Avenue of Spies: A True Story of Terror, Espionage, and One American Family's Heroic Resistance in Nazi-Occupied Paris

by Alex Kershaw

Overview

The best-selling author of The Liberator brings to life the incredible true story of an American doctor in Paris, and his heroic espionage efforts during World War II.

The leafy Avenue Foch, one of the most exclusive residential streets in Nazi-occupied France, was Paris's hotbed of daring spies, murderous secret police, amoral informers, and Vichy collaborators. So when American physician Sumner Jackson, who lived with his wife and young son Phillip at Number 11, found himself drawn into the Liberation network of the French resistance, he knew the stakes were impossibly high. Just down the road at Number 31 was the "mad sadist" Theodor Dannecker, an Eichmann protégé charged with deporting French Jews to concentration camps. And Number 84 housed the Parisian headquarters of the Gestapo, run by the most effective spy hunter in Nazi Germany.

From his office at the American Hospital, itself an epicenter of Allied and Axis intrigue, Jackson smuggled fallen Allied fighter pilots safely out of France, a job complicated by the hospital director's close ties to collaborationist Vichy. After witnessing the brutal round-up of his Jewish friends, Jackson invited Liberation to officially operate out of his home at Number 11—but the noose soon began to tighten. When his secret life was discovered by his Nazi neighbors, he and his family were forced to undertake a journey into the dark heart of the war-torn continent from which there was little chance of return.

Drawing upon a wealth of primary source material and extensive interviews with Phillip Jackson, Alex Kershaw recreates the City of Light during its darkest days. The untold story of the Jackson family anchors the suspenseful narrative, and Kershaw dazzles readers with the vivid immediacy of the best spy thrillers. Awash with the tense atmosphere of World War II's Europe, Avenue of Spies introduces us to the brave doctor who risked everything to defy Hitler.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780804140041
Publisher:	Crown Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/04/2015
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	218,103
File size:	10 MB

About the Author

ALEX KERSHAW is the New York Times bestselling author of several books on World War II, including The Bedford Boys and The Longest Winter. He lives in Willamstown, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

Part 1 City Of Darkness

Chapter 1 The Fall 3

Chapter 2 To Save France 11

Chapter 3 The Fourteenth 21

Chapter 4 Day Trippers 29

Chapter 5 Spies of Summer 33

Chapter 6 Winged Victory 41

Part 2 Armies of the Night

Chapter 7 On Doctor's Orders 55

Chapter 8 Avenue Boche 65

Chapter 9 The Shadow Game 75

Chapter 10 Number 11 81

Chapter 11 The Last Summer 93

Chapter 12 The Last Metro 109

Part 3 Night and Fog

Chapter 13 Guests of the Reich 123

Chapter 14 The Coup: July 20, 1944 139

Chapter 15 Ave Maria 147

Chapter 16 Days of Glory 161

Chapter 17 Night and Fog 177

Chapter 18 Neuengamme 185

Chapter 19 Deliverance 191

Part 4 After the Fall

Chapter 20 One Day in May 203

Chapter 21 His Majesty's Service 209

Chapter 22 Justice 217

Epilogue: Les Invalides 225

Acknowledgments 229

Notes 231

Bibliography 267

Index 273

Editorial Reviews

08/10/2015
WWII historian Kershaw (The Liberator) revisits the valorous actions of American surgeon Sumner Jackson who, along with his French wife, Toquette, and young son, Phillip, falsified the medical records of Allied pilots and troops at the American Hospital in Paris to aid them in escaping the Nazis. During the four years of German occupation, the Jackson residence—which was located on the same avenue as the Gestapo headquarters—became a valuable conduit for French resistance fighters, who from the fall of 1940 had been pitted against the Nazi Schutzstaffel and their informers. Kershaw, using war documents and interviews with the aging Phillip, brilliantly captures the deadly cat-and-mouse game between Charles de Gaulle's underground and the Nazis and Vichy fascists. As the Gestapo infiltrate the resistance and discover its secrets, the Jacksons suffer the same fate as their friends, enduring the unspeakable torment of those they aided in the closing moments of the war. Kershaw's sobering look at a family's heroism in one of the history's darkest hours vividly shows what war costs in human terms. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

