Ha ha! Well I never know what I'll find in my "artist's books" box in my personal library. There are, of course, artist's bks in there - but it also includes odds & ends that are either hard to shelve b/c of size or b/c of other oddities. Spies are an interesting lot to me in general but what makes this bk esp interesting to me is one man: Franz von Rintelen, German WWI saboteur. One of the major loves of my life was a girl named Casandra von Rinteln & she claimed that Franz was a relative. She was very excited by this. She was also a pathological liar. Maybe it ran in the family. Here's his complete bio:

"Fiercely patriotic and capable of great charm, von Rintelen personified the best of his Prussian heritage. Posted to the German embassy in Washington in 1915, he soon made many friends. He used his diplomatic assignment as cover for the most extensive sabotage campaign ever undertaken in the United States.

Though active for only a few months, von Rintelen and his agents were responsible for the damage or destruction of thirty-two ships transporting American-made munitions to Britain and France, having planted incendiary devices timed to explode at sea in the holds and fuel bunkers of the transport vessels.

Von Rintelen was finally unmasked and captured by British intelligence, and held in Britain until the United States joined the Allies in 1917, when he was returned, convicted of espionage and imprisoned. Pardoned by President Wilson in 1920, von Rintelen settled in Britain, lecturing and writing about his activities until his death in 1949." ( )