Martin Petersen (Author of City of Lost Souls)

Martin Petersen rated a book really liked it More When the Mob Ran Vegas: Showgirl Stories, High-Stakes Poker, Sin City, Sinatra and Suitcases Full of Money by Steve Fischer	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A fun book of Vegas tales. Like popcorn, they can be consumed one at a time or by the handful. Fischer is a skilled story teller. Imagine you are sitting in a Vegas lounge somewhere with a cigar and drink while an old Vegas hand spins stories from th ...more
Sep 07, 2026 08:21AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of More When the Mob Ran Vegas by Steve Fischer. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — More When the Mob Ran Vegas by Steve Fischer <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Martin Petersen rated a book liked it Coming to Las Vegas: A True Tale of Sex, Drugs & Sin City in the '70s by Carolyn V. Hamilton (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 01, 2026 01:51AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Coming to Las Vegas by Carolyn V. Hamilton. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Coming to Las Vegas by Carolyn V. Hamilton <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Martin Petersen rated a book really liked it Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America's Journey from Slavery to Segregation by Steve Luxenberg (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Luxenberg tells the story of how "separate but equal" came about through the story of three men, two Supreme Court judges and the attorney for Plessy. The two justices are Brown, who came from the north and wrote the majority opinion, and Harlan, who ...more
Aug 20, 2026 09:07AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Separate by Steve Luxenberg. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Separate by Steve Luxenberg <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Martin Petersen is currently reading Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 20, 2026 08:30AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Martin Petersen rated a book really liked it The Shanghai Agents: The Soviet Plot to Start a Revolution in Interwar China by Heather Salter	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This review originally appeared in the Cipher Brief on August 20th. The Noulens Case was a global cause célèbre in 1930s and is masterfully documented in “The Shanghai Agents” by Helen Salter. Noulens was an alias, one of many and for the sake of simp ...more
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Martin Petersen wants to read Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin's Secret War by Sean M. Wiswesser	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Martin Petersen wants to read The Hollow (Harry Bosch, #26; Harry Bosch Universe, #43) by Michael Connelly (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Martin Petersen wants to read The Jackal: The Rise and Fall of Carlos, the World's First Super-Terrorist by Joby Warrick	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Martin Petersen wants to read The Apache Wars: The Hunt for Geronimo, the Apache Kid, and the Captive Boy Who Started the Longest War in American History by Paul Andrew Hutton	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Martin Petersen rated a book really liked it Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America's Journey from Slavery to Segregation by Steve Luxenberg (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Luxenberg tells the story of how "separate but equal" came about through the story of three men, two Supreme Court judges and the attorney for Plessy. The two justices are Brown, who came from the north and wrote the majority opinion, and Harlan, who ...more
Aug 20, 2026 07:44AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Separate by Steve Luxenberg. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Separate by Steve Luxenberg <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

Martin Petersen rated a book really liked it

More When the Mob Ran Vegas by Steve Fischer

More When the Mob Ran Vegas: Showgirl Stories, High-Stakes Poker, Sin City, Sinatra and Suitcases Full of Money
by Steve Fischer

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A fun book of Vegas tales. Like popcorn, they can be consumed one at a time or by the handful. Fischer is a skilled story teller. Imagine you are sitting in a Vegas lounge somewhere with a cigar and drink while an old Vegas hand spins stories from th ...more

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Coming to Las Vegas by Carolyn V. Hamilton

Coming to Las Vegas: A True Tale of Sex, Drugs & Sin City in the '70s
by Carolyn V. Hamilton (Goodreads Author)

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Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America's Journey from Slavery to Segregation
by Steve Luxenberg (Goodreads Author)

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Luxenberg tells the story of how "separate but equal" came about through the story of three men, two Supreme Court judges and the attorney for Plessy. The two justices are Brown, who came from the north and wrote the majority opinion, and Harlan, who ...more

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Ordinary Grace
by William Kent Krueger (Goodreads Author)

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The Shanghai Agents: The Soviet Plot to Start a Revolution in Interwar China
by Heather Salter

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This review originally appeared in the Cipher Brief on August 20th.

The Noulens Case was a global cause célèbre in 1930s and is masterfully documented in “The Shanghai Agents” by Helen Salter. Noulens was an alias, one of many and for the sake of simp This review originally appeared in the Cipher Brief on August 20th.

The Noulens Case was a global cause célèbre in 1930s and is masterfully documented in “The Shanghai Agents” by Helen Salter. Noulens was an alias, one of many and for the sake of simplicity I have chosen to refer to the principals by that name in this review. Like the Rosenbergs, the Noulens attracted world attention, and leftists agitated for the release of this husband and wife team accused of being communists and running a spy ring.

