Summary
Peter Tompkins (April 19, 1919 – January 23, 2007) was an American journalist, World War II Office of Strategic Services (OSS) spy in Rome, and best-selling author.[1]
Peter Tompkins | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 19, 1919 Athens, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | January 24, 2007 (aged 87) Shepherdstown, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | journalist, World War II spy, & author |
| Children | Ptolemy Tompkins |
Biography edit
He was a war correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune and CBS during World War II. In 1943 he was recruited by the OSS and utilized as an undercover agent in Italy in 1944.[2] He worked closely with Maurizio Giglio, an Italian policeman who was an OSS secret agent. In 1962 he published his diary, titled A Spy in Rome (New York: Simon & Schuster).
His best-known books are The Secret Life of Plants (1973), Secrets of the Great Pyramid (1971; paperback reprint, 1997), and Mysteries of the Mexican Pyramids (1976). His Secrets of the Great Pyramid, Mysteries of the Mexican Pyramids and The Magic of Obelisks have become classics of "New Age" literature.[3]
In 1977, he hosted a documentary film called Secrets of the Bermuda Triangle, directed by Donald Brittain.
References edit
- ^ Marimow, William K., ed. (January 26, 2007). "Peter Tompkins, Spy and author, 87". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Vol. 178, no. 240 (South Jersey ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Brian Tierney. p. B6 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Richard Harris Smith (1972). OSS: The Secret History of America's First Central Intelligence Agency. University of California Press. pp. 86–87. ISBN 978-0-520-02023-8.
- ^ Silverberg, Robert (September 12, 1971). "Secrets of the Pyramids". The New York Times.
External links edit
- Associated Press obituary, International Herald Tribune, January 24, 2007
- 2004 profile of Peter Tompkins in Italian magazine "The American."
- Article by Tompkins on the OSS and Italian Partisans in World War II at Central Intelligence Agency
- Article on Spies in WWII by Tompkins
- Peter Tompkins at IMDb
- Secrets of the Bermuda Triangle on the Internet Archive