Into the Lion's Mouth: The True Story of Dusko Popov : World War II Spy, Patriot, and the Real-life Inspiration for James Bond

Larry Loftis

Penguin, 2016 - Biography & Autobiography - 368 pages

International bestseller!

James Bond has nothing on Dusko Popov. a double agent for the Abwehr, MI5 and MI6, and the FBI during World War II, Popov seduced numerous women, spoke five languages, and was a crack shot, all while maintaining his cover as a Yugoslavian diplomat...

On a cool August evening in 1941, a Serbian playboy created a stir at Casino Estoril in Portugal by throwing down an outrageously large baccarat bet to humiliate his opponent. The Serbian was a British double agent, and the money―which he had just stolen from the Germans―belonged to the British. From the sideline, watching with intent interest was none other than Ian Fleming...

The Serbian was Dusko Popov. As a youngster, he was expelled from his London prep school. Years later he would be arrested and banished from Germany for making derogatory statements about the Third Reich. When World War II ensued, the playboy became a spy, eventually serving three dangerous masters: the Abwehr, MI5 and MI6, and the FBI.

On August 10, 1941, the Germans sent Popov to the United States to construct a spy network and gather information on Pearl Harbor. The FBI ignored his German questionnaire, but J. Edgar Hoover succeeded in blowing his cover. While MI5 desperately needed Popov to deceive the Abwehr about the D-Day invasion, they assured him that a return to the German Secret Service Headquarters in Lisbon would result in torture and execution. He went anyway...

Into the Lion's Mouth is a globe-trotting account of a man's entanglement with espionage, murder, assassins, and lovers―including enemy spies and a Hollywood starlet. It is a story of subterfuge and seduction, patriotism, and cold-blooded courage. It is the story of Dusko Popov―the inspiration for James Bond.

INCLUDES PHOTOGRAPHS

Contents

• PREFACE: 1
• FORGING THE ANVIL: 3
• EXITING FEET FIRST: 9
• SPYING FOR HITLER KILLING FOR CHURCHILL: 14
• MAGIC: 21
• THE BEE HIVE: 28
• TOO MANY DEVICES: 39
• PASSION AND ADDICTION: 46
• DEATH IN THE AFTERNOON: 54
• HES NOT DEAD: 61
• TARANTO AND THE TARGET: 68
• CASINO ESTORIL: 77
• 12 PEARL HARBOR WARNING: 88
• COVERUP: 99
• 14 ILL KILL HER: 115
• BUTTERFLIES AND CARNAGE: 123
• 16 BLOWN: 133
• INCOMPLETE CANVAS: 146
• THE ART OF THE SILENT KILL: 154
• TURN AROUND SLOWLY: 165
• TICKING: 174
• 22 SHOTS RANG OUT: 189
• AUF: 209
• NAKED AND SHAVED: 237
• 29 JOHNNY: 254
• SOURCES AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: 267
• LIVING CASABLANCA AND DR NO: 285
• BIBLIOGRAPHY: 339

About the author

Larry Loftis is an attorney, author, and adjunct professor of law. He has published legal articles in the University of Florida Law Review, Suffolk Transnational Law Journal, Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law, Florida Bar Journal, National Law Journal, and Florida Banking. He received a BA from the University of Florida, an MA from Reformed Theological Seminary, and a JD from the University of Florida Law School, where he served on the Law Review as the senior executive editor and senior articles editor. He also served at the law school as a teaching fellow for Legal Research and Writing/Appellate Advocacy.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Into the Lion's Mouth: The True Story of Dusko Popov : World War II Spy, Patriot, and the Real-life Inspiration for James Bond
• Author: Larry Loftis
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Penguin, 2016
• ISBN: 0425281817, 9780425281819
• Length: 368 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Cultural & Regional; Biography & Autobiography / Historical; History / General; History / Wars & Conflicts / World War II / European Theater; History / Wars & Conflicts / World War II / General; Political Science / Intelligence & Espionage; True Crime / Espionage