Josephine Baker’s Secret War: The African American Star Who Fought for France and Freedom

This chock-full-of-detail biography from historian Diamond (Fleeing Hitler) zooms in on the famed singer and dancer’s “wartime contribution” during WWII. Josephine Baker was a French citizen by marriage and had a “visceral” attachment to France, which led her to decide—rare for Black Americans—to stay in France when war broke out. Before long, the French head of counterespionage, Capt. Jacques Abtey, realized that Baker had potential as a spy; her “star power allowed her access to places and... individuals that could prove very helpful.” The two traveled to Vichy North Africa, where they stayed for most of the war. Diamond walks readers through what is known of Baker’s counterintelligence work, but those hoping for juicy tales of espionage will be disappointed; Baker’s spy record is patchy at best. Often, Diamond is forced to admit that certain intriguing possibilities—like that Baker’s convalescent bedroom in a clinic in Casablanca played double duty as a meeting place for spies—may or may not have happened, as “the evidence base does not conclusively support” the narrative given by Baker and Abtey. Instead, the book’s most rewarding aspect is Diamond’s portrait of Baker as a quick-thinking, hard-working, game-for-anything entertainer, who used ambulance lights as spotlights and a circle of soldiers as a dressing room. WWII buffs and Baker fans will find much to pique their interest. (May)