Peter Eisner

I've written in recent years about World War II and unsung heroes of the war who deserve more recognition for their valor, for their patriotism and basic decency. I was inspired by personal history -- my dad was a U.S. Navy officer during the War and never talked much about it. These books are in part a quest to understand what the war was like for the young men and women who faced danger and an uncertain future. FREEDOM LINE: An American bomber pilot is shot down over occupied Europe in 1943 and evades capture with the help of a group of young women and men, out to resist the Nazis; THE POPE'S LAST CRUSADE: an American Jesuit journalist answers Pope Pius XI's call in a last-ditch effort to challenge Hitler, Mussolini and antisemitism; MACARTHUR'S SPIES: An American singer caught in the Philippines at the start of World War II spies on Japanese officers from her sultry Manila night club. My most recent book, written with Michael D'Antonio, is a departure, back to my journalist roots. Why: I'm still in search of patriotism and basic decency. We live in dangerous times. Have a look: The Shadow President, The Truth About Mike Pence. Available from Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martins. A Kirkus starred review: "Award-winning, veteran journalists collaborate on a well-researched and moderately toned yet searing biography of Vice President Mike Pence (b. 1959) ... Producing a biography of a living, controversial politician is always difficult. D’Antonio and Eisner have succeeded in this well-documented, damning book. Cue the outrage from Sean Hannity et al."