Overview

It began with a call from a screenwriter, asking about a story. Your family. WWII. Nazis spies. Christine Kuehn was shocked and confused. When she asked her 70-year-old father, Eberhard, what this could possibly be about, he stalled, deflected, demurred, and then he wept. He knew this day would come. The Kuehns, a once prominent Berlin family, saw the rise of the Nazis as a way out of the hard times that had befallen them. When the daughter of the family, Eberhard's sister and Christine's Aunt Ruth, met Nazi leader Joseph Goebbells at a party, the two hit it off, and they had an affair. But Ruth had a secret - she was half jewish, and Goebbells found out. Rather than having Ruth killed, Goebbels instead sent the entire Kuehn family to Hawaii, to work as spies half a world away. There, Christine's grandparents and her Aunt Ruth established an intricate spy operation from their home, just a few miles down the road from Pearl Harbor, shielding their son Eberhard from the truth. They passed secrets to the Japanese leading to the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, and only after that did Eberhard first learn of the family's spying. After Christine's grandfather was arrested and tried for his involvement in planning the attack on Pearl Harbor, her father left. Eberhard turned his back on the entire family, joined the US Army, and fought the Japanese in Okinawa. Jumping back and forth from Christine discovering her family's secret to the untold past of spies in Germany, Japan and Hawaii, Family of Spies is fast paced history at its finest, and will rewrite the narrative of December 7, 1941.

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9781250344465

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Reviews

""This true tale of espionage in wartime is full of plot twists worthy of a Hollywood thriller. Christine Kuehn takes on an intriguing, sometimes startling journey into a family's dark past--her own."" --Evan Thomas, author of Road to Surrender ""Deeply researched and evocatively written, Family of Spies is that all too rare combination of accurate history and great storytelling. An honest and unflinching exploration of the role Christine Kuehn's grandparents played in facilitating the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the book deftly weaves geopolitics, espionage and strained familial relationships into a spellbinding whole. Highly recommended."" --Stephen Harding, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Battle

""This true tale of espionage in wartime is full of plot twists worthy of a Hollywood thriller. Christine Kuehn takes on an intriguing, sometimes startling journey into a family's dark past--her own."" --Evan Thomas, author of Road to Surrender ""Deeply researched and evocatively written, Family of Spies is that all too rare combination of accurate history and great storytelling. An honest and unflinching exploration of the role Christine Kuehn's grandparents played in facilitating the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the book deftly weaves geopolitics, espionage and strained familial relationships into a spellbinding whole. Highly recommended."" --Stephen Harding, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Battle ""Absorbing niche history about a grandfather's secret Nazi identity."" --Kirkus

New York Post - ""Most Exciting Books to Read This Fall"" ""A brilliantly researched and dramatic story which will captivate the reader till the very end. The humanity of this story underlies the terrible acts undertaken, and a testament to the power of truth, and love, above all."" --Heather Morris, New York Times bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz ""This true tale of espionage in wartime is full of plot twists worthy of a Hollywood thriller. Christine Kuehn takes on an intriguing, sometimes startling journey into a family's dark past--her own."" --Evan Thomas, author of Road to Surrender ""Deeply researched and evocatively written, Family of Spies is that all too rare combination of accurate history and great storytelling. An honest and unflinching exploration of the role Christine Kuehn's grandparents played in facilitating the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the book deftly weaves geopolitics, espionage and strained familial relationships into a spellbinding whole. Highly recommended."" --Stephen Harding, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Battle ""Absorbing niche history about a grandfather's secret Nazi identity."" --Kirkus

Author Information

Christine Kuehn Schiponi was cocooned in the sanctity of a quiet suburban life when a letter from a historian in 1994 pierced that bubble, sending her on a 30 year quest to discover the truth behind a horrendous family secret kept hidden for half a century. Following a career in journalism, public relations, and non-profit, Christine now lives in Maryland with her husband close to their three grown children.

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