An Affair of Spies Audiobook By Ronald H. Balson cover art

An Affair of Spies

A Novel

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An Affair of Spies

By: Ronald H. Balson
Narrated by: Fred Berman
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About this listen

From the winner of the National Jewish Book Award—Ronald H. Balson's An Affair of Spies tells of a spy mission to rescue a defector from Germany and prevent the Nazis from creating an atomic bomb.

Nathan Silverman grew up in Berlin in the 1920s, the son of a homemaker and a theoretical physicist. His idyllic childhood was soon marred by increasing levels of bigotry against his family and the rest of the Jewish community, and after his uncle is arrested on Kristallnacht, he leaves Germany for New York City with only his mother’s wedding ring to sell for survival.

While attending an evening course at Columbia in 1941, Nathan notices a recruitment poster on a university wall and decides to enlist in the military and help fight the Nazi regime. To his surprise, he is quickly selected for a special assignment; he is trained as a spy, and ordered to report to the Manhattan Project. There he learns that the Allies are racing to develop a nuclear weapon before the Nazis, and a German theoretical physicist is hoping to defect. The physicist was a friend of his father's, and Nathan's mission is to return to Berlin via France and smuggle him out of Europe.

Nathan will be accompanied by Dr. Allison Fisher, a brilliant young scientist who can speak French; he travels to her lab at the University of Chicago for a crash course in nuclear physics, then they embark on their adventure. Nathan and Allison soon develop feelings for one another, but as their relationship deepens they move ever closer to their dangerous goal. Will they be able to escape Europe with the defector and start a new life together, or will they fail their mission and become two more casualties of war?

An Affair of Spies is an action-packed tale of heroism and love in the face of unspeakable evil. Author Ronald H. Balson has applied his unmatched talent for evocative and painstakingly authentic storytelling to the high-stakes world of espionage and created his most thrilling novel yet.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press.

©2022 Ronald H. Balson (P)2022 Macmillan Audio
Historical Jewish World War II Espionage New York Fiction
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What listeners say about An Affair of Spies

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This book kept me on edge

Glad I didn’t pay attention to some of the negative reviews. I’ve listened to every Ronald H. Balson audiobooks . And loved everyone. I stayed frightened quiet a bit cause I really didn’t know how they were going to evade the nazis and gestapo. This audio taught me a little about the atom Bomb. What goes into making it and the pitfalls . Simplified of course. I especially appreciate the lack of profanity ,taking the Lords name in vain and and and no graphic sex scenes. Mr. Balson didn’t need this for fillers or to liven up a boring book . Mr Berman is one of the best narrators out there. Man woman American French German accents and inflections hit the bullseye EVERY time. I hated for book to end. A true picture of Hitlers evil and his followers blind allegiance was prominant thru out the book. I’m waiting for another book mr. Balson and let it be mr. Berman who narrates.
IGNORE THOSE NEGATIVE COMMENTS

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Give us more

One review said it was unrealistic, it is, and I loved it. I hope you will give us another book with these characters.

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LOVE Ronald Balson!!

I love everything Ronald Balson writes! I also love Fred Berman as a narrator! So these books are always a treat for me!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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Not up to Balson’s Standard

Having listened to 6 of Balson’s books, my wife and I agree that An Affair of Spies simply isn’t in the same class as his other books. This one seemed more like how Hallmark would treat this subject. A mission such as the one depicted here would not have been undertaken without more training. Exposing a nuclear physicist, one that knew some details of the Manhattan Project but had no operational field training, to potential capture and interrogation would have been an irresponsible risk to US atomic war effort. Balson takes too many shortcuts that were unnecessary.

Read Balson’s other books—they are much better researched, constructed and intriguing.

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Wow

Very exciting. Couldn’t put it down. Finish it in a very short time. Characters were very likable. Would recommend to anyone who likes exciting novels.

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Too far fetched

The story just does not hold up, almost fantasy with mistakes by the characters throughout. A story about spies that has no mystery and set in the early forties but with obvious foreknowledge of post war.

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Story was good but a little over the top

Easy to read and I liked the narrator. Parts of the story were not realistic. Once I got past that, I actually enjoyed the book. I would recommend it. RJS

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Not author’s best

Good story. Sometimes sappy. Distracting performance. Not always sure what character was talking. Poor French pronunciation.

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Terrific story

I really enjoyed this book/audio. The reader was wonderful. He was able to distinguish the different characters with the infection of his voice. I highly recommend this book.

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Another amazing Balson thriller

I love Ronald H. Ballon’s stories. He never disappoints. An Affair of Spies is another amazing novel—well written and researched to perfection. I always learn new things of WW2 history from his novels. Fred Berman is the best narrator ever with the ability to do all accents so well and he makes every character come to life. Highly recommend! I hated to see it end, but couldn’t wait to find out what happens at the same time. Lost a little sleep over this one! I’d vote for a sequel….the characters are that good.

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