SOLVED. Spy/espionage anthology from 1950-1980, I read it around 1980 [s]

[Doug]

I read some of the stories in this spy/espionage anthology around 1980 although the book was likely 10-15 years old at that point. It was paperback, 200-300 pages.

The story in it that I remember the most was about two men, maybe brothers, maybe father son, who go behind the "Iron Curtain" to bring out people, one or two at a time. They have done it before and they have a path and a plan. I think the country they go to is either Czechoslovakia or Hungary. They go there, they stay with someone they know, an older woman, and then they take the people out via train and walking. At one point they have to cut open a wire fence and there is sand or dirt on the ground. They crawl backwards through this part so that the guards will not know if they were coming or going when they see the trail in the sand.

The book was given to me around 1980 and had been the property of boys who were born around 1945, so my guess is they read it around 15 years later. Therefore I think it was published around 1960.

I've googled and googled, mostly details that I have included above. I've tried the library of congress and I've asked people who knew me when I read it if they can recall anything about it. I thought it might be "Great True Spy Stories" by Allen Dulles so I bought that but that isn't it but it was similar to that. I'm pretty sure the stories were true and not great works of fiction by well known authors.

There were other stories, some of them quite old going back to Civil War, Revolutionary War and even back to ancient Greece but I wasn't interested in reading those. There were other stories I read but they are much more vague. One about a spy who had been a "cat burgler" before World War 2 but he used those skills to be a spy. Probably several about World War 2 in Europe with Gestapo and torture. I don't think there were any stories that took place later than about 1960 in it.

All of the stories were about first person espionage. No poems. No pictures or drawings or graphics. Maybe 20 stories in all, each one 10-20 pages. No introduction was given to the stories that I recall.

Thanks in advance.

[Jon]

Hi Doug, could it potentially be "The Spies" (aka "True Spy Stories") which contains the story "How the Cat-Man Conned The Krauts", published 1961, edited by Robert Deindorfer? If you Google the author it comes in various editions and you can read a contents page on one of the editions available on eBay.

True Spy Stories

[Jon]

You might also check out "Spies Who Changed History" (1960) edited by Kurt Singer...

If you check out the screen shot of the acknowledgements page on Vintage Bookworms it references excerpts from Homer, suggesting it contains chapters going back to Ancient Greece as per your query.

Spies Who Changed History

[Doug]

Wow! I think it is the first one by Deindorfer. I am trying to buy a copy now. Thanks so much! I will update once I have the book.

Doug

[Doug]

Thanks again! You were right, True Spy Stories was the book I was after!

[Jon]

Brilliant! Glad you finally found it.