Saboteurs: The Nazi Raid on America [Hardcover]

Michael Dobbs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 10, 2004

Shortly after America’s entry into World War II, Adolf Hitler ordered an extensive sabotage campaign against the United States to disrupt the production of tanks and airplanes and blow up bridges and railroads. Eight German saboteurs were dispatched across the Atlantic by U-boat, one team landing in Amagansett, Long Island, the other near Jacksonville, Florida. They brought with them enough money and explosives for a two-year operation and traveled inland to explore potential targets.

The full story of this audacious endeavor is a remarkable account of a terrorist threat against America. Michael Dobbs describes the saboteurs’ training in Nazi Germany, their claustrophobic three-week voyage in submarines, and their infiltration into American life. He explores the reasons each volunteered, and their links to a network of Nazi sympathizers in the United States. He paints a portrait of the group’s leaders: George Dasch, a onetime waiter who dreamed of leaving his personal mark on history, and Edward Kerling, a fanatic Nazi caught between his love for his mistress and his love for his wife. And he shows how the FBI might never have captured the saboteurs had one of them not helped J. Edgar Hoover transform a hapless manhunt into one of his proudest accomplishments. A military tribunal, a historic Supreme Court session, and one of the largest mass executions in American history provide a stunning climax to a dangerous but failed mission.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The first German sabotage mission to reach the shores of the U.S. during WWII is the subject of Washington Post correspondent Dobbs's follow-up to Madeleine Albright: A Twentieth Century Odyssey and Down with Big Brother: The Fall of the Soviet Empire. The early background chapters concerning the recruitment and training of the German agents can be slow going, but once the story reaches the open seas, the landing of the agents on the shores of Long Island and Florida, and their movements within the U.S., it will captivate readers for the remainder of the book. The detailed account of the summer 1942 landing of the eight German saboteurs, all with prewar experience in the U.S., is engrossing, as is their stalking by the FBI with the help of several other government agencies (livened up with extensive reconstructed dialogue that leans on declassified material). The personalities and careers of the eight are revealed in some detail, including those of two American citizens, as is the fate of the two surviving members. The interagency jealousies that plagued the case throughout the pursuit and trial of the agents add an additional dimension to what would otherwise be a simple spy story. After one of their number, American George J. Dasch, finally gets cold feet and turns the group in, the account of the military trial and the parts played by the Justice Department, President Roosevelt and the Supreme Court become as fascinating as the main story. The legal aspects of the case, clearly and simply explained, are echoed today, since the saboteurs' trial by a military tribunal, rather than a civil court, is a precedent for the impending trial of accused terrorists held at the prison in Guantanamo, Cuba. Easy going and compelling, this title should find favor beyond the WWII niche.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Dobbs' full-scale account of the eight German saboteurs landed on the U.S. East Coast in the summer of 1942 is likely to be definitive on the subject for some time. Dobbs has researched the FBI archives comprehensively, and he writes surpassingly well, producing a story that would almost be humorous if the stakes hadn't been so high and six of the eight men hadn't eventually been executed. The selection and training of candidates for the mission were both haphazard, and one of the U-boats used was nearly fatally stranded on the American coast. Then the leader of one team, George Dasch, decided to turn coat, which helped the FBI overcome J. Edgar Hoover's pit-bull fondness for turf fights with other government agencies. Eventually all eight were rounded up and tried, and all but Dasch and another turncoat died in the electric chair. Dobbs probes in considerable detail the legal ramifications of trial, sentence, and execution, in each of which precedents relevant to post-9/11 dealings with terrorists were set--and even dealing with these legalities, he is clear and well balanced. Altogether, this is a very fine piece of work. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; 1st edition (February 10, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375414703
• ISBN-13: 978-0375414701
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,324,308 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 10 stars; must read, February 29, 2004

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D. C. Carrad "augustabookman" (Augusta, GA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Saboteurs: The Nazi Raid on America (Hardcover)

A fascinating story, told in flawless, fast-moving prose. Dodds has done his homework in Germany, in the archives, and at the Supreme Court. He has managed to capture the personalities of the Nazi saboteurs and the feel of World War II in America. Buy and read even if you already know the story, or think you have no interest in it.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An even-handed look at a past case with resonance today, March 21, 2004

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"edrunyon" (Kansas City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saboteurs: The Nazi Raid on America (Hardcover)

The 1942 case of Nazi saboteurs in America is the best World War II story you've never heard. More than just an adventure tale, however, the case has been cited by the current administraton as a precedent for military tribunals of suspected terrorists.

Through this account, we learn that the events of 1942 don't present a clear-cut parallel to our own times. Thoughtful readers with an interest in the constitutional issues of today's anti-terrorism campaign are urged to read this book. Well-researched, well-documented, and very well-written.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Full of adventure and not a little farce!, September 26, 2004

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Saboteurs: The Nazi Raid on America (Hardcover)

Shortly after America's entry into World War 2, Adolf Hitler authorized a daring mission - a group of returned German-Americans would be recruited, trained, and sent back to the United States to sabotage the American war effort. And so, a mission began. Ill-trained and unmotivated, the saboteurs landed on the American shore, and encountered an America whose homeland defense network was every bit as incompetent as themselves. This is the story of the great Nazi terrorist mission against the United States.

I had heard about the story of these men before, and was quite pleased to find a book about them. Author Michael Dobbs does an excellent job of telling the story of the saboteurs, their backgrounds, the background of their mission, and what happened. Overall, I found this to be a fascinating read, full of adventure and not a little farce! I highly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to you.