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NICHOLAS REYNOLDS, PhD, Col USMCR (Ret) is the co-author (with Katie Sanders) of the forthcoming (Aug 2026) "Ortiz’s War: The Allies' Secret Weapon Against the Nazis in France" on Peter Ortiz's untold corner of World War II history—one of extraordinary courage, resistance, and self-sacrifice. Reynolds previously authored "Need to Know: WWII and the Rise of American Intelligence" which provides a history of American intelligence during WWII, illuminating its key role in securing victory. He has worked in the fields of modern military history and intelligence off and on for forty years, with some unusual detours. Freshly minted PhD from Oxford University in hand, he joined the US Marine Corps in the 1970s, serving as an infantry officer and then as a historian. As a colonel in the reserves, he eventually became officer in charge of field history, deploying historians around the world to capture history as it was being made. When not on duty with the USMC, he served as a CIA officer at home and abroad, immersing himself in the very human business of espionage. Most recently, he was the historian for the CIA Museum, responsible for developing its strategic plan and helping to turn remarkable artifacts into compelling stories. He currently teaches as an adjunct professor for Johns Hopkins University and, with his wife, Becky, cares for rescue pugs. He is also the New York Times bestselling author of "Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy."
KATIE S. SANDERS (co-author but not a participant in today's interview) is an award-winning journalist and podcast producer who has written for National Geographic, The New York Times, Washington Post Magazine, New York, TIME, Smithsonian, Vanity Fair, Insider, Glamour, and Marie Claire. Her reporting has brought her to the CIA, the White House, and the homes and reunions of many World War II veterans and Holocaust survivors. After discovering that her late grandfather—a Jewish-American pilot shot down over France—was rescued by Peter Ortiz, she teamed up with Nick Reynolds to co-author Ortiz’s War. A summa cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, she recently moved from New York City to Brookline, MA with her husband, sons, Havanese, and many books.
Watch the video on the AFIO Now Videos & Podcasts page.