Amtes hat er Zugang zu streng geheimen Dokumenten, die er aus der Behörde schmuggelt. Eine Kurierfahrt in die Schweiz ermöglicht ihm die Kontaktaufnahme zu den Amerikanern. Kolbe beginnt ein lebensgefährliches Doppelleben. Er übergibt den Amerikanern hochbrisantes Material, darunter der genaue Lageplan der Wolfsschanze, Hitlers Hauptquartier, sowie wichtige Hinweise auf Spione und einen deutschen Geheimsender in Irland. Die Alliierten nutzen seine Informationen, aber Hitler bleibt an der Macht und der sinnlose Krieg geht weiter. Kolbe zweifelt mehr und mehr an seiner Mission, will aufgeben, doch Marlene, die Frau, die ihm alles bedeutet, ermutigt ihn zum Weitermachen. Bis es zu einem folgenschweren Unfall kommt … Andreas Kollenders Sprache entwickelt eine unglaubliche Sogwirkung, augenblicklich ist man gefangen in seiner Geschichte von Widerstand und Liebe, von Mut und Zivilcourage.
Sommer 1943: Hitler muss weg! Das steht für Fritz Kolbe fest. Als Mitarbeiter des Auswärtigen Amtes hat er Zugang zu streng geheimen Dokumenten, die er aus der Behörde schmuggelt. Eine Kurierfahrt in die Schweiz ermöglicht ihm die Kontaktaufnahme zu den Amerikanern. Kolbe beginnt ein lebensgefährliches Doppelleben. Er übergibt den Amerikanern hochbrisantes Material, darunter der genaue Lageplan der Wolfsschanze, Hitlers Hauptquartier, sowie wichtige Hinweise auf Spione und einen deutschen Geheimsender in Irland. Die Alliierten nutzen seine Informationen, aber Hitler bleibt an der Macht und der sinnlose Krieg geht weiter. Kolbe zweifelt mehr und mehr an seiner Mission, will aufgeben, doch Marlene, die Frau, die ihm alles bedeutet, ermutigt ihn zum Weitermachen. Bis es zu einem folgenschweren Unfall kommt … Andreas Kollenders Sprache entwickelt eine unglaubliche Sogwirkung, augenblicklich ist man gefangen in seiner Geschichte von Widerstand und Liebe, von Mut und Zivilcourage.
October 24, 2017
A great and important historical novel
If you are a student of history or simply enjoy historical novels you will love this book. It is an accurate depiction of the life of the most important spy of WWII for the fledging American OSS (predecessor to the CIA). It also offers interesting insights into the minds of two of the most important American intelligence operators in US history: Allen Dulles and William Priest. The English translation leaves the reader with a few notable grammatical quandaries as the English language isn't quite as precise as the author's native German. For that reason alone it rates four stars instead of the five it probably deserves.
If you are a student of history or simply enjoy historical novels you will love this book. It is an accurate depiction of the life of the most important spy of WWII for the fledging American OSS (predecessor to the CIA). It also offers interesting insights into the minds of two of the most important American intelligence operators in US history: Allen Dulles and William Priest. The English translation leaves the reader with a few notable grammatical quandaries as the English language isn't quite as precise as the author's native German. For that reason alone it rates four stars instead of the five it probably deserves.
April 25, 2022
This novel/thriller is based on the real-life spy Fritz Kolbe. Kolbe was a German civil servant, an assistant to a couple of ambassadors, who never joined the Nazi party. He hated the Nazis and what they were doing to his country. He want Hitler to be defeated so he decided to give critical and secret information to the Allies, specifically to the US's OSS. He wasn't recruited; he was not paid. He tried the Brits first but was turned away. He became Allen Dulles' most important spy, operating under the code name of George Wood.
I loved the historical part when Kolbe is remembering/explaining what he did. I did not like the structure of the novel at all.
I loved the historical part when Kolbe is remembering/explaining what he did. I did not like the structure of the novel at all.
March 1, 2019
I had a hard time getting through this. The book suffers from not being sure if it wants to be a biography, a novel, a history book, a polemic or whatever. The story of Kolbe is compelling and their are parts that are good but it deserves a better treatment. Whether the continual hints of some big unrevealed secret or the author saying all that was foreshadowing it just didn't mesh.
October 10, 2017
Great story it kept my attention. I liked the main character staying true to his beliefs and not cave in and join the nazi party. I hat d marleen left in the end.
These stories need to me told. What goes on in between the lines is what the story is about Very well wrote.
These stories need to me told. What goes on in between the lines is what the story is about Very well wrote.
April 29, 2018
A spy novel based upon real historical figures must eventually have some suspense and intrigue, right? One would think so -- but evidently not. I kept waiting and waiting, but this book never became interesting in the least. Not recommended for anyone.
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