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

Blum, Howard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 192224757X ISBN 13: 9781922247575

Publisher: Scribe UK, 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.

About this title

Review:

'A ripping page-turner with "movie script" written all over it.' Auckland Herald 'Terrifically engaging and pertinent tale of the New York City bomb squad that foiled German terrorist plots against the United States at the outbreak of World War I ... Instructive, yes, but also as engrossing as good detective fiction.' Kirkus Reviews (starred review) '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 'Blum's narrative of America's first exercise in homeland security is a worthwhile page-turner, combining the best features of a police procedural and a spy novel with a firm base in verifiable events.' Publishers Weekly 'Dark Invasion, novelistic historian Howard Blum's latest, 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 '[R]iveting and perturbing' Wall Street Journal 'In his gripping and expertly crafted narrative, Blum demonstrates that the best stories are true.' -- Scott Miller, author of The President and the Assassin 'A suspense-filled tale, Dark Invasion uncovers a fascinating corner of history.' -- Ronald Kessler, author of The Secrets of the FBI and In the President's Secret Service '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 'I read Dark Invasion without stopping. It is a well-researched and exceedingly well-written account of a pre-World War I series of terroristic attacks on the United States, in this case perpetrated by Germans. It is full of good stories and characters.' -- Norman Stone, award-winning author of The Eastern Front: 1914-1917 and World War One: A Short History 'This is a wonderful story, with a cast of characters out of a Cecil B. DeMille epic, told in a style that is lucid, lyrical, even electric. Narrative history at its very best.' -- Joseph J. Ellis, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of FOUNDING BROTHERS and AMERICAN CREATION, on American Lightning 'Howard Blum has given us a fascinating - and hugely entertaining - glimpse into early 20th-century America ... And - eat your hearts out, novelists - it's all true.' -- Joseph J. Ellis, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of FOUNDING BROTHERS and AMERICAN CREATION, on American Lightning 'The author's eye for scene-setting and subtle explication perfectly mimics a Griffith-style camera. Blum is at his best ... Unfailingly entertaining.' -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review), on American Lightning 'Howard Blum's story of the sinister and scary German terror attacks on America 100 years ago reads more like a LeCarre novel than a meticulous reconstruction of history .. This is a terrific spy story.' --Cokie Roberts, author of Founding Mothers Kirkus 'Best Nonfiction Books of 2014'

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 UK
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 192224757X
• ISBN 13: 9781922247575
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 496