The Nazi spy ring in America : Hitler's agents, the FBI, and the case that stirred the nation

Summary: The Nazi Spy Ring in America explores the operations and downfall of spy networks of the German Abwehr that operated in New York between 1935 and 1938 to steal military technology and map American defenses. The arrest and prosecution of four members of the ring was a high-profile case that caused a national sensation because it had all the trappings of fiction such as fast cars, louche liaisons, a murder plot, a beautiful Manhattan socialite, and a ringleader improbably codenamed Agent Sex. This Nazi spy ring was busted in 1938 through the ingenious detective work of the FBI's leading special agent of the era, Leon Turrou, and a tipoff from Britain's MI5. Part of the story of breaking the Nazi spy ring is also the rise and fall of Turrou, who had worked previous high-profile cases like the Lindbergh-baby kidnapping. Turrou's talent was only matched by his penchant for publicity, and selling his account of the case to the New York Post and Hollywood caused him to run afoul of J. Edgar Hoover's strict codes of conduct. Jeffreys-Jones has done new archival research in the United States and Britain to provide new details about prewar Nazi espionage. This is a fast-paced history of spy intrigue, and an historically significant episode that contributed to awakening Americans to the looming Nazi threat.