The Leper Spy, Ben Montgomery
The Leper Spy, Ben Montgomery
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The Leper Spy
The Story of an Unlikely Hero of World War II

Author: Ben Montgomery

Narrator: Joe Barrett

Unabridged: 7 hr 14 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 10/01/2016

Synopsis

The GIs called her Joey. Hundreds owed their lives to the tiny Filipina who stashed explosives in spare tires, tracked Japanese troop movements, and smuggled maps of fortifications across enemy lines. As the Battle of Manila raged, Josefina Guerrero walked through gunfire to bandage wounds and close the eyes of the dead. Her valor earned her the Medal of Freedom, but what made her a good spy was also destroying her: leprosy, which so horrified the Japanese they refused to search her. After the war, army chaplains found her in a nightmarish leper colony and fought for the U.S. government to do something it had never done: welcome a foreigner with leprosy. This brought her celebrity, which she used to publicly speak for other sufferers. However, the notoriety haunted her and she sought a way to disappear. Ben Montgomery now brings Guerrero's heroic accomplishments to light.

About Ben Montgomery

Ben Montgomery is an enterprise reporter for the Tampa Bay Times and the founder of the narrative journalism website gangrey.com. In 2010, he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in local reporting and won the Dart Award and Casey Medal for a series called "For Their Own Good," about abuse at Florida's oldest reform school. Ben lives in Tampa with his wife, Jennifer, and three children.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jodie on January 26, 2023

Fascinating story of yet another unsung hero of WW2. The star rating is more for the author. The book felt disjointed and sparse on details.......more

Goodreads review by Judy on March 28, 2020

A wonderful story about a young woman’s diligence to face head-on many struggles and difficulties despite her dire circumstances. Countless hundreds of people, maybe even more over her lifetime, were impacted in a positive way by her bravery and kindness. I also enjoyed the historical information fr......more

Goodreads review by Pam on April 20, 2020

The Leper Spy: The Story of an Unlikely Hero of World War II was written by Ben Montgomery. This book came to my attention because it was written by a student who went to Brink Junior High where I was teaching in Moore, Oklahoma. He is also the son of one of my former students at Moore West Junior H......more

Goodreads review by Ellen on February 05, 2020

Having no real concept of how the Philippines played into WWII, I found the entire book fascinating. What a beautiful, brave soul.......more

Goodreads review by pierre bovington on October 06, 2023

What a superbly written book is. The Pacific theatre of WW2 is often overlooked. Reading reviews on Goodreads, I agree somewhat with the " disjointed and sparse details". Audible used a male narrator, this is a mistake, a female would have been so much more effective. Journalists write good history,......more

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