Mark Harmon and Leon Carroll, Jr.
Ghosts of Sicily
From the publisher
It’s 1942, and New York City is at war. German U-boats are sinking ships just miles offshore, and Washington, DC, is convinced that waterfront spies are providing intelligence targeting the ships. To thwart the threat, the Office of Naval Intelligence reaches out to those with the most sway along the waterfronts of Brooklyn and Manhattan – the mob. The result will be a triumph for the ONI and one of the most successful and controversial operations in the long history of what we now know as NCIS.
The Navy’s alliance with Charles “Lucky” Luciano and his organization will send New Yorker Tony Marsloe and his fellow ONI officers on an international odyssey that includes holding secret meetings with legendary criminals, hunting clandestine spy rings operating on U.S. soil, and conducting daring undercover missions behind the bloody frontlines of the invasion of Italy.
In addition to towering historic figures like Meyer Lansky and General George Patton, readers will encounter a kaleidoscope of agents and gangsters who not only shaped the war in Italy but the future of international crime itself.
The World War II has been the subject of several previous History Camp Author Discussions, including . . .
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Maurice Isserman— The Winter Army: The WWII Odyssey of the 10th Mountain Division
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Christopher C. Gorham — The Confidante: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Helped Win WWII and Shape Modern America
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Patricia Posner — The Pharmacist of Auschwitz: The Untold Story
[Broadcast on April 30, 2025; recorded earlier.]
Mark Harmon starred as Leroy Jethro Gibbs on NCIS for eighteen seasons and also served as executive producer of the show. In other television work, Mark received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for the critically acclaimed The West Wing and for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Special for Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years. Other credits include Reasonable Doubts, for which he received two Golden Globe nominations; Chicago Hope; From Earth to the Moon; St. Elsewhere; and Moonlighting.
Leon Carroll, Jr., a native of Chicago, Illinois, was a commissioned officer in the United States Marine Corps, attaining the rank of major. Leon then began a twenty-year career as a special agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). He served in seven different locations, including tours as a Special Agent Afloat on the USS Ranger(CV-61) and as the Special Agent in Charge of NCIS offices in the Republic of Panama and the Pacific Northwest. Upon retirement from NCIS, Leon was selected to be the technical advisor for the top-rated drama of the same name, holding that position for twenty seasons.
