Spies in the Press Building: A historical talk, Sept. 28

The countless journalists and others who have worked and played in the National Press Building these many years may be surprised to learn how much espionage went on in the offices and -- even in the National Press Club -- from the years leading up to World War II through the Cold War and into this century.

Club member and spy historian Steven T. Usdin has dug deep into once secret files of the FBI and the KGB to reveal what happened in the building even as thousands of regular journalists went about their jobs reporting the news.

The result is his book, "Bureau of Spies: The Secret Connections between Espionage and Journalism in Washington," which will be published in September by Prometheus Books. Even some big names in the Club's history surface in his account.

Usdin will present his findings on Friday, Sept. 28, at 6:30 p.m. in a talk co-sponsored by the Club and the International Spy Museum.

The event will be moderated by Mark Stout, a former historian of the Spy Museum, a lecturer at Johns Hopkins University, a former CIA officer and president of the North American Society for Intelligence History.

Tickets are $5 for Club members and $10 for non-members. They can be purchased online.