Author of The Emperor and the Spy
Colonel Sidney Forrester Mashbir (1891-1973) wore many hats during his long career: as a spy, a diplomat, a Japanese linguist, military strategist, and as a scientist/inventor. Hoping to avoid World War Two altogether, during the 1920s and 1930s, he was befriended by and allied with top Japanese leaders such as Prince Iyesato Tokugawa and Baron Eiichi Shibusawa, in the pursuit of good relations between the U.S. and Japan.
The illustrated Blog posts on this website focus on U.S. Japan relations and Japanese history.
Katz was a Specialist in Rare Books and Ephemera when he acquired the personal papers of a Master Spy, Colonel Sidney Forrester Mashbir (1891-1973). These fascinating materials, combined with his passion for history and many years of research resulted in the exciting historical novel THE EMPEROR AND THE SPY, followed by a sequel, an illustrated biography titled: THE ART OF PEACE.
For centuries, the Shoguns ruled over a relatively isolated feudal society. Prince Iyesato Tokugawa was to become the next shogun, but when that dynasty ended, he instead creatively guided an emerging Japan onto a modern, interconnected world stage.
Description of the book cover photo:
Prince Iyesato Tokugawa (aka Prince Tokugawa Iesato) receives an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from the University of Southern California (USC). Dr. Rufus B. von Kleinsmid President of the university bestows this degree.
As a writer and historian who has studied and written about Colonel Sidney Mashbir, it was my good fortune when Robert Warren and his son William Warren contacted me in 2018 to discuss their close friendship with Colonel Mashbir many years earlier.
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
University of California San Diego
On January 8th, 2020, the author of the historical novel The Emperor and the Spy: The Secret Alliance to Prevent WWII & the illustrated biography The Art of Peace presented a new perspective on pivotal unknown U.S. Japan relations during the first half of the twentieth century.
It is an honor to announce the publication of:
The 65th Anniversary Edition of Colonel Sidney Forrester Mashbir’s exciting 1953 autobiography:
I WAS AN AMERICAN SPY
Besides being a fascinating story, Colonel Mashbir’s autobiography is a textbook in the art of espionage and counter-espionage.
Colonel Mashbir (1891-1973) led an adventurous life – At the age of thirteen, he began his military career as a bugle boy in the Arizona Guard, in the still untamed Arizona Territory. During 1914-1916, he served under General Funston and General Pershing, and went on daring missions across the U.S./Mexican border during the Mexican Revolution, attempting to maintain stability between those nations. He personally escorted the Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa to a peace parley with General Pershing in 1914.