The American School of Spies: The Archeologists Who Fought the Nazis and Saved the Treasures of Ancient Greece
Stephan Talty
Dutton/An Imprint of Random House (June 2026)

A brilliant account of how ancient Greek antiquities were saved from the Nazis

As I began to read The American School of Spies, I was again reminded of other accounts of efforts to hide and protect precious antiquities from invading troops during wars since the Greeks arrived in their ships at the beaches of Troy.

You need to know that Stephan Talty is a meticulous historian with the skills of a master storyteller. He assembles a number of colorful characters in a situation in World War Two who — when Greece, early in and then during World War Two — hid from German and Italian forces everything of value to the accumulated culture of Western Civilization: paintings, sculpture, manuscripts, religious documents,  correspondence…all of which is irreplaceable and of incalculable value.

This is literally a “page turner” (rare indeed among modern history books) whose material is eminently worthy of becoming a film such as The Monuments Men (2014).

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Here are two suggestions while you are reading The American School of Spies: First, highlight key passages. Also,  perhaps in a lined notebook kept near-at-hand,  record your comments, questions, and action steps (preferably with deadlines). Pay special attention to HOW Stephan Talty provides an abundance of information, insights, and commentary within a narrative framework: background, setting, major figures, interactions between and among them, conflicts, increasing tensions, resolutions,  subsequent perspectives, and tensions

These two simple tactics — highlighting and documenting — will expedite frequent reviews of key material later.