Major General “Wild Bill” Donovan: Spymaster of the OSS
William “Wild Bill” Donovan. William Joseph Donovan, known as “Wild Bill,” was born on 1 January 1883, in Buffalo, New York1. He graduated from Columbia Law School and joined the…
Coffee and the Old West: How the Brew Helped Tame the West
Tichnor Bros. postcard circa 1940 with the caption “Chuck Wagon of The Ole Southwest, Plenty of Meat, Potatoes, Frijoles and Coffee about to be consumed”. There is no life without…
Project AQUILINE: Secret CIA Cold War UAV Program
McDonnell Douglas AQUILINE prototype (incorrectly identified as a “Mark II Batwing”) displayed inverted at the U.S. Army Aviation Museum. Credit: ZLEA / CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED. From the dawn of…
The Lost Battalion movie review: A Gripping Tale of Courage and Sacrifice
Director: Russell Mulcahy Starring: Rick Schroder, Phil McKee, Jamie Harris, Adam James, Jay Rodan I recall watching The Lost Battalion with a few friends when the movie came out. We…
Sir Francis Walsingham: The Architect of Modern Espionage
Depiction of Sir Francis Walsingham, principal secretary to Elizabeth I. More commonly known as her spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham, born around 1532, is a name that resonates through the annals…
Smoking in the First World War
WWI marked a pivotal moment in the 20th century, propelling cigarette usage to the forefront of tobacco consumption. This war introduced numerous modern military conventions, encompassing automatic weapons, mass casualties,…
Restaurants and Cafés: The Lifeblood of Espionage
Café A Brasileira in Lisbon, where British double agent Kim Philby met with his Soviet handlers. Credit: DIMSFIKAS / CC BY-SA 3.0 DEED. Espionage, or the act of obtaining secret…
“Jumping Joe” Savoldi: Football Player, Pro Wrestler, & Spy
“Jumping Joe” Savoldi in 1936. Joseph Anthony Savoldi Jr., more commonly known by his nickname “Jumping Joe” Savoldi, was born as Giuseppe Antonio Savoldi on March 5, 1908, in Castano…
Josephine Baker: Jazz Age Icon & WW2 Spy
Josephine Baker in 1942. Josephine Baker, born as Freda Josephine McDonald on June 3, 1906, in St. Her career was primarily centered in Europe, mostly in France. She was the…
A Legendary Encounter: De Niro and Pacino’s Coffee Conclave in “Heat”
In the illustrious realm of cinematic collaborations, few meetings are as iconic as the coffee shop rendezvous between Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in the film Heat. This pivotal…