As part of the Central Florida Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence’s (CF-ICCAE) programming for the upcoming year, we will be continuing our Book Club in order to enrich student learning about intelligence using materials that, while interesting and even potentially exciting, may not fit into the general course curriculum.
All students- graduate and undergraduate students of all majors- are welcome to attend the meetings, and we will have copies of each book available on a first-come, first-served basis. These can be picked up at the ICCAE office in Howard Phillips Hall, Room 314. Note that receiving a copy of the books and not attending the meeting without prior notice may disqualify you from receiving further copies.
The next meeting is: Wednesday, March 27th, 2024
The book we will be discussing is:
A Spy at the Heart of the Third Reich: The Extraordinary Story of Fritz Kolbe, America’s Most Important Spy in World War II by Lucas Delattre
(From the jacket) In 1943 a young official from the German foreign ministry contacted Allen Dulles, an OSS officer in Switzerland who would later head the Central Intelligence Agency. That man was Fritz Kolbe, who had decided to betray his country after years of opposing Nazism. While Dulles was initially skeptical, Kolbe’s information was such that he soon became the United States’ most valuable spy, providing information on Germany’s international relationships, troop movements, intelligence operations, and more. After the war, he was viewed as a traitor in his own country and soon forgotten, but, based in large part on this book, is now recognized as a hero. Using recently declassified materials at the U.S. National Archives and personal papers from Kolbe’s heirs, Lucas Delattre has produced a book German foreign minister Joschka Fischer hailed as “a fascinating picture of Fritz Kolbe as an example of quiet resistance.” It is a compelling story that moves with the swift pace of a La Carre thriller.
If this book interests you and you can make the meeting, feel free to come down to Howard Phillips Hall, Room 314 to pick up a free copy (while supplies last!)