The Tango War: The Struggle for the Hearts, Minds, and Riches of Latin America during World War II by Mary Jo McConahay
The Tango War: The Struggle for the Hearts, Minds, and Riches of Latin America during World War II by Mary Jo McConahay
The Tango War fills an important gap in World War II history. Beginning in the thirties, both sides were well aware of the need to control not just the hearts and minds but also the resources of Latin America. The fight was often dirty: residents were captured to exchange for U.S. prisoners of war, and rival spy networks shadowed each other across the continent. At all times it was a tango war, in which each side closely shadowed the other's steps.
Though the Allies triumphed, at the war's inception it looked like the Axis would win. The flow of raw materials in the Southern Hemisphere was key to ensuring the Allies' victory, as were military bases supporting the North African campaign, the Battle of the Atlantic, the invasion of Sicily and the successful defense of the Panama Canal. The Allies secured loyalty through espionage and diplomacy -- with help from Hollywood and Mickey Mouse. Jews, ethnic Japanese and Germans in the region paid an unconscionable price. Mexican pilots flew in the Philippines, and twenty-five thousand Brazilians breached the Gothic Line in Italy. The Tango War also describes the machinations behind the greatest mass flight of criminals of the century -- fascists with blood on their hands who escaped to the Americas.
St. Martin's Press, Hardcover, 1st Edition, 1st Printing, 2018
THIS IS A BRAND NEW BOOK.