Before the Second World War, Josephine Baker (1906-1975) was one of the most famous performers in the world. She made her name dancing on the Parisian stage, but when war broke out she decided not to return to America. Instead, Baker turned spy for the French Secret Services. In this study, Hanna Diamond tells the story of Baker's actions for the French and Allied powers in World War Two.
[This] new account, working from contemporary, often unused sources, has uncovered evidence that Baker was not only a highly effective agent but was also using the same celebrity that provided the perfect cover for her espionage as a powerful means to promote the cause of equal rights.
Hanna Diamond has mined the military archives to produce a detailed study of the other Josephine Baker, the woman who, to repay the country that took her in with such warmth, joined the French secret services at the start of the Second World War ... Precise and factual.
