Espionage Aficionados discussion

SPYCRAFT 101: INVISIBLE INK.

For those interested, I just wrote an article on secret writing and invisible ink from WWII's greatest spy. Here's the link: http://bit.ly/1Qnwjzk



Cheers,
Larry Loftis

Thank you for posting this treasure. Will be ordering the book soon

unrelated comment: Larry, I'm curious to know why you chose Popov as the subject for your first book. Why did you embark on this in particular? Were you simply an Ian Fleming fan to begin with and became interested in this deeper backstory? Also, am I mistaken or were there already at least two other works on Popov? You've surely read them--what's your impression? Were they inadequate? Did you discover new material that those authors had not been aware of?

Jim wrote: "Thank you for posting this treasure. Will be ordering the book soon"

Thanks Jim!

Feliks wrote: "unrelated comment: Larry, I'm curious to know why you chose Popov as the subject for your first book. Why did you embark on this in particular? Were you simply an Ian Fleming fan to begin with and ..."

Good questions, all. As for why I chose Popov ... In 2012 I was starting work on an espionage novel. So that my story would be believable, I began researching "greatest spy ever." All roads led to Popov. The more I read, the more amazed I was; this man had done more in real life than I was making up! In short order I changed my plan from fiction to narrative nonfiction, focused on Popov.

As to your questions on other sources ... There is only one other biography on Popov, published in 2004 (countless books have mentioned him in passing). While this book is a fine biography and was a terrific starting point, it lacked three things which I found imperative. First, it was not a scholarly work; the bibliography and end notes were minimal, and the sources, when cited at all, were generic. For example, in lieu of documentation to a particular FBI file and page, a common cite was "Unless otherwise noted, all sources were derived from FBI files." For a scholarly work, this is unacceptable. There are EIGHT BOXES of files on Popov in the FBI files at National Archives II. Each box contains multiple files and hundreds, sometimes thousands, of pages. As such, a cite to "FBI files" is meaningless.

Similarly, all citations to MI5 files simply stated the KV section (i.e., "KV 249"). This refers to the British Archives at Kew. However, the citation is unhelpful and there is no way to actually check its accuracy. Within KV 249 there are four sub-files, each containing hundreds of pages. To find the alleged document, the reader would have to spend hours scouring each sub-file hoping to stumble across the document referenced. What I did for ever citation is what is expected for any scholarly work---give the reader the exact citation so he or she can check it. Thus, my citations provide the file, sub-file, and page number. For a nonfiction work to be useful to universities and actually add to the body of scholarship on a subject, this level of source citation is required.

Second, I found it imperative that the story be related as narrative nonfiction (think Laura Hillenbrand or Erik Larson) rather than as a dry biography. Because Popov's war activities carried the pace of a Vince Flynn novel, I found it a disservice to Popov not to write it as narrative. So far as I know, INTO THE LION'S MOUTH is the first narrative nonfiction thriller. As my editor (Tom Colgan, famously Tom Clancy's editor) stated after reading the manuscript, "It's a good thing this is nonfiction. This story is too incredible to be a novel."

Finally, there are two major items regarding Popov that had never been developed or adequately researched, in any work: 1) Popov as Ian Fleming's inspiration for James Bond; and 2) Popov's documented warning to the FBI in August 1941 that the Japanese would be attacking Pearl Harbor. Since my background is as a lawyer, I wanted to research these like an attorney going to trial on both counts, or as a PhD candidate appearing before the dissertation defense committee. Due to the significance of both items, I felt history demanded it. I could leave no stone unturned.

As a result, most of my research is seminal, and most of my source material has never before been published. Hope that helps! :)

Feliks wrote: "unrelated comment: Larry, I'm curious to know why you chose Popov as the subject for your first book. Why did you embark on this in particular? Were you simply an Ian Fleming fan to begin with and ..."

Feliks, sorry, I failed to address the second source you inferred -- Popov's memoirs. Again, this was the starting point. Recall that Louis Zamperini had written memoirs, but Laura Hillenbrand took that as a starting point to write his story as narrative nonfiction in Unbroken.

Specifically, Popov's memoirs were problematic throughout. First, several items mention were simply untrue. I can't give details without it being a spoiler in my book; however, if you read my book, including the Epilogue, you will see what I'm referring to.

Much of the information in Popov's memoirs is incorrect for one of three reasons. First, as he noted at the outset, he changed the names of many people to ... protect the innocent, if you will. One name that he changed--for good reason--was a woman he offered to kill. Naturally, he doesn't state that he offered to kill her, but it is in the FBI files.

Second, the long shadow of Britain's Official Secrets Act was just being released. Popov was writing in 1973 and had to be very careful in what he stated, and what he disclosed, for fear of being prosecuted under the Act. It was for this reason that the book which in 1972 cracked the Act door (J. C. Masterman's "The Double Cross System") did not mention a single British spy's real name.

Third, writing in 1973, Popov had no access to MI5 or FBI files. He had to rely on his memory for events that occurred thirty years earlier. As such, we can forgive him for botching dates, places, and people in many accounts.

For an accurate appraisal of what really happened throughout Popov's espionage career, I had to review and balance/counter-balance three source groups: 1) Popov's memoirs and many interviews; 2) MI5's files and the memoirs of MI5 or Naval Intelligence officers writing in later years; and 3) the FBI's files. Often these sources conflicted and I had to get to the bottom of it.

Hope that explains everything.

Second installment on Spycraft tomorrow ... on $$$. :)