New York Times Bestseller

"Rich in atmosphere and noirish effects, Kershaw’s story centers on the harrowing experience of American-born doctor Sumner Jackson and his family, who undertook dangerous work for the French Resistance." —Boston Globe

"From the opening pages, when Kershaw...drops us into the invasion of Paris, we know that we are in good hands. This is classic narrative nonfiction, constructed and written like a thriller." —Chicago Tribune

"It's the least surprising thing in the world to discover that historian Alex Kershaw's latest book, Avenue of Spies, has already been optioned for development with Sony Pictures TV. Its circumstances — an American family in Paris aiding the French resistance from an apartment only a few doors down from the Paris headquarters of the SS — are too cinematic to ignore." —NPR

"A true story that reads like a thriller." —New York Post

"Avenue of Spies provides a lens into the life of a family’s extraordinary espionage efforts...Gripping...and inspiring. This is a powerful book to read anytime, but especially as we mark the 75th anniversary of the Nazi occupation of France." —Missourian

"Brilliantly captures the deadly cat-and-mouse game between Charles de Gaulle's underground and the Nazis and Vichy fascists...Kershaw's sobering look at a family's heroism in one of the history's darkest hours vividly shows what war costs in human terms." —Publishers Weekly

"Kershaw portrays the suspense and terror of this time in the plight of one well-intentioned American-French family caught up in the horror. A tenderly engaging saga of solid research and emotional connection." —Kirkus Reviews

"An intense, moving account that also serves to vividly describe the life of ordinary Parisians under the occupation." —Booklist [starred]

"Written with an engaging and expressive writing style, Kershaw's stirring tale of good and evil in the City of Light will have wide appeal." —Library Journal

"[A] tense and compelling narrative." —BookPage

"With a master storyteller's gift for character, pacing, and heart-stopping detail, Alex Kershaw transports us to wartime Paris, where one American family risked their lives to join the Resistance and defy Hitler. Avenue of Spies is a haunting, harrowing tale that reads like an elegant thriller, with the added benefit that every word is true. I was gripped by the first page to the last." —Karen Abbott, bestselling author of Sin in the Second City and Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy

"Avenue of Spies is the best kind of spy story—a true one.  Alex Kershaw has written a heart-rending thriller of espionage set in the darkest shadow of the Holocaust. A powerful story of quiet heroism." —Kai Bird, Pulitzer Prize-winning co-author of American Prometheus and bestselling author of The Good Spy

 "Alex Kershaw’s Avenue of Spies is a good book with a good story, but what I like especially about it is that it's an 'Americans abroad' story—Ex-pat Nation is loaded with brave, idealistic people and the Jackson family numbered high among them." —Alan Furst, author of Midnight in Europe

"Avenue of Spies is an unforgettable testament to the power of personal courage and conviction in the face of evil. Sumner Jackson and his family were caught in a vortex of fear and hatred that was as close as a neighbor’s door on Avenue Foch in Paris. They risked everything in the darkest hours of Nazi terror, determined to fight for human dignity and freedom. This is a story of resistance and bravery that is profoundly uplifting." —David E. Hoffman, author of The Billion Dollar Spy and The Dead Hand

"A spellbinding tale of triumph and tragedy. Intimate and terrifying, Avenue of Spies is impossible to put down. This is Alex Kershaw at his best." —Annie Jacobsen, bestselling author of Operation Paperclip 

"Avenue of Spies delivers a crisp, pulse-pounding narrative. Kershaw recreates the drama and suspense of war-torn occupied Paris. A taut thriller, the book is centered on an intrepid American family and is filled with a cast of unforgettable characters. Avenue of Spies is like sipping a fine wine: sublime!" —Patrick K. O'Donnell, bestselling author of First SEALs: the Untold Story of the Forging of America's Most Elite Unit​

"Kershaw marries sterling research with first-rate storytelling to put readers on the occupied streets of Paris, looking back over our shoulders in fear. Avenue of Spies is a triumph, an outstanding addition to World War II history." —Gregory A. Freeman, author of The Forgotten 500 and The Last Mission of the Wham Bam Boys

 “Kershaw is a master storyteller, and Avenue of Spies, like his previous books, reads like a thriller. From the opening scene…until the final desperate struggle that dominates the narrative’s conclusion, Kershaw has crafted a gripping, taut story that will keep readers turning pages long after they should have turned out the light.” —James Scott, Charleston Post and Courier

