McBride & Co., 1943, $?, ISBN ?, 306 pages, hardback

You've got to love the jingoistic tone of this WWII-era account detailing the activities of all those dirty rotten lousy Nazi spies. Yes, sir, J. Edgar Hoover and his FBI boys were on the ball and could do no wrong thwarting those goose-stepping Hitler lovers. Whether homegrown fascists or transported by U-boat, they'll be swinging by their necks before they can do much mischief.

Once you move past the tone, you'll find an interesting tale of espionage in the US during WWII. The German spy ring was very well funded and organized. It consumed a considerable amount of FBI resources to track, and ultimately nab, a group of motivated Nazis--motivated except for one, who turned double agent and cracked the ring.

Secret radio transmitters, invisible ink, clandestine meetings, explosives, and other spy vs. spy staples pepper the narrative. These Nazi agents posed a real threat and FBI dedication and resources kept the damage to a minimum. Hynd lays out the process with a little more gusto than you expect or need, but remember this book was published in 1943, not 2003, so you have to allow for war-time fervor. And you might also consider the pressure the FBI exerted on Hynd to, shall we say, emphasize J. Edgar's personal role in tailing, capturing, and interrogating the Nazi spies. Yep, the J-man's G-men outsmarted them, and J outsmarted them all.

In any case, this was an interesting find on an interesting topic.