BURN, BOMB, DESTROY

BURN, BOMB, DESTROY 
by Michael Digby.


When an office inside a Wall Street's firm was made available to outsiders, the firm's staff were informed that they were not allowed to enter. They soon learnt that it been occupied by the German government & that the men seen coming & going were German. What they didn't know was that those using the office had given it the name 'The War Room' & from here & other premises scattered around the city, a network of agents was being created to carry out espionage against & attacks on America. 
Just as incredible is the timing. This was in the late summer of 1914. The First World War was only weeks old & the USA & Germany were not as yet at war with each other.

Despite US neutrality in 1914, American industry was manufacturing & shipping ammunition & supplies across to Britain & Europe.
The German's plans involved sabotaging America's industrial strength via a range of methods from propaganda to planting bombs. Building this network of German agents involved bringing in selected people to the country, often using a false passport.  Whilst others were already residing in America, some as sleeper agents.
The German Ambassador would be one of the chief ring leaders. Attache Franz von Hapen, who would later be Hitler's predecessor as German Chancellor, was also heavily involved.
Although the sabotage was carried out by Germans or German descendants, it had to be made to look like they were extremists working individually. Germany itself could not be seen to be involved. 

The book then describes the fascinating stories of the how these different attacks were planned & executed. If they were successful or not & what happened afterwards.
When investigations were launched to find out what the causes were & who the culprits might be, the famous Pinkerton Detectives even became involved. 
The attacks carried out by the saboteurs varied in their success. The qualities of some of those agents chosen, would also be brought into question. One such agent used his own name when sourcing & attempting to buy dynamite, instead of creating an alias. 

Incredibly before reading this book, I had never heard of any of these events. It is a book that I have thoroughly enjoyed reading, not only to learn of the story it reveals, but also for the enthralling way it has been told. 
Superbly researched & a truly excellent read.

The paperback edition is available now, published by Casemate Publishing. 
I thank Casemate UK for this review copy. 

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