Spy Sites of New York City: A Guide to the Region's Secret History - Paperback

by H. Keith Melton (Author), Robert Wallace (Author), Henry R. Schlesinger (With)

Through every era of American history, New York City has been a battleground for international espionage, where secrets are created, stolen, and passed through clandestine meetings and covert communications. Some spies do their work and escape, while others are compromised, imprisoned, and--a few--executed. Spy Sites of New York City takes you inside this shadowy world and reveals the places where it all happened.

In 233 main entries as well as listings for scores more spy sites, H. Keith Melton and Robert Wallace weave incredible true stories of derring-do and double-crosses that put even the best spy fiction to shame. The cases and sites follow espionage history from the Revolutionary War and Civil War, to the rise of communism and fascism in the twentieth century, to Russian sleeper agents in the twenty-first century. The spy sites are not only in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx but also on Long Island and in New Jersey. Maps and 380 photographs allow readers to follow in the footsteps of spies and spy-hunters to explore the city, tradecraft, and operations that influenced wars hot and cold. Informing and entertaining, Spy Sites of New York City is a must-have guidebook to the espionage history of the Big Apple.

Back Jacket

Espionage / Regional

"Foreign intelligence officers have long used New York City to conduct clandestine operations. Here is the definitive guide to New York City spy sites used by foreign agents intent on stealing America's secrets."--Jason Matthews, author of the Red Sparrow trilogy

New York City was made for spy work. In dark alleys and on dank docks, in bar nooks and subterranean mazes, and from public parks to penthouses, New York has been a thriving metropolis for spies, informers, saboteurs, and propagandists. In Spy Sites of New York City, H. Keith Melton and Robert Wallace plot more than two centuries of this hidden history in the city's five boroughs, Long Island, and northern New Jersey.

This is an essential guidebook for anyone interested in the history of New York or espionage. It reveals the dead drops, brush-pass sites, safe houses, seductions, and secret meetings that have long flourished within the city's landscape. Some spies have fled, others have been compromised and imprisoned, and a few have been executed. Melton and Wallace trace the covert operations influencing wars hot and cold, even to the present day.

H. Keith Melton is an internationally recognized intelligence historian and authority on espionage technology. He is the author of Ultimate Spy: Inside the Secret World of Espionage and coauthor of Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs, from Communism to Al-Qaeda with Robert Wallace.

Robert Wallace is the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency's Office of Technical Service, founder of the Artemus Consulting Group, and contributor to the CIA's Center for the Study of Intelligence. He has written five books with H. Keith Melton, including Spy Sites of Washington, DC.

Henry R. Schlesinger is a New York-based writer who has collaborated with the authors on several books, including Spy Sites of Washington, DC and Spycraft.

Author Biography

H. Keith Melton is an internationally recognized intelligence historian and authority on espionage technology. He is the author of Ultimate Spy: Inside the Secret World of Espionage and coauthor of Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs, from Communism to al-Qaeda with Robert Wallace.

Robert Wallace is the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency's Office of Technical Service, founder of the Artemus Consulting Group, and contributor to the CIA's Center for the Study of Intelligence. He has written five books with H. Keith Melton, including Spy Sites of Washington, DC.

Henry R. Schlesinger is a New York-based writer who has collaborated with the authors on several books, including Spy Sites of Washington, DC and Spycraft.