The Last Goodnight: A World War II Story of Espionage, Adventure Betrayal by Howard Blum

The Last Goodnight: A World War II Story of Espionage, Adventure Betrayal Reviews

• 
  Brandon Forsyth

  "This is a true story," Howard Blum writes in the foreword to his biography of Betty Pack, a spy in World War II. I should have trusted my tingling Spidey-sense and just put the book down right then. What follows over the next 500 pages is a regrettable attempt to tell the reader what people were thinking and tell a history through absolutes. Ms. Pack is a fascinating (and often despicable) character, but there is a discernible lack of critical analysis of the source materials on display here. Mr. Blum writes for Vanity Fair, and this book displays the kind of breathless reporting that publication is sometimes raked over the coals for. But even if this book was classified as fiction, it still suffers from some odd storytelling choices. The book goes back and forth between Betty's spy adventures and her reliving them to an author friend of hers, and the payoff for this framing device feels obligatory and unearned. Only amateur historians and die-hard espionage enthusiasts need apply - Ben Macintyre this ain't.
• 
  Cold War Conversations Podcast

  The “Mata Hari from Minnesota
  
  If you’ve never heard of Betty Pack, then neither had I until I read this book.
  
  It’s a fascinating story of an American born British diplomat’s wife who was hailed by OSS chief General “Wild Bill" Donovan as “the greatest unsung heroine of the war.”
  
  She seduced and at times fell in love with her targets as she obtained secrets from Polish Officers, Italian Officers and Vichy French diplomats.
  
  Howard Blum, through access to recently unclassified files discovers the truth about the attractive blond, codenamed “Cynthia,” whose missions ranged from the Spanish Civil War to obtaining Polish notebooks that proved key to Alan Turing’s success in breaking the enigma codes. His writing reads like a novel, but he backs up his work with extensive references.
  
  Blum’s book is also the sad tale of a troubled woman unable to form deep emotional connections, resulting in estrangement from her children and her immediate family.
  
  A fascinating read and a great tribute to a brave and amazing woman whose work alone may well have shortened World War 2.
  
  I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
  
• 
  Peter

  I cannot vouch for the veracity of this book. The author certainly takes interpretive liberties. But it is a fascinating read. Now I must take other reviewers to task. Many reviews are making a big deal about Betty's morals and her willingness to use men and use sex to further her own ends. They like to point out that she was not very involved with her children. This is just blatant sexism. In almost all of her trysts she was a mistress. Men back then had mistresses. Also, many men abandoned their families for the sake of their intelligence and military careers. And men left their families to throw their bodies at Nazi and Japanese fire. So what if Betty used her sexual powers? It's not as if men were not using deception on a mass basis to con young soldiers into signing up and subjecting themselves to enemy fire. Criticizing Betty for her choices without criticizing the men who handled her is like criticizing sex workers without taking into account all of their male customers.
  
  I agree that this book could have taken on a more critical stance. But that was not the book the author set out to write. It's a book that straddles the line between fiction and non-fiction. It's a book that attempts to re-set our perspective on who the heroes of WWII were. It does its job well.
• 
  Brian Eshleman

  I've always seen espionage as a compelling picture of spiritual warfare, the Christian's position by grace being that of "agents" of the coming order, poking here and there to expose the limits of the current power structure and its assumptions.
  
  In that vein, this was really enjoyable. The book was especially enjoyable for me when the offer would pause his narrative of the heroine's experience and points to the principles of espionage. Conversely, the actual heroin caused me a healthy discomfort.
  
  In my flesh, I would still prefer God didn't use people flawed in ways I especially disapprove of to accomplish His purposes. I would prefer You leave me complacent, history major though I may be, in my generational assumptions that because those who lived through World War II talked better and dressed better that they were not subject to common temptations.
• 
  Jeff Elliott

