Dark Invasion: 1915: Germany's secret war and the hunt for the first terrorist cell in America - Softcover

Blum, Howard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1922070556 ISBN 13: 9781922070555

Publisher: Scribe Publications, 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 page-turner, combining the best features of a police procedural and a spy novel with a base in verifiable events.' Publishers Weekly

About this title

Review:

""Dark Invasion" is must read for lovers of suspense and anyone who wants to understand how the basis of our homeland security system was born. Between 1914 and 1917, a clandestine network of German terrorists orchestrated a campaign of mass destruction and murder on American soil that has never been equaled. The network was made up of brilliant scientists, suave diplomats, and military and civilian operatives at the highest and lowest levels. The one requirement imposed on its members was a willingness to murder Americans on whatever scale necessary, by whatever means necessary. Opposing this juggernaut was Captain Tom Tunney, head of the NYPD's Bomb Squad, who in the process of working with his crack team of operatives would wind up creating the basis of America's Homeland Security System nearly a century before 9/11. Expertly told by Howard Blum with shocking betrayals, surprising heroism, artful cons, and heart-in the-throat chases, "Dark Invasion "grippingly brings to life two sets of equally fascinating antagonists - cops and terrorists - as they contend over a nation's fate.--Tom Reiss, "New York Times" bestselling author of "The Black Count "and "The Orientals" "A suspense-filled tale, " Dark Invasion" uncovers a fascinating corner of history when courageous New York City police officers fought insurmountable odds to defend America against sophisticated German saboteurs at the start of World War I."--Ronald Kessler, author of "The Secrets of the FBI" and "In the President's Secret Service"" ""In his gripping and expertly crafted narrative, Blum demonstrates that the best stories are true. Told in the great tradition of spy thrillers, "Dark Invasion" is the startling tale of German secret agents operating in the United States during World War I and the determined effort of a New York detective to stop them. The result is a book that is not only engrossing, but helps explain why America entered the Great War."--Scott Miller, auth

From the Back Cover:

In the summer of 1914, New York City Police 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.

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, panicked 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--and enhanced by more than fifty images sourced from global archives--Blum deftly reconstructs an enthralling, vividly detailed saga of subterfuge, bravery, and the birth of Homeland Security.

About this edition

• Publisher: Scribe Publications
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1922070556
• ISBN 13: 9781922070555
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 496