An Officer and a Spy (Robert Harris)

A gripping fictionalized retelling of the famous Dreyfus Affair that tore France apart at the start of the 1900s. Dreyfus was a Jewish army officer falsely accused of spying for the Germans, stripped of his rank, and imprisoned under the harshest conditions. Everyone from the highest levels of the government to the people in the streets believed him guilty and hated him with indescribable passion, partly because of widespread fear of Germany and partly because of rampant antisemitism. Piquart, the narrator of this tale, was as convinced as anyone of Dreyfus's guilt to begin with, but after Dreyfus was convicted Piquart took over as head of the army's intelligence division and became aware of inconsistencies in the government's case. The more he dug into it, the more convinced he became that Dreyfus was actually innocent and the German spy was still at large. His story, historically accurate but turned into an epic, fascinating novel, is one of courage and righteousness triumphing at last over power and greed. Highly recommended.