  I struggled to give this book two stars. The writing got better as it went but it started off as if the author had never seen an adjective he didn't like. After reading the book I read several reviews most of them really good. I don't agree with them. Sorry, I don't think she's a hero. Much of the complicated world of espionage goes beyond pretty girl meets important diplomat, seduces him in the afternoon, sleeps with him in the evening, he gives her the important information she needs. That's pretty much how the book reads. On only two occasions did she receive information that she acquired through not sleeping with someone and even then she slept with someone to get access. Sorry, I'm really struggling to believe it was that easy. We should have sent this woman over to meet Hitler, she could of stopped the war by the next morning! I read a lot of WWII history and a lot of espionage and this book makes it seem that Bletchley Park, the Polish enigma mathemeticians and several other important code breakers were unnecessary.
  The list of spy heroics attributed to Betty are simply unbelievable. The way she easily manipulated each and every man she came into contact who had information she needed is even more unbelievable. On only one occasion does she experience regret for sleeping with someone. I agree with others that there are many regretful incidences in her life--constant infidelity, child abandonment, and many others and the things that are attributed to her to justify it seem to me to be a stretch. I hope I'm wrong and she was responsible for all the informational coups that are attributed to her but I don't think even they can justify her actions.
  Having said that, I wish I would have skipped this book. There are many more heroic and credible stories to tell about the war.
  
  
  
• 
  Lisa

  This story of Betty Pack, who worked for British Intelligence during the Second World War and was apparently instrumental in achieving important intelligence coups, is notable mostly because Mrs. Pack was so immoral--she was the ultimate Honey Trap, with no scruples and no inhibitions about the manner of or men with whom she plyed her trade. The author thinks the war could have been lost without her, and perhaps that is true, but it is difficult and perhaps not worthwhile to read of her repeated seductions of weak men, even though she was brave and smart about it. While motivated in part by patriotism, she seems to have been motivated mostly by the boredom of life without constant excitement and danger, and seems to have gone beyond the point where she could not rationalize any immoral choice at a very early age. The author's use of a frame for the story seems like an unnecessary device. The book is thoroughly researched and has extensive notes. I can only guess what the title has to do with the book. Again, even though I finished the book, I cannot recommend it as a worthwhile or enlightening read for anyone.
• 
  Lauren

  Hello, fun summer read.
  
  Putting aside my quibbles about this book – let’s just say Mr. Blum’s note in the beginning about the thin line between fact and fiction is an understatement – this is a flat-out fun book to read. I mean, come on! It’s about a socialite who becomes a spy during World War II! And she’s totally cool with using sex as a way to gather intelligence! And there’s a wonderful lack of preachy morals about the ethics of what she’s doing! She loves what she does, doesn’t see the problem with it, and let’s move on with the story.
  
  But this is one of those non-fiction reads that will probably be best enjoyed (especially by history nerds) if viewed more as fiction heavily influenced by actual events. Parts of feel too slick, doubly so in cases when the only sources are those involved in the events, to leave me confident the events as told are not heavily embellished.
  
  Overall, though, this is pretty close to my idea of a perfect summer non-fiction read: it seems serious but reads like a breeze and is just the right amount of sensationalist. Recommended.
• 
  Candy

  This is the story of World War II spy, Betty Pack, codenamed Cynthia. Betty was born Amy Elizabeth Thorpe on November 22, 1910, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Betty was meant to be a spy. She was certainly masterful in the art of deception, and had no compunction about using people to gain the information she was after.
  
  Betty’s father was a distinguished U.S. Marine Corps officer and her mother’s life mission was to further the family, and her children, in society. She entertained lavishly, and her dinner guests included the vice president. Betty, however, wasn’t having any of that. She was pregnant by one man, but chose another, Arthur Pack, to be her husband. Pack was with the British embassy, and perhaps Betty saw marriage to him as a way to travel the world. They never loved each other, and she seemed to barely tolerate him later in life. Betty’s son was born, and it was determined to be best that a foster family raise him as Arthur was being sent to Spain. Once in Spain, Betty is still presumably sleeping with her husband, she has a lover, and is also sleeping with a priest who is helping her convert to Catholicism! That’s right. You can’t make this stuff up. Her lover is imprisoned, and she leaves her husband and a second child, Denise, to try and free her lover. Well, she frees a marquis along the way, and ends up being recruited as a spy for MI6.
  
  Betty loved the intrigue. She would seduce men, become their lover, and elicit all manner of secrets. She was quite effective at her job, and even after some men found out they had been played and she didn’t love them, they were heartbroken that the relationship ended. They weren’t heartbroken over the fact that she didn’t love them and just used them. They would have waited the remainder of their lives for her.
  
