The Wrath to Come: The Great Inpersonation (SPIES AND INTRIGUES)

By E. Phillips Oppenheim

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0918172136
• ISBN13: 9780918172136
• Release Date: January 1984
• Publisher: Leete's Island Books
• Length: 524 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 1.0" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

A Classic of Intrigue

The Wrath to Come. This 1920 work of fiction predicted a future Pact of Nations pledged to peace and limited armaments. America was not a member. Germany and Japan were, and conspired in a surprise attack on America. Japan would use a hidden fleet and "flying ships" to attack PEARL HARBOR! Germany, allied with Russia, would attack the East Coast. Since the Pact of Nations only guaranteed peace among its members, a non-member state was liable to be attacked (would a scrap of paper prevent this?). A conference at Nice is to vote on inviting America to join; a few members plan to blackball this. There is a former State Dept. official who is now a wealthy playboy in Monaco. Slattery foils this plot by inviting a delegate for a cruise, then heading out to sea to prevent his vote. Slattery is now a secret agent! The writing style and the culture reflect the 1920s, and cloak the realities of life that are more explicit in later decades. This restrained style has its charm. The idle rich spend time and money in Monaco, and its transient society. The gambling casino was used in WW II to arrange secret meetings: the numbers played on roulette would tell the day and time for the rendezvous to the knowledgeable onlooker without any personal contact! Ian Fleming used casinos in his stories (was "Auric Goldfinger" based on "Cornelius Blunn"?). The book also explains how the owners of newspapers create propaganda. "People can't help believing a thing they are always being told." If somebody becomes an obstacle, they can meet with an accident. Secret agents who talk in their sleep have a fault; they shouldn't travel with incriminating documents. This book records the pre-1930s when the Secret Service was responsible for counter-intelligence. Multiple organizations may prevent good coordination.

The Great Impersonation

E. Phillips Oppenheim, known as "The Prince of Story Tellers," penned the greatest spy novel ever in The Great Impersonation, and yet it's much more than a spy novel. A great book should tell a great story with great writing. Oppenheim does both with a style and grace far beyond modern writers. On the other hand, a good review should give nothing away, and know when to end, so I'll close by saying simply that our family (with four teenagers) read this aloud, usually a chapter or two -- and sometimes three or four -- each evening, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Happy reading.- Don