{"product_id":"the-fire-agent-9781966302001","title":"The Fire Agent","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Editors' Choice * A \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eLitHub most anticipated book of 2026\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Paced like a thriller, written like a dream.\"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e--The Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A spy novel, a war story, a love story--brilliant historical fiction that is hardly fictional at all.\"\u003cb\u003e--Graham Yost, executive producer of \u003ci\u003eThe Americans\u003c\/i\u003e and\u003ci\u003e Slow Horses\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A page-turner about spies in prewar Tokyo with the weight of moral inquiry at its heart. A remarkable achievement.\"\u003cb\u003e--Joseph Kanon, author of \u003ci\u003eShanghai\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Good German\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn unforgettable, sweeping novel of espionage, love, and war that reframes our understanding of the first half of the twentieth century.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBorn into an aristocratic German Jewish family, Ernst Baerwald is a gifted linguist, talented musician, and fearless idealist. When he's recruited in 1900 to become a spy--his cover working for a company that would become the notorious chemical conglomerate IG Farben--his life becomes an extraordinary adventure spanning two continents, two world wars, and impossible choices that will haunt him forever.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom Frankfurt to Milan to Tokyo, Ernst moves through a world of intrigue and passion. He battles Japan's Yakuza while entertaining its royalty and hosts Europe's most brilliant performers. He falls deeply in love . . . with two women. He witnesses the rise of fascism in both Japan and Germany. And when the forces of fascism in Japan meet the horrors of Hitler's Germany, this German Jew faces an impossible choice: destroy the country he loves most or become complicit in unimaginable evil.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBased on the life of author David Baerwald's grandfather, \u003ci\u003eThe Fire Agent\u003c\/i\u003e is historical fiction that reads like a thriller. It carries us from nineteenth-century German idealism to the onset of chemical warfare; from Japan's organized crime syndicates to FDR's spy networks; from the Nanking Massacre to the dawn of the Cold War. At its center is the unforgettable character of Ernst--a man who has the courage to fight for what's right, even when the cost is everything. \u003ci\u003eThe Fire Agent\u003c\/i\u003e resonates deeply with our own time, providing a lens through which we come to see, and question, ourselves.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e David Baerwald\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Spiegel \u0026amp; Grau\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/02\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 624\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 2.20lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.40h x 6.40w x 1.80d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781966302001\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/15\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/01\/2026 pg. 64\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/01\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eDavid Baerwald \u003c\/b\u003eis an award-winning singer-songwriter, composer, and recording artist, best known for his critically acclaimed hit album with David Ricketts, \u003ci\u003eBoomtown\u003c\/i\u003e. He has collaborated with Joni Mitchell, Rickie Lee Jones, Sheryl Crow, Hans Zimmer, and Baz Luhrmann, among others. Baerwald spent a formative part of his childhood in Tokyo, grew up in Los Angeles, and currently lives in New York's Hudson Valley. This is his first novel.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"David Baerwald \/ Hardcover \/ English","offer_id":48397188726941,"sku":"9781966302001","price":38.4,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_820b8b82-d020-41c2-913d-ed5f5fabac29.jpg?v=1781075491","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/the-fire-agent-9781966302001","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}