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MarcWortman is the author most recently of 1941: Fighting the Shadow War: A Divided America in a World at War. To learn more, go to marcwortmanbooks.com.

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Romanticizing D-Day Ignores Thousands of Civilian Deaths

HIDDEN TOLL

We think we know D-Day on its 75th anniversary, but remembering the forgotten civilian victims reminds us of the overlooked costs of war and offers lessons for today.

Marc Wortman | Published Jun 06, 2019

History Majors Are Disappearing, Except Among the Elite

MAJORING IN AMNESIA

In the last decade, the number of students majoring in history at the nation’s colleges has plummeted, and it seemingly has nothing to do with the job market.

Marc Wortman | Published Jan 04, 2019

Did the Allies Plot to Assassinate France’s Wartime Leader?

INTRIGUE

The conspirators behind the assassination of a hated former Vichy prime minister in WWII have never been unmasked. Were they French royalists? The English? Or the Americans?

AD BY The Daily Beast | Published Sep 10, 2017

The Spy Who Helped Free France From the Nazis

CLOAK & DAGGER

Secretly in charge of one of North Africa’s largest spy rings, Słowikowski was buddies with Josephine Baker and prominent businessmen. The Nazis never suspected a thing.

AD BY The Daily Beast | Published Sep 02, 2017

12 Amateur Spies Paved the Way to War Against the Nazis

CLOAK AND DAGGER

America’s first foray into dark ops began 75 years ago with a small band of untrained men who laid the groundwork for the successful invasion of North Africa in WWII.

Marc Wortman | Published Aug 26, 2017

Did Brits Kill Cops to Get U.S. into WWII?

MYSTERY

For 77 years the culprits behind a July 4, 1940, terror bombing at the New York World’s Fair have never been found. Is this the answer?

AD BY The Daily Beast | Published Jul 16, 2017

The Strange Tale of Abraham Lincoln’s ‘Toenail Trimmer’ Spy

CLOAK & DAGGER

Issachar Zacharie was Civil War Washington’s foot doctor to the stars who wheedled his way into Lincoln’s confidence and was actually sent to negotiate with the South.

AD BY The Daily Beast | Published Jul 02, 2017

The Train Robbery That Almost Won the Civil War

SOUTHERN STRATEGY

Union soldiers paid with their lives for their failed theft of a locomotive—and became America’s first Medal of Honor winners for their heroics.

Marc Wortman | Published Jun 03, 2017

Devil in the City of Light

ANTIHERO

Robin Hood or the French H.H. Holmes? Depicted as evil incarnate, 240 years ago Antoine Francois Desues executed for his crimes, but was he the monster his executioners claimed?

AD BY The Daily Beast | Published May 14, 2017

When The One Percent Sent Sons to War

BLOOD MONEY

A century ago this week, the United States entered World War One. Unlike today, the children of America’s wealthiest families were the first into battle.

Marc Wortman | Published Apr 01, 2017

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