Dear Educators,
The Emperor and the Spy offers new insights into many of the major world events of the first half of the twentieth century.
The adventurous life of Sidney Mashbir will stimulate students’ imaginations, encouraging an appreciation of history and a love for reading.
It is a rare occasion when the secret papers of a spy come to light!
This website offers an Illustrated Timeline Gallery displaying some of Mashbir’s never-before-available photos and written documents that inspired the novel.
To Access click: Illustrated Timeline Gallery and you will be presented with the first 17 pages of the timeline.
Being an espionage novel, to Activate the Links on these 17 pages requires entering a Password on Page 17.
The Password is: Ellis
Ellis is the first name of Colonel Mashbir’s close friend, Commander Ellis Zacharias, who became the Deputy Chief of Naval Intelligence.
One of Colonel Mashbir’s main Japanese allies during the 1920s and ’30s was Prince Iyesato Tokugawa (aka Prince Tokugawa Iesato). Prince Tokugawa was an outstanding international statesmen and humanitarian. Together, Prince Tokugawa and Colonel Mashbir strove to maintain goodwill between their nations. Many readers of The Emperor and the Spy have expressed the desire to learn more about Prince Tokugawa. Based on this, the below biography was written. It is in a sense, a sequel to The Emperor and the Spy. The Art of Peace displays hundreds of illustrations, many rare and one of a kind.
The introductory section of this biography is presented as a blog on this website.
The EBook edition is available on Amazon.
The Emperor and the Spy and The Art of Peace have a strong relevance for today:
- They emphasize our need to better understand the diversity of cultures around us.
- They honor the art of diplomacy in pursuit of peace and democratic values.
- Current international tensions in Asia are influenced by past grievances linked to WWII: The Emperor and the Spy and The Art of Peace present the gallant efforts of many Japanese leaders who heroically attempted to prevent that conflict. Perhaps, this new awareness will help improve relations in that region.
- Hopefully, these literary/historical works will find their way into academic curriculum.
Your feedback/suggestions are welcome.
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Wishing you and your students all the best!