The Fire Agent: A Novel

ISBN: 1966302002

Author: Baerwald, David

Condition: New

New York Times Editors' Choice * A LitHub most anticipated book of 2026Paced like a thriller, written like a dream.-The Boston GlobeThe Fire Agent has it all. This is one of those books that feels like a book club novel, but reads like an adventure movie.-Men's JournalA spy novel, a war story, a love story-brilliant historical fiction that is hardly fictional at all.-Graham Yost, executive producer of The Americans and Slow HorsesAn unforgettable, sweeping novel of espionage, love, and war that reframes our understanding of the first half of the twentieth century.Born into an aristocratic German Jewish family, Ernst Baerwald is a gifted linguist, talented musician, and fearless idealist. When hes recruited in 1900 to become a spy-his cover working for a company that would become the notorious chemical conglomerate IG Farben-his life becomes an extraordinary adventure spanning two continents, two world wars, and impossible choices that will haunt him forever.From Frankfurt to Milan to Tokyo, Ernst moves through a world of intrigue and passion. He battles Japans Yakuza while entertaining its royalty and hosts Europes most brilliant performers. He falls deeply in love . . . with two women. He witnesses the rise of fascism in both Japan and Germany. And when the forces of fascism in Japan meet the horrors of Hitlers Germany, this German Jew faces an impossible choice: destroy the country he loves most or become complicit in unimaginable evil.Based on the life of author David Baerwalds grandfather, The Fire Agent is historical fiction that reads like a thriller. It carries us from nineteenth-century German idealism to the onset of chemical warfare; from Japans organized crime syndicates to FDRs spy networks; from the Nanking Massacre to the dawn of the Cold War. At its center is the unforgettable character of Ernst-a man who has the courage to fight for whats right, even when the cost is everything. The Fire Agent resonates deeply with our own time, providing a lens through which we come to see, and question, ourselves.