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11th out of 75 books
—
14 voters
Lisbon: War in the Shadows of the City of Light, 1939-45
Lisbon had a pivotal role in the history of World War II, though not a gun was fired there. The only European city in which both the Allies and the Axis power operated openly, it was temporary home to much of Europe’s exiled royalty, over one million refugees seeking passage to the U.S., and a host of spies, secret police, captains of industry, bankers, prominent Jews, wri...more
Hardcover, 344 pages
Published
November 1st 2011
by PublicAffairs
(first published 2011)
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Sometimes, a small, quirky book can enlighten certain moments in history's backwaters with writing that may not be stellar, but gives us a unique glimpse at corners all but forgotten. Lochery had a tight, configured story to tell which helped explain the way the "neutrals" viewed Hitler, yet he tells his story in a film-noir style, evoking a Lisbon explicitly similar to Bogart's "Casablanca." Is the book a little bit gossipy in its tales of Wallis Simpson and Peggy Guggenheim? Without a doubt....more
A solid history of Portugal's role as a neutral country and Antonio Salazar's efforts to keep the country from being drawn into World War II -- or worse, being attacked by Spain. It tells the story of the capital, Lisbon, which was the capital of espionnage and counter-espionnage for the Allies and Axis powers during the war. Lochery keeps the story relevant to American readers by not delving too deeply into the histories of various Portugese personalities in the story, even cutting the story of...more
An additional sub-title for this book might be "how the dictator Salazar avoided fighting with either side, brought Portugual to a trade surplus and enriched its banks with gold stolen by the Nazis." Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, apparently the only European dictator of that era who did not strut about in military uniform, was in the sticky position of being leader of a country that had been allied to Britain since 1300 and also bordering a country, Spain, that appeared to be allied to Germany. S...more
This is a very fun read, even though the book is a bit uneven in places. The author, a historian in the United Kingdom, found a really fresh angle on the Second World War by writing about Portugal, an ostensibly neutral country. Much of the book focuses on the jockeying that occurred in Lisbon between the British, the Germans, and the Salazar government. The book really doesn't have much to do with Lisbon, apart from it being the location for most of these dealings, nor does it really explore Po...more
This book doesn't bring any new information but it's very objective about Portugal during the Estado Novo period, especially because it's unusual for Britons to understand the Portuguese point of view regarding WWII. Yet the author is quite impartial and completly understands the politics of a small state who managed to tread very carefully and shrewdly to avoid being sucked in to the worst conflict humanity ever went through.
Salazar had three main objectives: preserving the independence of Port...more
Salazar had three main objectives: preserving the independence of Port...more
Esta obra do autor escocês Neil Lochery, especialista em política e história europeia moderna, trata o clima que se vivia na cidade de Lisboa nos anos 40, quando decorria a II Guerra Mundial.
Lisboa torna-se um cenário de espionagem, bem aos estilo dos filmes de James Bond, em que o glamour e as tácticas de espionagem de guerra convivem lado a lado nos espaços cosmopolitas da capital e na zona de Cascais, onde se refugiam aristocratas e monarcas caídos em desgraça noutros países ocupados da Europ...more
Lisboa torna-se um cenário de espionagem, bem aos estilo dos filmes de James Bond, em que o glamour e as tácticas de espionagem de guerra convivem lado a lado nos espaços cosmopolitas da capital e na zona de Cascais, onde se refugiam aristocratas e monarcas caídos em desgraça noutros países ocupados da Europ...more
Portugal played a dangerous game of tightrope during World War II. On the one hand it was bound to England by treaty and on the other it was bound by idealogy to Fascism. But tthe Portuguese dictator, Antonio Salazar, was no Nazi ( he had Jewish friends and supporters) and correctly predicted that the Allies would win the war. His one goal was to keep Portugal out of the war especially in the light of his country's disasterous entry into the First World War. But Portugal had two things that were...more
From its advantageous position on the Atlantic, Portugal, poor and overlooked except for its traditional alliance with Britain, became a player of significance in WWII and Lisbon the center of covert and overt negotiations and scheming. While both sides bribed service industry workers and shuffled spies and refugees through the port, Salazar and his chief of Secret Police attempted to work to Portugal's survival and advantage--keeping neutrality in the face of threatened German invasion and Alli...more
Another country heard from: Portugal in WWII. Wow! Another world war seems a real possibility when you read about all the back dealing and corruption in a country that declared itself "neutral." They were, however, affected by all the rationing and limits that the war put on the rest of Europe. Makes me wonder how things really were in Switzerland, though in "Treasures from the Attic" about Anne Frank's family that made it to Switzerland, they seem to have had a relatively normal life.
