Spies & Codebreakers

Enjoy the intrigue of these real-life espionage stories from WWII and beyond.

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Atomic spy : The dark lives of Klaus Fuchs

Atomic spy : The dark lives of Klaus Fuchs

Greenspan, Nancy Thorndike, author.
2020

The gripping biography of a notorious Cold War villain - the German-born British scientist who handed the Soviets top-secret American plans for the plutonium bomb - showing a man torn between conventional loyalties and a sense of obligation to a greater good. Klaus Fuchs was a fearless Nazi resister, a brilliant scientist, and an infamous spy. Using archives long hidden in Germany as well as intimate family correspondence, Nancy Thorndike Greenspan brings into sharp focus the moral and political ambiguity of the times in which Fuchs lived and the ideals with which he struggled.

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Code name: Lise : the true story of the woman who became WWII's most highly decorated spy

Code name: Lise : the true story of the woman who became WWII's most highly decorated spy

Loftis, Larry, author
2019

The extraordinary true story of Odette Sansom, the British spy who operated in occupied France and fell in love with her commanding officer during World War II--perfect for fans of Unbroken, The Boys in the Boat, and Code Girls."--Provided by publisher.

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Code talker

Code talker

Nez, Chester
2011

He is the only original World War II Navajo code talker still alive--and this is his story. His name wasn't Chester Nez. That was the English name he was assigned in kindergarten. And in boarding school at Fort Defiance, he was punished for speaking his native language, as the teachers sought to rid him of his culture and traditions. But discrimination didn't stop Chester from answering the call to defend his country after Pearl Harbor, for the Navajo have always been warriors, and his upbringing on a New Mexico reservation gave him the strength--both physical and mental--to excel as a marine. During World War II, the Japanese had managed to crack every code the United States used. But when the Marines turned to its Navajo recruits to develop and implement a secret military language, they created the only unbroken code in modern warfare--and helped assure victory for the United States over Japan in the South Pacific.

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Nazi princess : Hitler, Lord Rothermere, and Princess Stephanie Von Hohenlohe

Nazi princess : Hitler, Lord Rothermere, and Princess Stephanie Von Hohenlohe

Wilson, Jim, author
2011

Born to a middle-class Viennese family and of partly Jewish descent, after marriage to (and divorce from) a German prince, Stephanie von Hohenlohe became a close confidante of Hitler, Goring, Himmler (who declared her an 'honorary Aryan') and von Ribbentrop.

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The princess spy : the true story of World War II spy Aline Griffith, Countess of Romanones

The princess spy : the true story of World War II spy Aline Griffith, Countess of Romanones

Loftis, Larry, author.
2021

Chronicles the extraordinary life of OSS spy Aline Griffith, who performed deep-cover intelligence missions during and after World War II throughout the upper echelons of European politics and society.

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The quiet Americans : four CIA spies at the dawn of the Cold War--a tragedy in three acts

The quiet Americans : four CIA spies at the dawn of the Cold War--a tragedy in three acts

Anderson, Scott, 1959- author
2020

"At the end of World War II, the United States dominated the world militarily, economically, and in moral standing--seen as the victor over tyranny and a champion of freedom. But it was clear--to some--that the Soviet Union was already executing a plan to expand and foment revolution around the world. The American government's strategy in response relied on the secret efforts of a newly-formed CIA. The Quiet Americans chronicles the exploits of four spies--Michael Burke, a charming former football star fallen on hard times; Frank Wisner, the scion of a wealthy Southern family; Peter Sichel, a sophisticated German Jew who escaped the Nazis; and Edward Lansdale, a brilliant ad executive. The four ran covert operations across the globe, trying to outwit the ruthless KGB in Berlin, parachuting commandos into Eastern Europe, plotting coups, and directing wars against Communist insurgents in Asia. But time and again their efforts went awry, thwarted by a combination of stupidity and ideological rigidity at the highest levels of the government--and more profoundly, the decision to abandon American ideals. By the mid-1950s, the Soviet Union had a stranglehold on Eastern Europe, the U.S. had begun its disastrous intervention in Vietnam, and America, the beacon of democracy, was overthrowing democratically-elected governments and earning the hatred of much of the world. All of this culminated in an act of betrayal and cowardice that would lock the Cold War into place for decades to come. Anderson brings to the telling of this story all the narrative brio, deep research, skeptical eye, and lively prose that made Lawrence in Arabia a major international bestseller. The intertwined lives of these men began in a common purpose of defending freedom, but the ravages of the Cold War led them to different fates. Two would quit the CIA in despair, stricken by the moral compromises they had to make; one became the archetype of the duplicitous and destructive American spy; and one would be so heartbroken he would take his own life. The Quiet Americans is the story of these four men. It is also the story of how the United States, at the very pinnacle of its power, managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory."-- Provided by publisher.

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