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A Covert Affair

Julia Child and Paul Child in the OSS
Jun 27, 2011rstocksf rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
I finished this book with mixed emotions. It is a compelling and well-written account, however it focuses more on the McCarthy era of the 1950's than on the war-time activities of the OSS. Furthermore, the story of Paul and Julia Child is secondary to the exploits of Jane Foster, an OSS colleague turned expatriate who may or may not have been a Soviet spy. The title of the book is a misleading attempt to capitalize on the famous Child name. In addition, Paul and Julia Child emerge as intellectual and political snobs; they reveled in the company of anyone whose point of view they agreed with, but had only disdain for those who disagreed with them. Finally, the book is in desperate need of a good line editor--a shocking number of typos, cliches, and grammatical errors litter the pages.