Beverly Hills Spy

Beverly Hills Spy is a captivating tale in the spirit of Ben Macintyre’s greatest spy nonfiction. This truly unbelievable and previously untold story covers the life of Frederick Rutland—a debonair British WWI hero, flying ace, a fixture of Los Angeles society, and a friend of Golden Age Hollywood stars—who turned into a spy for Japan during the lead-up to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Frederick Rutland was not only an accomplished aviator and British WWI war hero but also a real-life James Bond. As the first pilot to take off and land a plane on a ship, he was a celebrated warrior known for his bravery and rescue feats. Trusted by the admirals of the Royal Navy, Rutland pursued successive aeronautical inventions and designed the first modern aircraft carrier, becoming perhaps the most renowned early twentieth-century naval aviator.

Despite his achievements, Rutland faced professional stagnation due to class politics, and was not promoted within the new Royal Air Force after WWI. Disillusioned, Rutland became a spy for the Japanese government, driven by the promise of riches and a salary ten times that of the highest-paid admiral. He was shuttled between Los Angeles and Tokyo, living in substantial mansions in both Beverly Hills and Yokohama. By insinuating himself into both LA's high society and Japan's high command, Rutland provided strategic and technical intelligence that included US troop and fleet movements, military preparedness, warplane production, and ultimately, crucial information and aircraft technology for Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. All this occurred while he led a double life, mingling at private California clubs and hosting lavish gatherings for Hollywood stars and military dignitaries in his Los Angeles Bird Streets mansion.

Supported by recently declassified FBI files and incorporating unique and rare research from MI5 and Japanese Naval archives, author Ronald Drabkin meticulously pieces together, for the first time, the stranger-than-fiction story of one of espionage history's most fascinating and enigmatic characters.