The true story of German secret agents engaged in a campaign of subversion and terror in the United States before and during World War I.

Many believe that World War I was only fought "over there," as the popular 1917 song goes, in the trenches and muddy battlefields of Northern France and Belgium—they are wrong.

There was a secret war fought in America; on remote railway bridges and waterways linking the United States and Canada; aboard burning and exploding ships in the Atlantic Ocean; in the smoldering ruins of America's bombed and burned-out factories, munitions plants, and railway centers; and waged in carefully disguised clandestine workshops where improvised explosive devices and deadly toxins were designed and manufactured. It was irregular warfare on a scale that caught the United States woefully unprepared.

This is the true story of German secret agents engaged in a campaign of subversion and terror on the American homeland before and during World War I.

Chapter 1: The War Room
Chapter 2: First Target: The Welland Canal
Chapter 3: Bombing the Vanceboro Bridge
Chapter 4: The Cigar Bomb Plot
Chapter 5: A Gentleman Spy
Chapter 6: The Detroit Cell
Chapter 7: The Riverside Garage
Chapter 8: Swindlers, Scoundrels, and Saboteurs
Chapter 9: Bopp’s Gang
Chapter 10: TNT
Chapter 11: The American Front
Chapter 12: The Hoboken Bunch
Chapter 13: Black Tom Island
Chapter 14: The Munitions of War Conspiracy
Chapter 15: Dynamite Charlie
Chapter 16: Kingsland
Chapter 17: Declaration of War

"...a fascinating tale of international intrigue, geopolitics, divided loyalties, and criminal investigations during wartime."

"...an excellent overview of the tangled web of German espionage in the US."

"Using historical records and other sources ranging from pre-World War I through the 21st century, Digby’s book is a compelling narrative about people involved in German-inspired events to keep America out of World War I."

"Digby has made a very valuable addition to the scholarship on the subject..."

"Digby introduces the reader to a host of colorful, and frequently sinister, characters."

"Mr. Digby's book, with its wealth of telling detail and sweeping narrative to cover a range of loosely connected sabotage operations all over the country, makes a valuable addition to the literature on national security law and history."

"Michael Digby is technically astute and a compelling author who consistently manages to compress the verbose, technical, and complex into a concise, easily readable, and enjoyable narrative. Frequently the story entails several threads, but Digby stitches them together so the reader maintains clarity without becoming lost and disorientated.  A mix of stunning revelation, to those previously uninitiated, and expertly told detail that explains and enhances through a well-crafted and logical flow; this book’s appeal will range from period enthusiasts to those who are simply looking for an exciting and historically accurate account."