From the Publisher

06/01/2015
When German forces marched into Paris in June 1940, many of Adolf Hitler's highest ranking officials quickly took up residence along Avenue Foch, the exclusive boulevard near the Arc de Triomphe. Despite the close proximity of prominent military and gestapo officers, American physician Sumner Jackson and his French wife, Toquette, carried out clandestine opposition activities at their nearby residence throughout the war years. From a hospital in Neuilly, Jackson smuggled downed airmen out of France. Meanwhile, from their home on Avenue Foch, Toquette and son Phillip provided a safe haven for members of the French Resistance. Based largely on personal interviews with Phillip, best-selling author Kershaw (The Bedford Boys; The Longest Winter) relates the remembered stories of one heroic family against the backdrop of larger world events. This book joins a growing number of accounts of life in France under Nazi occupation, including Ronald C. Rosbottom's When Paris Went Dark, Caroline Morehead's Village of Secrets, and Peter Grose's A Good Place To Hide. VERDICT Written with an engaging and expressive writing style, Kershaw's stirring tale of good and evil in the City of Light will have wide appeal.—Linda Frederiksen, Washington State Univ. Lib., Vancouver

Library Journal

In steady tones, Mark Deakins narrates this chilling history of espionage in German-occupied France during WWII. The story features two people, a 30-year-old SS-Standartenführer named Helmut Knochen and an American named Sumner Jackson. Both live on Avenue Foch, where the Gestapo tortures resisters and spies work to obtain and pass along information. Jackson, a WWI veteran who is now a doctor, helps wounded British and Americans escape the Nazis. Mark Deakins’s subtle French accents and flawlessly enunciated German terms are intertwined in a relentless performance. As Jackson, his wife, and their son secretly work with the French Resistance at great risk to themselves, Deakins’s narration keeps listeners glued to the battle of wits and nerve in Vichy France. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2015 - AudioFile

In steady tones, Mark Deakins narrates this chilling history of espionage in German-occupied France during WWII. The story features two people, a 30-year-old SS-Standartenführer named Helmut Knochen and an American named Sumner Jackson. Both live on Avenue Foch, where the Gestapo tortures resisters and spies work to obtain and pass along information. Jackson, a WWI veteran who is now a doctor, helps wounded British and Americans escape the Nazis. Mark Deakins’s subtle French accents and flawlessly enunciated German terms are intertwined in a relentless performance. As Jackson, his wife, and their son secretly work with the French Resistance at great risk to themselves, Deakins’s narration keeps listeners glued to the battle of wits and nerve in Vichy France. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2015 - AudioFile

2015-05-13
The saga of a well-situated American doctor and his Swiss-born wife caught up in Resistance activity in occupied Paris. Kershaw (The Liberator: One World War II Soldier's 500-Day Odyssey from the Beaches of Sicily to the Gates of Dachau, 2012, etc.) tells a sympathetic story of an American doctor at Neuilly-sur-Seine's prestigious American Hospital in Paris, a veteran of World War I who married a Parisian and resolved, with her and their adolescent son, to stay in Paris and carry on when the Nazis arrived. Dr. Sumner Jackson was the chief surgeon of the American Hospital, a somewhat forbidding, short-tempered, enormously capable doctor who decided to stay in Paris when the Nazis invaded, mainly because his wife, Toquette, was so ardently opposed to living in America. Many of the other chief doctors at the hospital decamped (or committed suicide), but Jackson stayed on, making sure the hospital stayed full—he evacuated the French and protected the English and American POW patients by falsifying records—so that the Germans would not think to close it. Kershaw also depicts the tightening of the SS tentacles on life in Paris thanks to the impassioned work of Paris Gestapo chief Helmut "Bones" Knochen, who lodged on the chic Avenue Foch, where Jackson and his family also lived. The avenue, named for the hero of World War I who had shamed the vanquished Germans at Versailles—an irony not lost on the occupiers—became the locus of Nazi power in Paris and was thus attractive to the leaders of the Resistance, who enlisted Toquette to use the family's place as a spy drop. Famine, patriotism, collaboration, deportation—Kershaw portrays the suspense and terror of this time in the plight of one well-intentioned American-French family caught up in the horror. A tenderly engaging saga of solid research and emotional connection.

Kirkus Reviews