The American School of Spies

Praise for The American School of Spies:

“Talty’s fast-paced tale of Nazi antiquity theft during World War II is animated by a cast of colorful characters: an unlikely alliance of soldiers and patrician classicists (turned undercover agents) who came together to save some of the world’s greatest artworks.” —The New York Times

“A must read . . . . This compelling book highlights the extraordinary wartime efforts of American and Greek archaeologists and classicists to save the art and artifacts of Greece from the Nazis. A true page-turner, The American School of Spies tells this fascinating untold story while bringing the time period to life. Reading at times more like a novel than a work of nonfiction, this well-written volume recounts the incredible lengths the unsung heroes of the war went to in order to preserve the cultural heritage of Greece.” —National Herald

“This is the achievement of Talty’s book: to rescue men and women from diplomatic oblivion and tell a story of war from a revealing, unexpected angle. A fast-paced tale of heroic scholar-spies.” —Kirkus

“Stephan Talty’s artfully written The American School of Spies offers up one of the great previously untold stories of World War II with shrewdly plotted drama and immense narrative flair. It has everything that kept me turning the pages: compelling characters, nail-biting suspense, and I learned a lot about archaeology and Greek art in the process. Just when you think you know where this story is going, it grabs you with a surprising conclusion. I was riveted. —Howard Blum, New York Times bestselling author of In The Enemy’s House and The Spy Who Knew Too Much

“A cloak-and-dagger WWII tale that reads like an Indiana Jones saga, but the story is painfully real. Talty pulls back the curtain on the intricacies of real life espionage, dropping you into the middle of war-torn Greece and a race against time to save the world’s greatest antiquities from the clutches of the Nazis. This gripping account, set in the shadow of the ancient Acropolis, will leave you breathless.” — Christine Kuehn, New York Times bestselling author of Family of Spies: A World War II Story of Nazi Espionage, Betrayal, and the Secret History Behind Pearl Harbor

“A paean to the men and women who saved the Acropolis and the treasures of Greek civilization from fascist destruction. Gorgeously written as a fast-paced thriller, The American School of Spies is an urgent reminder of how collective action saved the west and that courage is often found in the most unlikely of places. In this lively true account, a ragtag team of archeologists, a long-forgotten army of Greek Americans, and an American socialite all put themselves behind enemy lines at the height of WWII, fighting in the shadows to save the honor, the history, and the humanity of the Greek people.” —Michelle Young, award-winning author of The Art Spy: The Extraordinary Untold Tale of WWII Resistance Hero Rose Valland

“Stephen Talty does it again with an engrossing tale of dedication and resistance. Talty sweeps us along with the tweedy American aristocrats and gritty refugees turned secret operatives, in their fight to save some of the world’s most important relics – and Greece itself. With rich insights into the intricacies of spycraft, this is a great read.” —Gregory A. Freeman, author of The Forgotten 500