Portland Public Library

The tango war, the struggle for the hearts, minds and riches of Latin America during World War II, Mary Jo McConahay

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 291-310) and index

contains biographical information

mapsportraitsplatesillustrations

index present

non fiction

The tango war

bibliography

1051771155

Mary Jo McConahay

the struggle for the hearts, minds and riches of Latin America during World War II

"[This book] 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 Allied 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. A true, shocking account that reads like a thriller, [this book] shows in a new way how WWII was truly a global war."--Jacket

pt. I, The prizes : -- The fight for Southern skies -- Black gold, oil to fuel the war -- White gold, the story of the rubber soldiers -- pt. II, The undesirables : -- "Where they could not enter" : Jewish lives -- Nazis and not Nazis, in the land of the white butterfly -- In Inca country, capturing "Japanese" -- Inmates, a family affair -- pt. III, The illusionists : -- Seduction -- Spies, masters of spies -- Operation Bolivar, German espionage in South America -- pt. IV, The warriors : The battle of the Atlantic : southern seas -- Smoking cobras -- pt. V, The end without an end : -- Ratlines -- Connections, the Cold War