I enjoy baseball, and I enjoy spy and espionage books, films and series. It would seem, then, that The Catcher Was a Spy: The Mysterious Life of Moe Berg was bound to not only interest me, but intrigue and entertain me as well. I would argue that sociologists and psychologists would also enjoy this book, as the curious case of Moe Berg is more than what it seems.
Despite the research completed here by author Nicholas Dawidoff and other books written about him, the constant in this book is what we don’t know. We will only ever know a part of Moe Berg, and only the part he wants us to know.
Berg was many definable things. He was a shortstop for Princeton who bounced around the Major Leagues until he found his calling as a backup catcher. During World War II he worked for the OSS as a spy by any other name, and that’s when it gets interesting.
“For many World War II veterans, the war had been a disruption, and after the German and Japanese surrenders, they returned home to resume their lives. For Moe Berg, however, war had provided him with a life he loved, and returning home was the disruption.”
Since he didn’t want to give up his former world of secrets, he basically lived the rest of his life as a real-life Walter Mitty. His secret life was known only to him. Those closest to him, even for short periods of time, only knew not to ask.
Sadly, much of that part of his life was secret on his own accord. He wasn’t really a part of the CIA or FBI after the OSS disbanded. As Dawidoff writes, “Much of the peculiar behavior that Moe Berg exhibited toward the end of his life was a consequence of being rejected by the work that he loved, not an uncommon reaction in the intelligence world, according to Charles McCarry, the former deep cover agent for the CIA.“
It’s this rejection and how Moe Berg handled it that makes this book an interesting read for sociologists and psychologists. I am neither, but I would presume there is something in here for them and many other insert-prefix-here-ologists perhaps.
Dawidoff’s research is extensive. The Notes on Sources and Notes sections at the back of the book total 70 pages! Dawidoff did his homework and his level best to tell the most complete story of a man of mystery, who kept much to himself.
“Berg molded himself into a character of fantastic complication who brought pleasure and fascination to nearly everyone he brushed against during his fitful movements around the world. In the end, there are few men who find ways to live original lives. Moe Berg did that.”
If that sounds like an interesting conclusion to the mysterious life of Moe Berg, then this is a book worth checking out.
Read the Secret File of technical information and quotes from The Catcher Was A Spy.