  Betty was credited with obtaining valuable ciphers, codes and secrets that helped the Allies immensely and changed the course of the war. Betty was never troubled by her actions, until later in life when she was facing her own mortality and examining her life. Like I said, she was meant to be a spy.
  
  
  https://candysplanet.wordpress.com
• 
  Katie Osborne

  Bored with the narrative and irritated by her emotionless prowess, I found Betty's story to be prolonged and unengaging. Initially the concept of this story intrigued me, but I was soon disappointed by underwhelming character development and writing. I discovered a few interesting historical tidbits here and there, but it was not enough to save this story.
• 
  Nancy

  Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this non-fiction spy story is that the protagonist who "changed the course of WW2" is not a familiar character to most of us. Betty Pack? Who?
  
  I primarily read fiction, so it may be unfair of me to judge this dynamic woman's story by the same standards I would a novel. But, as much of a page-turner as it was at points, and as fascinating as it was to learn of this daring woman's exploits (on behalf of Great Britain), I found the stories repetitious. Target man; exploit man; move on.
  
  Betty Pack was apparently "a stunner." And, to accomplish the feats that Howard Blum attributes to her, she must have been a show-stopper. I have met many beautiful women in my life, and many very smart women, but I can't think of a soul whom I've encountered who could have managed to captivate and deceive so many men. Thus, my fascination with the story.
  
  It would be very interesting to hear some first hand reports about Betty Pack from men and women who knew her (not a single female friend is ever mentioned in this book---nor any other friends who were not work-related). The book really attempted to sort out the psychology of the woman who could use other people with such alacrity and have virtually no regard for her
• 
  Katelynn

  Oof. What should have been a really interesting story was turned into a complete bore. There are two reasons for this: 1.) the author essentially copy and pasted this story from previously published and unpublished books, so it kind of felt like reading a book report, and 2.) the author left out just about anything that would humanize Betty and instead decided to focus on her bedroom exploits.
  
  Don't get me wrong. I understand that her sexual escapades played a big part in her role within the world of intelligence and that, ultimately, Betty Pack was a pretty selfish person who thought solely of what would please her. I don't think any writer could have turned her into a wholly sympathetic character. However, she was an intelligent woman with more to offer than can be found in this book. This story probably would've been better off left in the hands of a writer (preferably female-identifying) who would've had a bit more interest in the reasoning behind her actions rather than a guy who pretty much just chalked it up to "girls just wanna have fun".
• 
  Kara Neal

  This was interesting from a psychological viewpoint. While reading, I did my best to understand what would compel this woman to make the choices she did. Although in my opinion it read more like historical fiction than nonfiction, I like historical fiction well enough, and was intrigued by this real person whom I'd never heard of before. Some of the accounts seem quite farfetched. Frankly, this book was morally offensive. Unsung heroine of the war?! Readers, this woman was a shameless hussy, always looking to fill her own longing for adventure. At times it may have served her own or her adopted country's political interests, but her actions seemed to me to be mostly self-serving. This book seemed more fictional bodice-ripper than serious nonfiction due to the inclusion of far more graphic details than I consider necessary. Mata Hari of Minnesota? More like the town pump!
• 
  Carolyn Wagner

  I nearly didn't finish this book. It wasn't until the middle of the book that the story really started to move, but prior to that, we were introduced to a very self-centered, self-serving female. Yes, she helped the Allied cause, but it wasn't for a sense of duty to her country, because it wasn't until much later that she became an American agent. It was for the adventure and the sex and the thrill of manipulating men. The writer made sure we new that no man was immune to her beauty and charm - not even her priest! Within minutes of meeting her, every man she came into contact with was apparently ready to divorce their wives and/or quit their jobs and/or move across the world for her. She tossed aside her children, her husband, and her country for thrill and adventure. If this book was meant to garnish admiration for her, it failed miserably, at least for me.
• 
  Debbie

  The title of this book intrigued me more than the actual read of the book. While I understand that being a spy to the years leading up to WWII was an exciting and dangerous job, the details of the life Betty Pack lived are mainly the author's imagined account of how Betty lived her life. While no doubt exciting to her, it was also so heartbreaking as she left behind a husband, abandoned her daughter, and gave a son up as well. While she may have considered her life exciting, to me it was sad what she gave up to be one of WWII's Allied spies.
• 
  Barbara Nudo

