Peter Eisner

Washington, D.C.

Writer and Author at Freelance

Typing fast as I can: Newest book: High Crimes. Also SpyTalk @talk_spy and podcast #UnconventionalThreat. Former editor/reporter WashPost, Newsday, AP

Articles

A Pulse-Pounding Novel of Treachery Within the CIA

3 weeks ago | spytalk.co | Peter Eisner

If books could circulate in Technicolor, the cover of James C. Lawler’s new spy thriller,The Traitor’s Tale, would be flashing vivid and bright. Even before the opening chapter, two dozen prominent former agency officials and lifelong students of espionage offer glowing endorsements that go beyond what a single reviewer can say. Their verdict: Read this Book.
Live with Malcolm Nance

2 months ago | malcolmnance.substack.com | Malcolm Nance |Steven Beschloss |Jamie Schler |Peter Eisner

, and many others for tuning into my live video with! Join me for my next live video in the app.
Can America's Global Spy Network Survive Trump's Moscow Tilt?

Mar 3, 2025 | spytalk.co | Peter Eisner

The so-called Five Eyes, an intelligence-sharing coalition among the United States, Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand, which has been a pillar of U.S. national security interests for decades, appears now to be at risk with the “America First” policies of the Trump administration. Not that the relationship of the English-speaking nations has always been smooth and unencumbered, writes Richard Kerbaj in The Secret History of the Five Eyes: The Untold Story of the International Spy Network.
Three Spy Books I Kinda Liked in 2024-and One I Loved

Dec 17, 2024 | spytalk.co | Peter Eisner

There’s no reason that my brief for writing reviews for SpyTalk has to be actually limited to espionage. I have written about military history, sagas of the World Wars and current cloak-and-dagger dramas, but this year a number of stories about spies themselves really captured my attention. Here are a few I picked. Traitor’s Odyssey: The Untold Story of Martha Dodd and a Strange Saga Soviet Espionage.
The Spy Was a Femme Fatale, But Came Away Empty-Handed

Nov 25, 2024 | spytalk.co | Peter Eisner

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The Spy Was a Femme Fatale, But Came Away Empty-Handed

Nov 25, 2024 | spytalk.co | Peter Eisner

THE BEST AND MOST TIMELY LESSON WE CAN TAKE from Traitor’s Odyssey, the latest biography of wartime Soviet mole Martha Dodd, is that, with luck, sometimes a well-placed U.S. turncoat can end up being an abject failure. Otherwise, Dodd, the daughter of William Edward Dodd, U.S. ambassador to Germany at the beginning of Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich, might have done serious damage.
Timely Biography of a Duplicitous Nazi Super Spy

Oct 3, 2024 | spytalk.co | Peter Eisner

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Timely Biography of a Duplicitous Nazi Super Spy

Oct 3, 2024 | spytalk.co | Peter Eisner

Imagine a military leader who dares protest the actions of his twisted, mendacious, even murderous commander in chief, knowing he risked his career and ultimately his life. Such a man was Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, the chief of the Abwehr, Nazi military intelligence, from 1935 to—spoiler alert—his death by hanging in 1945.
D-Day Deceptions and Disasters

Jun 5, 2024 | spytalk.co | Peter Eisner

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D-Day Deceptions and Disasters

Jun 5, 2024 | spytalk.co | Peter Eisner

EVERY SPRING, AS THE COMMEMORATON OF D-DAY APPROACHED, my father, retired Navy Lt. Bernard Eisner, recalled the young men who went down with their ships during World War Two and might not have been counted and recognized among the heroes of war. As for himself, my dad had been far off on D-day, executive officer of LST-463—a tank and troop carrier—in the South Pacific. Still, though, he felt deep kinship with every sailor who had not come home.