{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20261010T034321Z-reviewed-full-unique-works","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/1324020342?tag=bookfrontie00-20","asin":"1324020342","authors":["Debórah Dwork"],"book_id":"9781324020349","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/saints-and-liars-9781324020349","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781324020349.jpg?v=8b74ab9f69714f38","description":"Finalist for the National Jewish Book Award in Nonfiction A gripping history that plumbs the extraordinary stories of American relief and rescue workers during World War II. Long before their country officially joined the war, American aid workers were active in rescue efforts across Europe. Two such Americans were Martha and Waitstill Sharp, who were originally sent to Prague as part of a relief effort but turned immediately to helping Jews and dissidents after the 1939 invasion by Germany. They were not the only ones. Renowned historian Debórah Dwork follows the story of rescue workers in five major cities as the refugee crisis expanded to Vilna, Shanghai, Marseille, and Lisbon. Followed by Nazi agents, spiriting people across borders, they learned secrecy. Others negotiated with government representatives, like Laura Margolis, who worked with the Japanese, to get enough food and warm shelter for the refugees in Shanghai. Yet, the women also often faced lack of support from their agencies; if part of a couple, they fought to get paid even at a low salary despite working as long and hard as their husbands. Moving and revelatory, Saints and Liars illuminates the unpredictable circumstances and often fast-changing historical events with which these aid workers contended, while revealing the moral questions they encountered and the devastating decisions they had to make. Drawing on a multitude of archival documents, from letters to diaries and memos, Dwork offers us a rare glimpse into the lives of individuals who—at times with their organizations’ backing, but sometimes against their directives—sought to help people find safe haven from persecution.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9781324020349","publication_date":"20250114","publisher":"WW Norton","slug":"saints-and-liars","subtitle":"The Story of Americans Who Saved Refugees From the Nazis","title":"Saints and Liars"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"YAN025090","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Holocaust History for Teens","score":0.776,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS027100","confidence_band":"medium","label":"World War II History","score":0.7673,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"JNF025090","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Holocaust for Kids","score":0.7659,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"YAN025090","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Holocaust History for Teens","score":0.776,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS027100","confidence_band":"medium","label":"World War II History","score":0.7673,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"JNF025090","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Holocaust for Kids","score":0.7659,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"HIS022000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Jewish History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS027100","confidence_band":"high","label":"World War II History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS043000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Holocaust History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Holocaust History for Teens","score":0.776,"slug":"holocaust-history-for-teens"},{"label":"World War II History","score":0.7673,"slug":"world-war-ii-history"},{"label":"Holocaust for Kids","score":0.7659,"slug":"holocaust-for-kids"}],"reader_fit":["For readers interested in American rescue efforts during World War II","For readers drawn to archival accounts of aid workers and refugees"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Milton Meltzer"],"book_id":"9780064461177","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780064461177.jpg?v=a950288ebeab186d","score":0.7479,"title":"Rescue","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780064461177"},{"authors":["Nina Siegal"],"book_id":"9780063070653","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780063070653.jpg?v=9ac4489dd4375960","score":0.7245,"title":"The Diary Keepers","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780063070653"},{"authors":["Steve Sheinkin"],"book_id":"9781250265722","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781250265722.jpg?v=eabf01dbd3205e1c","score":0.71,"title":"Impossible Escape","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781250265722"},{"authors":["Steven Pressman"],"book_id":"9780062237491","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780062237491.jpg?v=cab081230fbd4595","score":0.7095,"title":"50 Children","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780062237491"},{"authors":["Gordon Thomas","Greg Lewis"],"book_id":"9780451489043","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780451489043.jpg?v=6987920d6ed67924","score":0.7052,"title":"Defying Hitler","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780451489043"},{"authors":["Neal Bascomb"],"book_id":"9780545431002","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780545431002.jpg?v=ae445df565e27bd7","score":0.705,"title":"The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World's Most Notorious Nazi","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780545431002"},{"authors":["Elyse Graham","Saskia Maarleveld","Harper"],"book_id":"9780063417304","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780063417304.jpg?v=ef25404cc0704b21","score":0.7044,"title":"Book and Dagger","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780063417304"},{"authors":["Sharon Cameron"],"book_id":"9781338355949","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781338355949.jpg?v=fbd1730546706c4b","score":0.7002,"title":"The Light in Hidden Places","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781338355949"}],"topics":[{"evidence_refs":["keyword:european history"],"label":"History","score":0.4536,"slug":"history"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:world war ii"],"label":"World","score":0.0848,"slug":"world"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:military"],"label":"Military","score":0.035,"slug":"military"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:history teacher gifts"],"label":"Teacher","score":0.0338,"slug":"teacher"}],"what_you_get":["Themes: Refugee rescue from Nazi persecution, Humanitarian aid during wartime, Women’s work and unequal pay.","Themes: History, Military, Teacher.","Reading lane: Holocaust History for Teens and World War Ii History."]},"llm_signals":{"confidence":0.94,"pacing":"unknown","reader_fit":["For readers interested in American rescue efforts during World War II","For readers drawn to archival accounts of aid workers and refugees"],"themes":["Refugee rescue from Nazi persecution","Humanitarian aid during wartime","Women’s work and unequal pay"],"tropes":[]},"source_presence":{"amazon":true,"book_detail":true,"goodreads":true,"llm_signals":true,"similarity_seed":true},"stats":{"amazon_ratings_count":0,"goodreads_ratings_count":74,"goodreads_reviews_count":14,"quality_score":0.8634}}