Cast No Shadow: The Life of the American Spy Who Changed the Course of World War II [Hardcover]

Mary Lovell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 24, 1992

A biography of one of the most successful spies in World War II tells how she used international, high-ranking trysts to pry top-secret information from the enemy and put it into the hands of Allied forces. 30,000 first printing. $30,000 ad/promo.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

An entertaining biography that reads like a novel, this is the story of a real-life spy heroine, Pack, a diplomat's wife who was one of Britain's most successful spies during World War II. Relying upon her charm, intelligence, and connections in the diplomatic world, she met and became the lover of diplomats and other officials, from whom she obtained vital secrets in a dangerous and exciting game of espionage. The author has thoroughly researched and carefully documented her subject, presenting the story of Pack in all of its dimensions, revealing in the process a woman who led a flawed but fascinating life. This carefully crafted, well-written, and readable book should appeal to a variety of readers, from World War II buffs to intrigue aficionados. Lovell is the author of two other skillful biographies of interesting women, Straight on Till Morning: The Biography of Beryl Markham ( LJ 9/15/87) and The Sound of Wings: The Life of Amelia Earhart ( LJ 10/15/89). Libraries that purchasesd these will want this one too.
- Barbara Walden, Univ. of Minnesota Libs., Minneapolis
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Women spies--often notoriously glamorous and driven as much by the thrills as the cause--have customarily used seduction to get what they want. Betty Pack, the subject of this latest biography by Lovell (The Sound of Wings, 1989; Straight on Till Morning, 1987), was a typical woman spy. Not so typical, though, was the significance of her accomplishment. Acknowledged as responsible for providing some of the most important British communications intelligence of WW II, the American-born Pack was a woman ``who took life as she found it, happily meeting challenge after challenge head-on, no matter what the consequences of the collision.'' Described as the most beautiful debutante of the Washington season, she was married at 19 to Arthur Pack, a British diplomat who had impregnated her. The child's birth was kept a secret for many years as Pack, a ``dreadful parent,'' let her son be reared by a foster family in England. Her espionage activities began while stationed in Civil War Spain and continued when her husband was transferred to Poland, where she seduced a top-ranking Pole from whom she learned details of the German Enigma code-machine. Her most significant triumphs, though, came in Washington. There, she seduced and turned an Italian admiral, as well as a Vichy French diplomat from whom she obtained ciphers that gave the Allies vital information about enemy movements. Loyal but unreflective, Pack had methods that were daring and unorthodox--her after-hours nude appearance at the French Embassy so stunned a suspicious nightwatchman that he fled, facilitating the opening of the safe holding the ciphers. Pack's life in France after the war was poignantly anticlimactic; she began writing her memoirs, but died in 1963 from cancer before they were complete. Solid research and tribute paid where due, though Pack, despite all the glamorous and daring things she did, and despite Lovell's best efforts, never quite comes alive here. Disappointing. (Sixteen pages of b&w photographs--not seen.) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 398 pages
• Publisher: Pantheon; 1st edition (March 24, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394575563
• ISBN-13: 978-0394575568
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #244,732 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Move Over, Mata Hari!, December 5, 2004

By 

Ruth B. Kaplan "sewfits" (Austin Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cast No Shadow: The Life of the American Spy Who Changed the Course of World War II (Hardcover)

Having been weaned on old B&W WWII espionage and romance behind the lines movies, I thought the reality would pall by comparison. How wrong I was! This fascinating look into the life of an unsung heroine of WWII is better than most fictions about the era. It includes lots of juicy details, such as speculating whether Arthur Pack was indeed the father of Betty's first child, Antony, who was fostered out and raised in England by another family, and only visited by his globe-trotting mother a couple of times during his childhood. Such tid bits, along with analysis of Betty's personality and why she was so promiscuous, make this an entertaining and stimulating read. There is no question that Betty Thorpe Pack was capable of being both seductive and abrasive by turns. What emerges is a picture of a thoroughly human individual who used her strengths and failings to aid in her country's defense. An overlooked story in the history of women.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a matter of opinion, February 17, 2011

By 

pfwells - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cast No Shadow: The Life of the American Spy Who Changed the Course of World War II (Hardcover)

Since this woman was a second cousin once removed, I will abstain from a personal evaluation. However, I loaned it to two female friends to read. One complained that there was too much sex, the other complained that there was too much history. You just can't please everybody!