The Secret Lives of Trebitsch Lincoln Author:Bernard Wasserstein Revolutionary, spy, missionary, and confidence trickster, Trebitsch Lincoln was one of the most astounding and bizarre figures in modern history. A juvenile criminal in his native Hungary, he emigrated to Canada in 1900 as a missionary in Montreal and then became, successively, Anglican curate in Kent, Liberal Member of the British Parliament, G... more »erman agent in both world wars, outlaw in the USA, member of the 1920 right-wing German military government, conspirator in the 'White International', adviser to warlords in China, and Buddhist abbot in Shanghai.
In this book Bernard Wasserstein unravels the career of the many-faceted Trebitsch Lincoln by performing a feat of historical detective work. Unearthing police reports, intelligence files, and diplomatic dispatches from more than a dozen countries and integrating them with numerous other archival documents and unpublished papers, Wasserstein creates a striking portrait of an enigmatic man.
Trebitsch bamboozled men, including Lloyd George, Himmler and J. Edgar Hoover. His life story makes compelling reading. More than that, it mirrors the unquiet spirit of his age. Wasserstein writes: "Trebitsch was an extreme, but in a sense a characteristic product of the era of political messianism when madness gained an ascendancy over large portions of humanity. He shared many of the manic attributes of the great dictators of the period, most notably the pseudo-messiah of the Third Reich."
Bernard Wasserstein is Professor of History and Chairman of the History Department at Brandeis University. His books include Britain and the Jews of Europe, 1939-45.« less