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Operation Texas
By Anita Lampel
In 1938, Congressman Lyndon Baines Johnson hires the 24-year-old, multi-lingual Rosalind Fisher to accompany his good friend, Jim Novy, on a hazardous trip to Poland. Rosalind is responsible for easing 40 visas for Novy’s family to leave Poland through the US Embassy—a nearly impossible job on its own.
During the trip on the Queen Mary, Rosalind encounters German spies just returning from New York with secreted documents, and a handsome British undercover agent, with consequences for American security. At the embassy, Rosalind finds no one willing to help and must use her own skills, make her own compromises, and risk her safe return to the US, to secure the signed visas. At the same time, can she help her own cousins, also trapped in Warsaw?
“Anita Lampel has struck gold again (following her novel Helen by Anita Mishook, 2017) with another suspenseful story. With cameo appearances by LBJ, Lady Bird, and other prominent historical figures, Operation Texas illuminates efforts to provide exit visas for the Polish Jewish relatives of the prominent Texan and friend of LBJ’s, Jim Novy. Rosalind Fisher, a young linguist, is hired by LBJ’s office to facilitate the processing of the visas at the US Embassy in Warsaw, ends up with top-secret information while aboard the Queen Mary, and then puts her own future at risk to obtain safe passage for forty-four fleeing people.”
—Christine Kessides, author of award-winning Magda, Standing
“Operation Texas crackles with energy—a page-turning thriller that unveils the clandestine effort to secure US visas for Polish Jews on the eve of Nazi invasion. Anita Lampel masterfully weaves suspense and intrigue through this vital but little-known chapter of history, bringing to life a vibrant cast of characters both real and imagined. The result is a gripping narrative that captures both the desperate urgency of the mission and the extraordinary courage of those who risked everything to save lives.”
—Eric Caplan, author of Do No Harm: Inside Psychiatry’s Civil War
These discussion guides were provided by the publisher, DartFrog Books.
Book club questions for Operation Texas by Anita Lampel
Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.
How did the blending of historical facts and fiction add to the sense of the book’s accuracy and authenticity?
The book is set in 1938. What new or interesting information about that period did you learn? Was there anything that especially stood out for you?
Did the book challenge your perspective on Lyndon Baines Johnson or Lady Bird? If so, in what way? Were there other characters who you learned something new about?
What motivated Jim Novy to take his son, David, to Poland, do you think? How does his decision impact your feelings about him?
In many ways 1938 is long ago and in others, the issues are today’s. How does history speak to us and to our present moment, such as decisions by the State Department and others about immigration.
What scenes captured your interest and kept you reading? Why?
Operation Texas Book Club Questions PDF
Click here for a printable PDF of the Operation Texas discussion questions