Blood of Victory: A Novel Alan Furst Random House August 27, 2002 In 1939, as the armies of Europe mobilized for war, the British secret services undertook operations to impede the exportation of Roumanian oil to Germany. They failed. Then, in the autumn of 1940, they tried again. So begins Blood of Victory , a novel rich with suspense, historical insight, and the powerful narrative immediacy we have come to expect from bestselling author Alan Furst. The book takes its title from a speech given by a French senator at a conference on petroleum in 1918: Oil, he said, the blood of the earth, has become, in time of war, the blood of victory. November 1940. The Russian writer I. A. Serebin arrives in Istanbul by Black Sea freighter. Although he travels on behalf of an migr organization based in Paris, he is in flight from a dying and corrupt Europespecifically, from Nazi-occupied France. Serebin finds himself facing his fifth war, but this time he is an exile, a man without a country, and there is no army to join. Still, in the words of Leon Trotsky, You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you. Serebin is recruited for an operation run by Count Janos Polanyi, a Hungarian master spy now working for the British secret services. The battle to cut Germanys oil supply rages through the spy haunts of the Balkans; from the Athene Palace in Bucharest to a whorehouse in Izmir; from an elegant yacht club in Istanbul to the river docks of Belgrade; from a skating pond in St. Moritz to the fogbound banks of the Danube; in sleazy nightclubs and safe houses and nameless hotels; amid the street fighting of a fascist civil war. Blood of Victory is classic Alan Furst, combining remarkable authenticity and atmosphere with the complexity and excitement of an outstanding spy thriller. As Walter Shapiro of Time magazine wrote, Nothing can be like watching Casablanca for the first time, but Furst comes closer than anyone has in years. From the Hardcover edition. About the Author Alan Furst is widely recognized as the master of the historical spy novel. He is the author of Night Soldiers, Dark Star, The Polish Officer, The World at Night, Red Gold, and Kingdom of Shadows. Born in New York, he has lived for long periods in France, especially Paris. He now lives on Long Island, New York.From the Hardcover edition. About Iceberg The Iceberg Reader revolutionizes the reading experience, making it easier than ever to browse, buy and enjoy books. Features - Attractive interface provides a natural reading experience with full pagination. - Table of Contents incorporates one click navigation. - Vertical and horizontal page orientation. - Adjust font size with a pinch, text reflows automatically. - Search the text within a book. - Create margin notes with user notation. About Scrollmotion ScrollMotion, creator of the Iceberg Reader, is a content technology company based in New York City. For more information, visit www.scrollmotion.com. Support If you have any technical problems please email us at icebergsupport@scrollmotion.com before you post a review.
