THE IMPOSTER'S WAR

World War I German skulduggery combined with the biography of a flamboyant newspaper editor who trumpeted it.

Although many of the familiar events of the war appear throughout the book, Arsenault, an investigative reporter for the Boston Globe, focuses on John Rathom (1868-1923), editor of the Providence Journal, a largely unknown publication until it began printing violently anti-German stories, reports that were too juicy for other papers to ignore. Although much of the information was false, British undercover sources began feeding him tidbits, so he broke some spectacular stories. He became famous, but Arsenault’s research reveals Rathom as a fraud. “The imposter was undeniably brilliant. He was also a grifter, a con man, and an extortionist,” writes the author. “He was one of the most gifted liars of his era and immune to shame. Under ordinary circumstances, someone of his dark talents would have been best suited for a career fleecing marks at a crooked carnival.” Rathom invented a fictional past as a hypereducated, adventurous journalist who traveled the world and covered many wars, where he was often injured and befriended famous generals. An aggressive reporter, he jumped from job to job before going to work for the Journal in 1906. Once America entered the war, his persistent claim that America was awash in German spies offended the Department of Justice. Officials confronted him with his errors, threatened frightening legal action, and forced him to sign a confession of their falsity, which they kept secret—for a while. This suppressed him until 1919, when he accused—perhaps correctly—Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin Roosevelt of overseeing an operation that recruited sailors to covertly gather evidence against gay shipmates by engaging in actual sexual acts. Roosevelt fought back, publicizing Rathom’s confession and suing for libel, but he lost interest when he began his battle with polio.

Rathom was quickly forgotten, but Arsenault does readers a favor by reviving his memory.