Exiled Emissary: George H. Earle III, Soldier, Sailor, Diplomat, Governor, Spy

Exiled Emissary is a biography of the colorful life of George H. Earle, III – a Main Line Philadelphia millionaire, war hero awarded the Navy Cross, Pennsylvania governor, Ambassador to Austria and Bulgaria, friend and supporter of Franklin Roosevelt, humanitarian, playboy, and spy. Rich in Casablanca-style espionage and intrigue, Farrell’s deeply personal study presents FDR and his White House in a new light, especially when they learned in 1943 that high-ranking German officials approached Earle in Istanbul to convey their plot to kidnap Hitler and seek an armistice. When FDR rejected their offer, thereby prolonging World War II, his close relationship with Earle became inconvenient, resulting in Earle’s exile to an administrative post in American Samoa. Earle eventually returned to the United States, renewing his warnings about communism to President Truman, who underestimated the threat as a “bugaboo.” Now, over four decades following Earle’s death, Farrell has uncovered newly declassified records that give voice to his warnings about a threat we now know should never have been dismissed.