  Ugh. My favorite genre is historical fiction. Esp. during WW1 and WW2 and involving those who fought in the Resistance. So I thought this book sounded amazing. It is written well enough, but the main character was such an annoying character I could not finish (and I rarely give up on a book). Her interest in espionage was completely self-serving, and she was constantly being pulled this way and that by the next shiny object. What a bore.
• 
  Becky Loader

  If I had read this book as a fictional accounting, I would have found it hard to believe. As non-fiction, it is also hard to believe.
• 
  Frances Whited

  Howard Blum seems to have been quite conflicted about his subject. There is more than a little slut-shaming in his descriptions of Betty Pack's behavior. Towards the conclusion of the book, he musters up some grudging respect for her, but the overall finger-wagging tone of the book left a bad taste in my mouth.
• 
  Sean Lynn

  If this weren't a true story, it would seem like a contrived spy thriller where a special agent Betty Pack uses her feminine wiles, to charm, beguile, and seduce secrets from the enemy. Betty Pack, however, was a real person, who repeatedly put herself at risk, and proved instrumental in many successful MI6 missions during world war II. Granted, she often worked as a honeypot agent, but it just seems like the book really leaned into that aspect. It's all in the title, The Last Goodnight. That's not to say that this is a bad book. It seems to be researched pretty well and primary sources were used when possible. I guess I just didn't enjoy it as much as I was hoping to.
• 
  Fred Shaw

  This is the story of a pedigreed Washington debutant, Elizabeth Thorpe, who became a spy. Without any training or handler, at least in the beginning, Betty Pack (her married name) stepped into the world of espionage using her greatest tools: beauty, guile and fearlessness. There will soon be a movie about the "blonde James Bond, who was in the words of Bill Donovan, "the greatest unsung hero of WW II."" By the way she probably had as many lovers as 007. You may find as I did, a struggle to stay engaged in the story. However, the last 700 pages made it worthwhile.
• 
  Darla

  A provocative look into the life of Betty Pack (code name Cynthia) and her service to the Allied cause in the late 30's and early 40's. Her ability to charm men into sharing their secrets and her dedication to the cause wreaked havoc in her personal life, but she maintained her fidelity to "the service." This well-researched volume gives us insights into her motivation while following her exploits. Reading this book made me ponder the plight of our espionage agents and the sacrifices they make to serve our country.
• 
  Sarah

  Whew! Fascinating stuff here about Betty Pack, a real WWII spy. She slept her way through secrets, and did all sorts of things that were intriguing. Why is there not a movie here? Her story
  
  screech!!!!!! (it's amazing what a Google search can do)
  
  Jennifer Laurence might be playing Betty Pack in a movie--she'd be perfect!
  
  
  http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/betty-pack-j...
• 
  Joyce Reynolds-Ward

  An interesting look at one of the unsung heroines of the WWII era. One reason Betty Pack probably has been less-known probably is tied to her pragmatic usage of men in the same manner that many men would use women to gain information. Pack herself is somewhat unsympathetic as the author chronicles her pragmatic hops from bed to bed in order to gather information for the British Secret Service. That said, no one says a hero or heroine has to be sympathetic.
• 
  Nicole Brown

  A thrilling read about a woman no one has heard of who, Betty Thorpe who spied for the Brits during the War.
  
  History is a nightmare.
  -James Joyce (Ulysses)
  
  You will find it difficult to, I think to live on the surface in the company of Spaniards. We do not understand this way of existing. That is why we’re the despair of the Anglo-Saxons. What you call dramatics, we call truth!
  -Howard Blum (The Last Goodnight: A World War II Story of Espionage, Adventure, and Betrayal p 103)
  
  What also distinguished him—and this was undoubtedly the secret of Castlerosse’s success—was his quick wit and brash, mischievous charm. A society doyenne out to get revenge for some slight approached him at a party, tapped his massive waist-coated belly with a catty finger, and snarled, “If this stomach were on a woman, I would think she was pregnant.” Without missing a beat, his lordship drawled back, “Madam, a half-hour ago it was on a woman and by now she very well might be pregnant.”
  -Howard Blum (The Last Goodnight: A World War II Story of Espionage, Adventure, and Betrayal p 107)
  
