Dark Invasion: 1915: Germany's Secret War and the Hunt for the First Terrorist Cell in America - Couverture rigide

Blum, Howard

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 006230755X ISBN 13 : 9780062307552

Editeur : Harper, 2014

Synopsis

Set in New York City in 1915, as World War I rages in the battlefields of Europe, *Dark Invasion* chronicles the little-known story of a tense cat-and-mouse battle between two complex antagonists: New York police captain Tom Tunney, who leads a select team of novice spy-chasers; and Franz von Rintelen, an aristocratic German who comes to New York to set up a spy network and wage a secret war of terror that will disrupt American trade and affect the course of the war. In bringing to life a cast of stranger-than-fiction characters and circumstances, *Dark Invasion* tells a riveting story of how American naivete and German ruthlessness placed the US and the West in mortal peril.

A propos du livre

Quatrième de couverture :

What happens when German spies collaborate to unleash a campaign of terror upon America at the start of World War I?

In the summer of 1914, New York Police Department captain Tom Tunney is preoccupied by Manhattan's raging gang rivalries and has little idea that, halfway around the world, a much more ominous threat to the city is brewing. As Germany teeters on the brink of war, its ambassador to the United States is given instructions to find and finance a team of undercover saboteurs who can bring America to its knees before it has a chance to enter the conflict on the side of the Allies.

At the page-turning pace of a spy thriller, Dark Invasion tells the remarkable true story of Tunney and his pivotal role in discovering, and delivering to justice, a ruthless ring of German terrorists determined to annihilate the United States. Overwhelmed and undermatched, Tunney's small squad of cops was the David to Germany's Goliath, the operatives of which included military officers, a germ warfare expert, a gifted Harvard professor, a bomb technician, and a document forger. As explosions leveled munitions plants and destroyed cargo ships, particularly in and around New York City, pan- icked officials talked about rogue activists and anarchists—but it was Tunney who suspected that these incidents were part of something bigger and became determined to bring down the culprits.

Through meticulous research, Blum deftly reconstructs an enthralling, vividly detailed saga of subterfuge and bravery. Enhanced by more than fifty images sourced from global archives, his gritty, energetic narrative follows the German spies—with Tunney hot on their heels—from the streets, harbors, and warehouses of New York City to the genteel quads of Harvard, the grand estates of industry tycoons, and the steps of the U.S. Capitol. The New York Police Department's breathtaking efforts to unravel the extent of the German plot and close in on its perpetrators are revealed in this riveting account of America's first encounter with a national security threat unlike any other—the threat of terrorism—that is more relevant now than ever.

Revue de presse :

“Howard Blum’s riveting and perturbing Dark Invasion...is well-researched and written, and it maintains a fairly high level of suspense, which is difficult to bring off in a book about historical events.” (Wall Street Journal)

“Dark Invasion...will move you to the edge of your seat with the facts alone, but the author’s suspenseful detective-mystery narrative is what keeps you there.” (USA Today)

“Wonderfully gripping...cleverly crafted tension.” (Washington Post)

“Howard Blum’s story of the sinister and scary German terror attacks on America 100 years ago reads more like a LeCarré novel than a meticulous reconstruction of history.. This is a terrific spy story.” (Cokie Roberts, author of Founding Mothers)

“Dark Invasion is a must-read for lovers of suspense and anyone who wants to understand how the basis of our homeland security system was born.” (Tom Reiss, New York Times bestselling author of The Black Count and The Orientalist)

“History is all about retelling tales that need telling. In Dark Invasion, Howard Blum has rescued a batch of compelling ones and woven them into grim, fascinating remembrance.” (Dallas Morning News)

“Throws light on the war of espionage and terror Germany waged against the U.S. in 1915.” (Vanity Fair)

“Blum briefs us on early homeland security with tales of German terrorists, including military officers, a germ-warfare expert, a Harvard prof and a document forger.” (New York Post, “Required Reading”)

“a spy thriller of the first order....Dark Invasion is another page-turner that is compelling.... [Blum] has a remarkable talent for both uncovering history’s most inexplicably forgotten stories...and for writing non-fiction paced like a big-budget thriller.” (Daily Beast)

“Sounds like a pretty good espionage thriller...In fact, it’s nothing less than authentic―albeit long-forgotten―American history, brought to vivid life...Dark Invasion reminds us...that ‘the past is never past’.” (Life.com)

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: Harper
• Date d'édition: 2014
• ISBN 10: 006230755X
• ISBN 13: 9780062307552
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 496