Agent 146: The True Story of a Nazi Spy in America [Paperback]

Erich Gimpel (Author), Charles Whiting (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2, 2003

The spellbinding autobiography of one of the only Nazi spies to reach American soil-Erich Gimpel-who was assigned by the Führer himself to sabotage America's atomic program.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

What is it like to pass yourself off as an ordinary citizen in an enemy state for nefarious purposes? After September 11, the problem of "sleepers" has made this question all too urgent, which may be why Thomas Dunne is issuing the first U.S. edition of this riveting 1957 memoir. Gimpel's WWII mission in the U.S.-to learn about the Manhattan Project and, if necessary, destroy factories related to it-took place late in the war, when Germany's defeat looked increasingly inevitable. His co-infiltrator was an untrustworthy American Germanophile, William Colepaugh. Gimpel's "deliberately unsentimental" narrative is exemplary in its unfussy clarity (while also mirroring the amoral, cipherlike personality that permitted him to succeed so well at espionage). Much of the book makes for breathless reading-his plan to destroy the Panama Canal,his 46-day U-boat voyage across the Atlantic, his clandestine entry into the U.S., his suspicion-fraught dealings with the unreliable Colepaugh in New York, his furtive love affair with an American woman unaware of his true identity, right up to his arrest by the FBI. His account of interrogation, trial and incarceration is no less compelling. The passages describing his scheduled execution read like something out of Poe, and the most remarkable aspect of the book is perhaps the improbable deferral of his execution with only hours to go. His sentence commuted to life imprisonment, Gimpel was paroled in the 1950s and died in Germany in 1996. Anyone with the remotest interest in WWII or espionage should find this memoir exciting reading.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

It reads like an improbable Hollywood thriller: German spies are delivered to the East Coast via U-boat and there infiltrate wartime New York City, looking for atomic secrets. Yet this is exactly what happened in December 1944 as related by Gimpel, himself one of the spies. Captured and sentenced to hang by a U.S. military court, he was spared at the last moment by FDR's death and spent the next ten years in the Fort Leavenworth and Alcatraz prisons. Gimpel was eventually released on parole and repatriated to Germany, where he wrote this memoir (originally published in Great Britain in 1957 but never before published in America). With an air of a disillusioned realist, he still manages to play up the dramatic details of his unique spying career. The prose is noticeably stiff in its dated British translation, but as a first-person account of remarkable events it is revealing. However, a good chronology and illustrations would have been helpful. The Gimpel case is also examined in David Allen Johnson's Germany's Spies and Saboteurs and David A. Kahn's Hitler's Spies: German Military Intelligence of World War II. Recommended for strong World War II history collections.
Elizabeth Morris, formerly with Otsego Dist. P.L., MI
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 258 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (December 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425194736
• ISBN-13: 978-0425194737
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #205,994 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful story, March 22, 2004

By 

A. Lee - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Agent 146: The True Story of a Nazi Spy in America (Paperback)

Agent 146 was a quick read and detailed the time before the author's career as a spy, during the time, and after. The story held my interest from beginning to end. It was interesting to learn how a man became a master spy and all the emotions and issues that come along with the job. The author was a spy and a soldier, but he was also a person with strong emotions. This was a big part of the book as he struggled with love and loyalty. A truly amazing account on a battlefield fought with wit, subterfuge, and proper manners.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From a 15 year old, June 9, 2003

By 

Carli (Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Agent 146: The True Story of a Nazi Spy in America (Hardcover)

I loved this book! It is a thrilling and captivating story told by a Nazi spy. It gives you a fascinating look at WW2 from the other side. This new perspective enhanced my understand of the war in many ways. Agent 146 is a book that is entrancing and informative. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in WW2.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Riveting Story, April 1, 2003

By 

Melanie Wiggins (League City, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Agent 146: The True Story of a Nazi Spy in America (Hardcover)

"Page-turners" in literature are a rarity, but Erich Gimpel's book will keep your interest from beginning to end. From his secret submarine trip to Maine in 1944 to his near-hanging, there is never a slack moment. Erich was one of the few German spies who actually operated in America during the war, and in the 1950s a film was made of his adventures entitled "Spy for Germany": it is still being shown on TV.