Book cover of A Spy at the Heart of the Third Reich: The Extraordinary Story of Fritz Kolbe, America's Most Important Spy in World War II

Book description

A fascinating account of Fritz Kolbe, a German bureaucrat who worked secretly with the Allies during World War II, describes his harrowing espionage work relaying valuable information on high-level Axis meetings and munitions factories to the Allies. 25,000 first printing.

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked A Spy at the Heart of the Third Reich as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

The story of the nondescript German diplomat who became one of the United States' greatest spies in Nazi Germany reads like a thriller.

It was important to me because it showed how a single person, working alone, could do incredible damage to the Nazi war effort.

Kolbe’s story did not come out until well after the war, when declassified CIA documents revealed 1,600 diplomatic cables copied by Fritz Kolbe, a career-functionary in the German Foreign Office. Koble had smuggled the documents into Switzerland – mainly tucked down into his pants – to be passed to the OSS bureau head, Allen…

If you love A Spy at the Heart of the Third Reich...

Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

Want books like A Spy at the Heart of the Third Reich?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like A Spy at the Heart of the Third Reich.

Browse books like A Spy at the Heart of the Third Reich

Book cover of The Oster Conspiracy of 1938: The Unknown Story of the Military Plot to Kill Hitler and Avert World War II
Book cover of Sophie Scholl: The Real Story of the Woman who Defied Hitler
Book cover of Counterfeit Nazi

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,299

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like A Spy at the Heart of the Third Reich, you might also like...

Book cover of Raggedyland

Raggedyland by Paul J. Heald,

An auctioned storage locker comes with a box of Raggedy Ann books and a dresser drawer stuffed with grisly momentos. A small college town in Georgia is now ground zero for a mind-bending cold case.

Local journalist James Murphy wishes he had never bought the storage unit which either contains…

Book cover of Selkie Moon

Selkie Moon by Kelly Jarvis,

We are all surrounded by darkness. And we are all drawn to the light.

The Orkney Islands north of Scotland are steeped in stories of selkies, seal folk who swim in cold ocean waters and shed their skins to sing and dance on land.

One young girl named Isla uses…

5 book lists we think you will like!