The invisible spy : Churchill's Rockefeller Center spy ring and America's first secret agent of World War II / Thomas Maier.
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.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781335000606 (hardcover)
- Physical Description: 470 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
- Publisher: Toronto, Ontario : Hanover Square Press, [2025]
- Copyright: ©2025
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Genre: | Biographies. Personal narratives. |
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- 1 of 1 copy available at Tsuga Consortium.
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Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
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Lakeshore Branch | 327.1273 Mai | 31681010412278 | NONFIC | Available | - |
- Baker & Taylor
Recounts the story of Ernest Cuneo, an NFL player turned White House aide and secret intelligence operative, who worked with British spies in Rockefeller Center to combat Nazi conspiracies in the U.S., weaving his personal transformation with the covert operations that inspired James Bond. Illustrations. - Harlequin
The untold WWII story of a former NFL player turned White House insider who worked with Churchillâs undercover agents in New York City to conduct the biggest foreign spy operation ever within the US, and inspired Ian Fleming's James Bond, for fans of Ben Macintyre and Erik Larson.
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 âBrain 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 close friendship with British spy Ian Fleming and helped inspire Fleming's James Bond novels. He also began a love affair with one of Churchill's agents at Rockefeller CenterâMargaret 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 womenâs dormitory near Rockefeller Center. Cuneoâs 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 âinvisibleâ in the public eyeâuntil now, with this unveiled look into his life.
From the bestselling author and producer of two hit TV series, Mafia Spies and Masters of Sex, Thomas Maier delves into the little-known tales behind the Rockefeller Center spy operation and the origins of American intelligence. The Invisible Spy  weaves Cuneoâs remarkable personal story with vivid insights about many top twentieth-century figures, including Churchill, FDR and later JFK. Full of action and fascinating characters, this untold history reveals how Cuneo, as America's first WWII spy, helped the British launch a covert campaign against Nazi conspirators hidden in America, an espionage war unbeknownst to many.