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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN num: 9781569474549
ISBN number: 1569474540
Label: Soho Press
Manufacturer: Soho Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 304
Printing Date: May 01, 2007
Publishing house: Soho Press
Sale Popularity Level: 178330
Studio: Soho Press
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
'Zoo Station is a beautifully crafted and compelling thriller with a heart-stopping ending as John Russell learns the personal faces of good and evil. An unforgettable read.'-Charles Todd, author of the Inspector Ian Rutledge series
Praise for previous books by David Downing:
'The author combines his erudition with an excellent political imagination. He writes well, clearly and has a nice wit.'-The Sunday Times (London)
'An atmospheric thriller . . . furious pacing.'-Booklist
'An elegant rapid-fire spy story.'-The Virginian-Pilot
'Compulsive reading.'-The Sunday Telegraph (London)
By 1939, Anglo-American journalist John Russell has spent over a decade in Berlin, where his son lives with his mother. He writes human-interest pieces for British and American papers, avoiding the investigative journalism that could get him deported. But as World War II approaches, he faces having to leave his son as well as his girlfriend of several years, a beautiful German starlet.
When an acquaintance from his old communist days approaches him to do some work for the Soviets, Russell is reluctant, but he is unable to resist the offer. He becomes involved in other dangerous activities, helping a Jewish family and a determined young American reporter. When the British and the Nazis notice his involvement with the Soviets, Russell is dragged into the murky world of warring intelligence services.
David Downing grew up in suburban London and is the author of numerous works of fiction and nonfiction for adults and children, including The Moscow Option, Russian Revolution 1985, and The Red Eagles. He lives with his wife, an American acupuncturist, in Guildford, England.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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Zoo Station is the very first in what I hope will be a long-lived series about a British journalist in Nazi Germany. I'm a great fan of Alan Furst, and David Downing's books (now including Silesian Station) are reminiscent of Furst's style and mood - but there are pleasant differences as well. There has been great character development, and also lot's of attention to detail. As someone who's fascinated by the history of pre-war and World War II Europe, and who's a frequent visitor to Germany, I've very quickly become a loyal fan of Downing and of his characters. What a tremendous effort!
Rated by buyers -
I found this to be a readable page-turner. Although it is not up there with the best of Furst, Silva, et.al., it is literate, full of interesting characters, and depicts the atmosphere of the Nazi period in Berlin. I thought the Russell character could have been better developed, especially the politics involved between father and son. The depiction of how young people were socialized in Hitler's Germany was fascinating but I thought that more could have been made of Russell's reactions to his son's education. That said, I very much enjoyed reading this and will read the sequel.
Rated by buyers 
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The period is fascinating. The book is not. The characters are one dimensional. With all the talk of irony, that can justly suit a sixteen year old, most all of the humour is buried under ennui. One is led to believe the author bought maps of various European cities and decided to write a book. One has little care for the major characters and their cardboard problems. It is the writing that causes this to happen, not the original situations. I am left with the feeling that Downing was paid by the word. A tighter book by another author might have worked.
Rated by buyers -
I am a World War II genre fan. This is one of the best novels I have ever read in this historical fiction class. The plot is interesting and very plausible, the characters very attractive, the descriptions of wartime Europe riveting,the writing outstanding.
Rated by buyers 
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While I enjoyed this book and found myself wanting to come back to it, it DID take me about 3 weeks to read. By the end of the book I was left with this unsatisfied feeling. Many scenarios begin to unfold but a pin is quickly put in the balloon and all the air let out. There were so many opportunities in this book to really make it interesting but they never materialized. I kept thinking something was going to happen, but it never did. The invisible Gestapo who seemingly trail Russell throughout the second half of the book would have been much more interesting had they actually materialized and terrorized him a bit (as we all know they did in reality). It's hard to describe this book. I loved the author's descriptions and thought most of the character development was excellent, but I found that I really did not care about the characters. There are other better WWII spy novels around and I suggest you look elsewhere. One I would definitely recommend is The Unlikely Spy by Daniel Silva - an excellent read.
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