Spies: The Secret Agents Who Changed the Course of History

"Highly entertaining." —Publishers Weekly"An intriguing text." —BooklistAcclaimed author Ernest Volkman strips away the myths and Hollywood hype to reveal the human drama behind "the world's second oldest profession" —espionage. Here are the men and women whose daring feats of subterfuge have, for better or worse, irrevocably altered the course of history: "Counterfeit Traitor" Eric Erickson, the American businessman who, posing as a Swedish Nazi, helped stanch the flow of oil to Hitler's war machine and end the war in Europe. Fritz Kauders, the Viennese Jew who went from being a small-time confidence trickster to being one of Germany's most valued spies and a Soviet double agent. Amy Thorpe, the gorgeous American debutante turned superspy. British agent 17F, Ian Fleming, author of some of the most outrageous (and effective) "dirty tricks" in the annals of espionage. Dutch housewife-turned-burlesque-dancer-turned-secret-agent Margareta Zelle, a.k.a. Mata Hari, who, contrary to popular belief, was neither beautiful nor a very good spy Brilliant Soviet superspy Richard Sorge, whose intelligence-gathering operation in Japan balked Nazi Germany's attempt to seize Moscow.ERNEST VOLKMAN, formerly a prize-winning national correspondent for Newsday, has been a journalist for more than thirty-five years. He specializes in the dark world of espionage, a subject about which he has written hundreds of articles and several books, including Secret Intelligence and Warriors of the Night. Mr. Volkman has served as consultant for several foreign-produced documentaries dealing with espionage, including works for Great Britain's ITV and BBC, and he has appeared on various American news programs, including Nightline and Today.