The invisible spy : Churchill's Rockefeller Center spy ring and America's first secret agent of World War II
Maier, Thomas, 1956-2025
Book
As a tough but smart Italian American kid, Ernest Cuneo played Ivy League football at Columbia University and was in the old Brooklyn Dodgers NFL franchise before becoming a City Hall lawyer and "Brain Trust'' aide to President Roosevelt. He was on the payroll of national radio columnist Walter Winchell and mingled with the famous and powerful. But his status as a spy remained a secret, hiding in plain sight. During this time, Cuneo began a love affair with one of Churchill's agents at Rockefeller Center, Margaret Watson, a beautiful Canadian woman with a photographic memory ideal for spycraft. In one nighttime attack, Watson was nearly smothered to death by a Nazi assassin inside her women's dormitory near Rockfeller Center. Cuneo's transformation from a gridiron athlete into a high-stakes intelligence go-between and political influencer is one of the great untold stories of American espionage. He has remained "invisible" in the public eye, until now, with this unveiled look into his life. Thomas Maier weaves Cuneo's remarkable personal story with the vivid and insightful portraits of many top figures in his world. Full of action and fascinating characters, this untold history shows how the British launched a far-ranging covert campaign against Nazi conspirators hidden in America, a spy war unbeknown to many.
Main title:
Author:
Maier, Thomas, 1956-, author
Imprint:
Toronto, Ontario : Hanover Square Press, [2025]©2025
Collation:
470 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Notes:
Included bibliographical references and index.
Contents:
A note to the readerCast of charactersPart I: Never cease to dare. The spies of Rockefeller Center ; Roar of the crowd ; The brain trust ; "Your duty lies there" ; What they didn't know ; The president's "secret legs" ; Setting up shop ; Double agents ; Incognito Cuneo ; The propaganda warsPart II: Prelude to war. Foreign entanglements ; The president's fake news ; The informants ; Dangerous liaisons ; Indiscretions ; "Our man" ; The sinister touch ; Political headhuntingPart III: Wartime underground. Pearl Harbor ; Dirty tricks ; The Stork Club ; Messages from the deep ; Meeting Churchill ; On the outside looking in ; The slap heard around the world ; Vice ; Slaughtering the innocents ; Days of decision ; Last goodbyePart IV: Cold warriors. Betrayals ; A knock at the door ; The center of everything ; A shot in the dark ; Trip to the angels ; Fact into fiction ; Presentations ; Seeking recognition ; Keeping secretsEndnotesIndex.
ISBN:
9781335000606 (hbk)9781335000606 (hardback)
Dewey class:
327.1273B
LC class:
JK468.I6
Language:
English
Added title:
Subject:
Cuneo, Ernest L., 1905-1988Churchill, Winston, 1874-1965 -- Friends and associatesRoosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945 -- Friends and associatesWinchell, Walter, 1897-1972 -- Friends and associatesUnited States. Office of Strategic Services -- HistoryGreat Britain. MI6 -- HistorySpies -- United States -- BiographyEspionage, American -- History -- 20th centuryIntelligence officers -- United States -- BiographyUndercover operations -- United States -- History -- 20th centuryWorld War, 1939-1945 -- Secret service -- United StatesUnited States -- Politics and government -- 1933-1945Biographies
BRN:
833675
| Location | Collection | Call number | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southbank Library | -Biography | BIOG 327.1273 CUNE | Available |