The true identity of the Noulens was not revealed until 1991. At the time of their arrest, they claimed Belgian citizenship and said they were Marie Motte and Fernand Vanderheruyssen. Before it was all over, they said their name was Noulens and when that story collapsed, they claimed to be Paul and Gertrud Ruegg, supposed German nationals. They were in fact Tatyana Moiseenko and Yakob Rudnik, Russians and the key Comintern agents in Shanghai. (The Comintern, short for Communist International, or the Third International, was founded by Lenin to work for the overthrow of capitalist governments around the world.)

Earlier books and articles leave the impression that they were fairly minor players. But Salter’s research shows that as the Comintern’s Far Eastern Bureau leads in China, they had a central and critical role in Moscow’s efforts to advance communism across all of Asia. They were the critical communications and money channel between the fledgling Chinese Communist Party and Moscow and between Moscow and communists in Malaya, India, and French Indochina. Salter describes in some detail how the Noulens operated and the tradecraft they employed.

Their arrest was a huge blow for Moscow, which is why the Comintern launched a propaganda campaign that claimed the Noulens were innocent of the Communist charge and were victims of the repressive Chinese Nationalist Government. A major part of this effort was the creation of Committees to save the Noulens and the drafting of petitions calling for their release. Albert Einstein, Henri Barbusse, and Otto Dix were among the Noulens’ supporters. Salter’s research reveals that Soong Ching-ling (Madame Sun Yat-sen) played a much larger role than previously known in aiding this public relations onslaught. She was not duped. She was well aware of their guilt.

Extraterritoriality—a provision of Western treaties with China dating to the end of the Opium War that said Westerns could only be tried in their own national courts using their national law—was also a factor in the many aliases used by the Noulens. Russia renounced its extraterritoriality after the Communist revolution. So Russian citizens then would be tried in Chinese courts and under Chinese laws. The crimes the Noulens were charged with—and guilty of—carried the death penalty. Thus, the repeated efforts to establish identities protected by extraterritoriality first as Belgians and then as German nationals.

China was trying to negotiate an end to extraterritoriality at this time and knew for that to have a chance, the Chinese legal system had to be seen in the West as fair, honest, and modern. The Noulens, however, were badly treated while awaiting trial, which frightened ex-pats in China, and the death penalty hung over their heads. They were found guilty in the end but the death sentence was commuted to life in prison. Their trial antics—hunger strikes, refusal to answer questions or cooperate in any way, and continually disrupting the proceedings—rivals the behavior of the Chicago Seven circus in 1969.

A fascinating collection of historical figures march though and around this story: Madame Sun Yat-sen, Zhou Enlai, Richard Sorge, Agnes Smedley, Valentine Vivian, and Ho Chi Minh. Added to these are the Comintern officials in Moscow and their agents in Germany. Ironic perhaps, but their arrest, the long maneuvering before trial, and their imprisonment almost certainly saved the Noulens’ lives. They were in a Chinese prison when the Great Terror started in Russia and officials with ties to the Comintern were prime targets.

The Noulens were released under a general amnesty after the Japanese attack on China in 1937. They made their way home to Russia in September 1939 where they were reunited with a son they had not seen in 13 years. Both died in 1964.

The case has been touched on—generally in passing—in other works, most notably Frederic Wakeman’s Policing Shanghai 1927-1937, and a 1994 article in The China Quarterly by Frederick Litten dealt with the case in more detail. Drawing on press accounts from the period, trial transcripts, and Russian archives, Salter has written what has to be the definitive account of this episode. She has also written a book that readers who are interested in modern Chinese history, Russian machinations in China, intelligence tradecraft, the Comintern, or a good spy stories will enjoy. ...more

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Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks by Sean M. Wiswesser

Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin's Secret War
by Sean M. Wiswesser

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The Hollow (Harry Bosch, #26; Harry Bosch Universe, #43)
by Michael Connelly (Goodreads Author)

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The Jackal: The Rise and Fall of Carlos, the World's First Super-Terrorist
by Joby Warrick

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The Apache Wars: The Hunt for Geronimo, the Apache Kid, and the Captive Boy Who Started the Longest War in American History
by Paul Andrew Hutton

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Martin Petersen rated a book really liked it

Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America's Journey from Slavery to Segregation
by Steve Luxenberg (Goodreads Author)

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Luxenberg tells the story of how "separate but equal" came about through the story of three men, two Supreme Court judges and the attorney for Plessy. The two justices are Brown, who came from the north and wrote the majority opinion, and Harlan, who ...more

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