Fear Itself: Book summary and reviews of Fear Itself by Andrew Rosenheim

Fear Itself Summary

Set in the tense and uncertain years before the Second World War, when America was still largely conflicted about entering the war on either side, Andrew Rosenheim's thriller Fear Itself offers a rich depiction of history as it was - and as it might have been. Jimmy Nessheim, a young Special Agent in the fledgling FBI, is assigned to infiltrate a new German–American organization known as the Bund. Ardently pro-Nazi, the Bund is conspiring to sabotage American efforts against Adolf Hitler. But as Nessheim's investigation takes him into the very heart of the Bund, it becomes increasingly clear that something far more sinister is at work, something that seems to lead directly to the White House.

Drawn into the center of Washington's high society, Nessheim finds himself caught up in a web of political intrigue and secret lives. But as he moves closer to the truth, an even more lethal plot emerges, one that could rewrite history.

With sharp wit and a keen eye for period details, Rosenheim fully immerses the reader in Depression-era America. He seamlessly weaves into the narrative larger-than-life figures such as J. Edgar Hoover, Clyde Tolson, and Lucy Mercer Rutherford, as well as historical events like the 1939 pro-Nazi rally held at New York City's Madison Square Garden. The first in a series chronicling Agent Nessheim's adventures throughout the war, Fear Itself establishes Andrew Rosenheim as a spectacular new talent.

Fear Itself Reviews

"A stirring successor to Frederick Forsyth...a superlative thriller." - The Independent (UK)

"An elegant political thriller written with style and skill." - Daily Mail (UK)

"An intriguing story, well told." - Literary Review

"Fear Itself has very much the feel of a film noir, with plenty of post-Depression grit, intrigue, FBI politics, scheming socialites, eleventh-hour escapes, red herrings, dubious characters, and a general sense that nobody can be trusted. And if Nessheim is clueless at crucial times, if coincidences tend to happen, if a few threads are left hanging - still the vividly detailed setting, a tight pace, and well-researched glimpses of Hoover and William Stephenson provide an atmospheric and entertaining read." - Historical Novel Society

"Starred Review. [A] top-notch historical thriller…this intelligent page-turner will only whet reader's appetites for more." - Publishers Weekly

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Andrew Rosenheim grew up in Chicago and in a small town in Michigan. He went to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar in 1977 and has lived there ever since. For many years he worked in publishing, at Oxford University Press and Penguin Books among others, and is now a full-time writer. He is married with twin daughters.