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MacArthur's Spies
- The Soldier, the Singer, and the Spymaster Who Defied the Japanese in World War II
- Narrated by: Peter Eisner
- Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins
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MacArthur's Spies
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Summary
A thrilling story of espionage, daring, and deception set in the exotic landscape of occupied Manila during World War II.
On January 2, 1942, Japanese troops marched into Manila unopposed by US forces. Manila was a strategic port, a romantic American outpost, and a jewel of a city. Tokyo saw its conquest of the Philippines as the key in its plan to control all of Asia, including Australia. Thousands of soldiers surrendered and were sent on the notorious 80-mile Bataan Death March. But thousands of other Filipinos and Americans refused to surrender and hid in the Luzon hills above Bataan and Manila. MacArthur's Spies is the story of three of them and how they successfully foiled the Japanese for more than two years, sabotaging Japanese efforts and preparing the way for MacArthur's return.
From a jungle hideout, Colonel John Boone, an enlisted American soldier, led an insurgent force of Filipino fighters who infiltrated Manila as workers and servants to stage demolitions and attacks.
"Chick" Parsons, an American businessman, polo player, and expatriate in Manila, was also a US Navy intelligence officer. He escaped in the guise of a Panamanian diplomat and returned as MacArthur's spymaster, coordinating the guerrilla efforts with the planned Allied invasion.
And finally there was Claire Phillips, an itinerant American torch singer with many names and almost as many husbands. Her nightclub in Manila served as a cover for supplying food to Americans in the hills and to thousands of prisoners of war. She and the men and women who worked with her gathered information from the collaborating Filipino businessmen; the homesick, English-speaking Japanese officers; and the spies who mingled in the crowd.
Fans of Alan Furst and Ben Macintyre - and anyone who loves Casablanca - will relish this true tale of heroism when it counted the most.
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Critic reviews
“It’s a barn-burner of a story, a fight for love and glory, and Eisner’s impeccable research and reporting bring it to life. Here’s looking at you, Claire.” (Washington Post)
“A well-researched, entertaining, and informative look at the resistance to the Japanese occupation.” (Publishers Weekly)
“Peter Eisner does a masterful job of telling the colorful, largely unknown story of an intrepid array of Americans in the Philippines who evaded capture by the Japanese in World War II and helped mount a powerful resistance movement against them. A sultry nightclub owner in Manila and a businessman who used his cover as a Central American consul to spy on the Japanese are just two members of a fabulous cast of characters that could have come straight from a Graham Greene novel.” (Lynne Olson, author of Citizens of London and Last Hope Island)