The Hunt for Nazi Spies: Fighting Espionage in Vichy France Book

An examination of espionage and counter-espionage in Vichy France, this book explores long-held assumptions of how the various groups within the Vichy government worked against their Nazi occupiers. Kitson examined primary sources, including correspondence between Marshal Petain and the heads of the various espionage groups under the government's umbrella, files on captured spies, and private diaries. His conclusion is that while the Vichy government collaborated with the Nazis, they also employed counter-espionage efforts mainly against Axis powers in an effort to maintain sovereignty.

The argument of the book is very persuasive. Not knowing much about Vichy France (though being quite interested in World War II history), I had expected that any spying going on under the government's aegis served the Nazi agenda and was aimed at the Allied powers. Kitson's work argues that Vichy espionage and counter-espionage was governed more by French prejudices and desires.

My only--possibly biggest--problem with the book is a lack of proofreading. I'm not sure if the mistakes I noted are a result of translation (the book was written in French by a British professor at a French university and translated into English by a French scholar), but I was at first confused then irritated by the use of "discrete" in place of "discreet"--the context every time was clearly meant for the latter. There were similar problems with other words, as well as numerous misplaced commas that left me looking for clauses that didn't exist. Frankly, I expected better of the University of Chicago Press, whose style manual is my editorial bible.