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Destination Casablanca

Exile, Espionage, and the Battle for North Africa in World War II

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Destination Casablanca

By: Meredith Hindley
Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
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About this listen

In November 1942, as a part of Operation Torch, 33,000 American soldiers sailed undetected across the Atlantic and stormed the beaches of French Morocco. Seventy-four hours later, the Americans controlled the country and one of the most valuable wartime ports: Casablanca.

In the years preceding, Casablanca had evolved from an exotic travel destination to a key military target after France's surrender to Germany. Jewish refugees from Europe poured in, hoping to obtain visas and passage to the United States and beyond. Nazi agents and collaborators infiltrated the city in search of power and loyalty. The resistance was not far behind, as shopkeepers, celebrities, former French Foreign Legionnaires, and disgruntled bureaucrats formed a network of Allied spies. But once in American hands, Casablanca became a crucial logistical hub in the fight against Germany - and the site of Roosevelt and Churchill's demand for "unconditional surrender".

Rife with rogue soldiers, power grabs, and diplomatic intrigue, Destination Casablanca is the riveting and untold story of this glamorous city - memorialized in the classic film - at the heart of World War II.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2017 Meredith Hindley (P)2017 Hachette Audio
Africa Espionage Military World France Winston Churchill War Morocco Exciting Imperialism Refugee United States Submarine City Solider King Interwar Period

Critic Reviews

"Here is an important, well-researched, and well-written account of a major aspect of World War II that is generally neglected in the existing literature. The listener is offered a convincing picture of the complicated interactions of the Americans and British with the supporters of Vichy and of the Free French, the local Muslim and Jewish leaders and population, and the agents of Germany. This listener does not know of any other successful unravelling of this theater's complexities." (Gerhard L. Weinber, professor emeritus, University of North Carolina)

"Compulsively readable, deeply engrossing new history... The charmed classic made in Hollywood's dream factories and the granular history recounted in Hindley's superb book fundamentally complement each other, entertaining and instructing us with their timeless tales of political intrigue, moral compromise, acts of courage and cowardice." (New Republic)

"As entertaining as it is informative." (Galveston County Daily News)

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Fascinating

Wonderfully read and produced, the constant switch of focus from people both well known in history to those relatively obscure and then back again, paints a rich tapestry. If your interest is in Casablanca during the second World War this book is for you. I was hoping for a deeper dive back to the origins of the city, but, in the end, I was not disappointed by the limited time focus, as it is that well produced.

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