Moe Berg: Athlete, Scholar, Spy

This was the first biography of the enigmatic Moses Berg (1902-1972), a combination linguist-baseball player-spy. A reserve catcher in the big leagues for 15 seasons, Berg's linguist talents enabled him to speak more than ten languages (¨and he couldn't hit in any of them,¨ players joked). The authors show how Berg probably began spying in 1934 while a member of a Babe Ruth barnstorming team visiting Japan. We also learn about his wartime espionage for the OSS. Probably the most dramatic was when he attended a lecture by German physicist Werner Heisenberg in neutral Switzerland - if Heisenberg seemed close to building an atomic bomb for Hitler, Berg was to shoot him. The authors readably describe Berg's activities, steering clear of his latter years as a jobless freeloader. Also, some say the authors misfire on a couple spying facts. Still, this is an interesting book, as is THE CATCHER WAS A SPY by Nicholas Dawidoff.

Moe Berg was a second-string catcher for a number of big league teams, but better known as an expert in languages (he spoke 16 of them fluently). He worked as a spy for the OSS, focusing on Germany's progress with the atom bomb. He lived a very secretive life. Comparing this book to the later THE CATCHER WAS A SPY by Nicholas Dawidoff, the eccentricities that Dawidoff made much of (Moe's strange obsession with newspapers, the mooching off friends and family, the lonely, self-exhile type of existence he led) are glossed over here, if dealt with at all. There is more depth in the Dawidoff book in a tell-all sort of way; Kaufmann, et.al. keep their distances from the man and ignore what might be considered unpleasantries. Still a very decent biography, though.

This fast-paced biography of Moe Berg, reprinted from the 1970's, recounts an amazing life. As a catcher in the major leagues for several years, Berg was an asset both behind the plate and in the bullpen. A true linguist, he mastered more than a dozen languages perfectly, from Latin and Sanskrit to French and Japanese. He enjoyed newspapers in all languages and woe to anyone who disturbed his papers before he was done with them! Known as "the professor", Berg even obtained a law degree and would sometimes practice law in the off-season. Moe Berg helped introduce major league baseball to the Japanese in the 1930's. He also played a major role in espionage, both against the Japanese and the Nazi's. His encounter with Heisenberg in Zurich, trying to determine whether Germany was on the verge of producing an atomic bomb, is an amazing story. Athlete, scholar, and spy--yes, Berg was all three--a gifted and courageous man who is finally getting more widespread recognition.