Customer Reviews

Moe Berg: The Spy Behind Home Plate (Jps Young Biography Series.)

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My son and I learned about Moe Berg at the Spy Museum in Washington DC (which is well worth a visit). Knowing he would have to write a biography book report in 5th grade, I ordered this book so he could cover something other than just sports. A jewish WWII spy who played pro baseball, spoke multiple languages, had a law degree, studied nuclear physics with Einstein and travelled the world . . . . an athlete and intellectual, eccentric and unusual. Berg's life story is fascinating, easily holding the interest of a fifth grader, and it made a stellar biography report. My son learned a lot about many subjects. So, I recommend the reading this book.

The book itself had some flaws, but Berg's life was interesting enough to get you through the book. A good editor with a heavy pen could have greatly improved the book. The author does not proceed in chronological order, although I found myself expecting it. This failure created confusion at times, and I felt obscured the early part of Moe's spy career. My son and I had to read and re-read, then take notes in chronological order to get the story straight. I felt that the failure to present things chronologically resulted in the author failing to identify the start of Berg's spying. The dates in the text do not always match the dates in the timeline in the book - a further irritant. The author seemed to make much more of Berg's jewish heritage than he seemed to.

This is not a great book, but the subject matter makes it worth a read and it really is a wonderful subject for a biography book report.

I loved this book because it was just like an autobiography, but not in first-person. I never knew that someone can be a outstanding baseball player, but also a sneaky spy.