Overview
Johann Heinrich Amadeus de Graaf, known as Johnny all his life, was born on May 11, 1894, in Nordenham, near Bremerhaven in northwest Germany. He died at age 86 on December 2, 1980, in Brockville, Ontario, where he and his wife ran a tourist lodge. That he lived as long as he did is miraculous considering that he had spent many years acting as a double agent, pretending to work for Soviet intelligence while really functioning as an operative for Britain's MI6. His life had many twists and turns, and murder, treachery, intrigue, and violence were never far from his doorstep. Eventually joining the Spartacus Bund in 1919, which evolved into the German Communist Party, he later became a staunch anti-Communist and played a key role in undermining the efforts of Communists in Brazil to oust the government of Getulio Vargas in 1935. After retiring from MI6, he even volunteered his services to the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover in 1950. Based on documents from multiple government archives as well as many interviews, the most important of which was a series that Gordon Scott conducted with Johnny in 1975-76, this story of the life of a spy who hid behind sixty-eight different aliases during the course of his colorful career is a gripping tale of espionage and counterespionage during a critical period of the political history of the twentieth century.
Full Product Details
Author: R. S. Rose ,
Gordon D. Scott (Independent)
Publisher: Pennsylvania State University Press
Imprint: Pennsylvania State University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.60cm
, Height: 4.20cm
, Length: 23.50cm
Weight: 0.862kg
ISBN: 9780271035697
ISBN 10: 0271035692
Pages: 512
Publication Date: 20 January 2010
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Out of stock
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.
Reviews
The book offers a raw narrative, rich in detail. --Diogo Schelp [in Portuguese], Veja
<p> The book offers a raw narrative, rich in detail. <p>--Diogo Schelp [in Portuguese], Veja
Johnny fought against injustice and tyranny all his life. We are lucky to have had him in Brazil and he is one of many unsung heroes in the 'silent service.' Former Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Cliff Harvison stated, 'thank God he's on our side.' -- Neil Pollock
Author Information
R. S. Rose, an American, took his doctorate from the University of Stockholm. He teaches criminology and criminal justice at Northern Arizona University, Yuma. Gordon D. Scott, a Canadian author, resides with his wife on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
