The Book and the Author

John L. Spivak comes closer to the popular conception of the ace journalist than any other living writer. Combining the instinct of a detective with the resourcefulness of a reporter, and gifted with a hard-hitting, breezy style, he has time and again "scooped the world," "gotten the story"—despite powerful opposition and personal danger that might well have daunted less hardy souls.

But there is an important difference that sets Spivak apart from most other gentlemen of the press. For several years he has devoted his bright and sharp pen solely to uncovering evidence of fascist activities in the United States—evidence that is credited with having set off several official investigations exposing un-American, foreign-dominated propaganda.

Secret Armies climaxes Spivak's exposures. His sensational inside story of Hitler's far-flung, under-cover poison campaign in the Americas would seem scarcely credible, were it not so thoroughly documented with original letters and records, citing chapter and verse, naming names, dates and places. His unanswerable, uncontradicted facts should go far toward jolting many of us out of our false sense of security.