When the temperatures drop, get thee to a library
The Thread's Must-Read
"Operation Columba: The Secret Pigeon Service"by Gordon Corera
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The back cover of “Operation Columba” features a quote promising that “once you’ve read this book you’ll never look at a pigeon disdainfully again.”
That’s quite a promise to deliver on.
While I can’t say that I will treat every pigeon with a deep reverence moving forward, I will say that this book kept me fascinated all week long. Not only am I wildly better-informed about the role that pigeons played in the World War II resistance movement, but so are the people in my immediate proximity. That’s because this is the kind of book that makes you pop your head out of the pages and ask people things like: “Did you know the British trained 16,000 homing pigeons? Did you know that pigeons are just doves by another name?”
"Operation Columba" tells the story of how British intelligence plotted to drop these trained pigeons into German-controlled areas. The pigeon boxes bore messages, trying to recruit ordinary people as spies for the British. Yes, this happened: The pigeons were individually packed into boxes with small parachutes and dropped into the Belgian countryside. And yes, this worked: Farmers and shop owners and priests sent back crucial details about the German forces, all strapped to the legs of pigeons.
Gordon Corera goes as deeply into the birds’ story as he does the stories of the people who set up and participated in these covert operations, often in the face of great danger. It’s a fascinating addition to the espionage canon, if you’re intrigued by this kind of historical quirk.
-Tracy Mumford
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