  From the moment she boarded the train—tried to unsuccessfully to light her cigarette with a box of Spanish matches and in her frustration quipped, “This is the only thing in Spain that doesn’t strike,” a friendship was born.
  -Howard Blum (The Last Goodnight: A World War II Story of Espionage, Adventure, and Betrayal p 108)
  
  “I could never love anyone completely. I am twenty-six already and the thing you mean is never likely to happen to me.” Now at fifty-three, a lifetime of experiences behind her, she saw that her prediction had proven true. Her heart could soar. Yet it would never find long-term fulfillment. A steady, companionable happiness would always elude her.
  -Howard Blum (The Last Goodnight: A World War II Story of Espionage, Adventure, and Betrayal p 170)
  
  Cast a cold Eye
  On Life, on Death
  Horsemen, pass by!
  -W. B. Yeats
  
  He might have suggested that confusing passion for love was, in its too human way, an honest mistake.
  -Howard Blum (The Last Goodnight: A World War II Story of Espionage, Adventure, and Betrayal p 240)
  
  If she continually convinced herself that she was falling in love, than one day, she wanted to believe, it would actually be true. She would be at peace and would finally settle into an imagined happiness. Her restlessness would vanish.
  -Howard Blum (The Last Goodnight: A World War II Story of Espionage, Adventure, and Betrayal p 271)
  
  Spies lie by inclination, and governments are in the business of endorsing these falsehoods. Truth inevitably falls by the wayside.
  -Howard Blum (The Last Goodnight: A World War II Story of Espionage, Adventure, and Betrayal p 319)
  
  He looked at her and was suddenly reminded of something Stephenson had said: Betty was “the greatest unsung hero of the war.”
  -Howard Blum (The Last Goodnight: A World War II Story of Espionage, Adventure, and Betrayal p 463)
  
  
  https://nicolewbrown.blogspot.com/201...
• 
  Lynn

  Today's post is on The Last Goodnight: A World War II Story of Espionage, Adventure, and Betrayal by Howard Blum. It is 544 pages long and is published by HarperCollins. The cover is like a folder with a picture of Betty, the spy, and marked secret in red at the top. The intended reader is someone who likes WW2 stories, spies, and well researched information. There is foul language, sex, and violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.
  
  
  From the back of the book- The New York Times bestselling author of the acclaimed Dark Invasion, channels Erik Larson and Ben Macintyre in this riveting biography of Betty Pack, the dazzling American debutante who became an Allied spy during WWII and was hailed by OSS chief General “Wild Bill" Donovan as “the greatest unsung heroine of the war.”
  Betty Pack was charming, beautiful, and intelligent—and she knew it. As an agent for Britain’s MI-6 and then America’s OSS during World War II, these qualities proved crucial to her success. This is the remarkable story of this “Mata Hari from Minnesota” (Time) and the passions that ruled her tempestuous life—a life filled with dangerous liaisons and death-defying missions vital to the Allied victory.
  For decades, much of Betty’s career working for MI-6 and the OSS remained classified. Through access to recently unclassified files, Howard Blum discovers the truth about the attractive blond, codenamed “Cynthia,” who seduced diplomats and military attachés across the globe in exchange for ciphers and secrets; cracked embassy safes to steal codes; and obtained the Polish notebooks that proved key to Alan Turing’s success with Operation Ultra.
  Beneath Betty’s cool, professional determination, Blum reveals a troubled woman conflicted by the very traits that made her successful: her lack of deep emotional connections and her readiness to risk everything. The Last Goodnight is a mesmerizing, provocative, and moving portrait of an exceptional heroine whose undaunted courage helped to save the world.
  
  
  Review- An interesting look about a woman who helped win the second world war. The book covers all aspects of Betty's life from childhood to her death of cancer. The story is broken up as it is being told to Harford Hyde. He was looking for a way to make some money and Betty wanted to understand herself and her life. They met briefly during the war and just never forgot about each other. Together they lay out Betty's life before, during, and after her spy work in WW2. Betty was charming, beautiful, and totally committed to the cause of saving lives and ending the war. But she was also cold, cunning, and did not care about anything else but her cause. She lived for it and it alone. All the lover she took in life were nothing to her cause and drive. At the end of her life, she wanted to understand herself and I think that we get to understand her too.
  
  
  I give this books a Four out of Five stars. I was given this book by HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review.