I listened to this book and wonder whether I would have finished it if I'd been reading it on the page. Lisbon was the Casablanca of the famous movie, the place where spies and diplomats and bankers all met to do their wartime business in a neutral capital. This is first and foremost the story of Salazar, the dictator who ruled Portugal for 36 years. His greatest achievement was to keep Portugal neutral through the war which meant he traded with both the British and the Germans.
This is another area of WWII I'm not familiar with. I've never really considered the plight of neutral countries during the War. This is very informative about Lisbon, about Portugal, about Salazar, and about the intrigues amongst the Lisboetas, the Allies, and the Axis powers. Good read; I highly recommend it.
This book compliments a number of other recent books on the lesser known parts of World War II. The big takeaway that Lochery provides is a sense of how much Lisbon had to struggle to maintain its neutrality. As he so clearly shows, neutrality does not equal passivity. While not exactly a page turner, it pulled me along and made me appreciate the grey areas of the war.
Author kept the chapters fairly short, which is great for not getting bogged-down in too many details. Liked his portrayal of Salazar: not a Saint, not a bumpkin from some backwater state. Now looking for a decent bio of Salazar.
I tried sticking with this book but the writing left me bored. If there's any suspense, I never found it. Too bad because the subject matter certainly sounded intriguing.
A good book and well researched but could have done with more on the role of the Portuguese banks and the role the city played in the British double agents.
There are probably better works of nonfiction on Lisbon out there. It was still a good read and does provide an interesting account of the WWII era.
Salazar was the right man in the right place and did as much for the Portuguese as Churchill did for the British or Roosevelt did for the Americans.
The title is misleading. This is a biography of Salazar & I'm not a fan of biographies. During WWII Lisbon was a neutral country & a meeting place for all sorts of people on both sides. Unfortunately this book only touched on that briefly.
An interesting book about Portugal, Salazar and both Allied and German intrigue in a neutral country during WWII.
Essentially a biography of Dictator Salazar, Some good parts lots of fantasy.
I found this read very interesting as to Salazar, The Prime Minister of Portugal, and his ability to keep Portugal out of WWII. With German forces in France, Spain leaning towards the Axis powers, and an alliance with Britain going back centuries, PM Salazar had many "irons in the fire", and his constant juggling of these "irons" to keep Portugal neutral was a tremendous feat in itself. All in all I thought it was a very good read as to the trouble a country had to endure to remain neutral durin...more
A part of WWII history unknown to me before this.
Blah.
Read in preparation of our trip to Portugal this was a mildly interesting but repetitive take on the role of Lisbon during WWII.
Interesting book with lots of influence from the movie "Casablanca." Less about Lisbon itself than about the diplomatic back-and-forth between the Portuguese dictator Salazar (who the author seems to think did the right thing in walking the tightrope of neutrality during the war) and the British and Germans. The author's writing style takes some getting used to. Recommended for WWII enthusiats.
Interesting
Highly recommend if your traveling to Lisbon!
Para quem se interessa pelo tema da II Guerra Mundial, este livro expõe magnificamente a posição de Portugal, as políticas de neutralidade de Salazar e a espionagem face à guerra. Excelente e muito bem documentado.
Jun 18, 2013
Ana
marked it as to-read
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Neill Lochery, PhD, is a world-renowned source on Israel, the Middle East, and Mediterranean history. He is the author of five books and countless newspaper and magazine articles. He regularly appears on television in the UK, the USA, and the Middle East. He is currently based at University College London and divides his time between London, Lisbon, and the Middle East.
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