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.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Joseph Weisberg and Joel Fields
Preface
1. Spies of the American Revolution
(1775–1783)
2. Civil War Spies
(1861–1865)
3. Spies and Saboteurs of World War I
(1914–1918)
4. Anarchists, Revolutionaries, and Soviet Spies
(1919–1946)
5. Fascism, Communism, and World War II
(1933–1945)
6. Spies, Not Guns, in the Early Cold War
(1947–1959)
7. The Cold War Heats Up
(1960–1989)
8. New Threats and Old Adversaries
(1990–2019)
Appendix: Spy Sites Maps
Selected Bibliography
Illustration Credits
Index
About the Authors
Reviews
"The history is extraordinary and, until now, never told in this way. This is a must read for anyone interested in the ins and outs of espionage, and they will discover that, once again, New York City plays center stage."—David Cohen, CIA Deputy Director for Operations (1995–97); NYPD Deputy Commissioner, Intelligence (2002–14)
"Melton and Wallace are like having a CIA historian at your elbow. If you loved their book Spycraft on the intricate world of espionage tradecraft, you will find this guide an essential roadmap to the intelligence landmarks in and around New York."—David Hoffman, author of The Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story of Cold War Espionage and Betrayal
"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
"Spy Sites of New York City is a rather unusual, intelligently written and well-produced guide.... Even those broadly familiar with this subject will learn a great deal and will often be surprised."—Intelligence & National Security
"The amount of research that went into this book is remarkable. It turns out that wherever you are in New York, you are near a place where spy history was made."—Mark Stout, former historian for the International Spy Museum, Washington, DC
"Spy Sites of New York City is an indispensable guide to the back alleys of American intelligence in the city that never sleeps, . . . reveal[ing] New York’s secrets to both casual and serious students of espionage."—Col. Christopher P. Costa, US Army (Ret.), former special assistant to the president, career intelligence officer, and executive director, International Spy Museum, Washington, DC
"[W]ithout Melton and Wallace’s excellent history of espionage in New York City, one would miss the context of the previous two hundred plus years of fascinating spy history that the city has to offer. I was amazed to learn of the depth, diversity and deadly nature of the espionage history that [the authors] have unearthed from the Revolutionary War period to today."—Cipher Brief
"[T]he coolest New York City guide book of recent memory."—Bowery Boys New York City History
Awards
Winner of the Independent Publisher Book Award.
About the Author
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.
