By Kavita Mistry
by JanineS (Michigan): What an a compelling and captivating personal story of a woman learning of her family’s connection to WWIl and the bombing of Pearl Harbor via its roots in Nazi Germany. I simply found it hard to stop listening to this book (gratefully shared with me via Netgalley and the publisher, Macmillan Audio).
A chance letter from a Hollywood screenwriter researching for a script asked for help in finding her father, Eberhard Kuehn sent the author on a search only to find references to her grandfather, Otto, as a Nazi spy for Japan sent to Hawaii in 1935. Paid generously, the Kuehns spent lavishly and lived large all the while obtaining information for Japan as they prepared for their attack on America. Otto was convicted of espionage by a military tribunal in. 1942 and sentenced to death but it was commuted and he was deported. Eberhard disassociated himself from family and remained in America after his family left, hiding the secret of his family’s past.
With heart-wrenching honesty, the author reveals a story deserving of a place in niche history for all its wealth of historical relevance to Pearl Harbor and WWIl. It also is a heart-filled story as the author writes in her ending sentence: “Secrets eat love like acid but love regenerates.”
Highly recommend this extraordinary book!