EPISODE · May 12, 2026 · 1H 8M
Author of the Cold War Thriller series Bill Rapp shares his latest novel, “The Prague Spring,” at Elaine’s Literary Salon
from Elaine's Literary Salon · host Inkandescent Radio
Today at Elaine’s Literary Salon in Alexandria, VA, we are thrilled to bring back to town author Bill Rapp, who began his professional life as an academic, teaching European History at Iowa State University. A graduate of Notre Dame (B.A.), the University of Toronto (M.A.), and Vanderbilt (Ph. D.), Bill has always been particularly intrigued by German history. He says the last 35 years working for the U. S. Government has broadened his perspective to all of Europe and much of the Middle East. His career has taken him around the world, including to Berlin as the Wall fell and Germany was reunified. Bill shares: “I may have spent the last 35 years as a diplomat/analyst working for the federal government, but I began my adult life as a professional historian. After graduating from the University of Notre Dame with a B.A. in History and German, I received my M.A. in European History from the University of Toronto and a Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University. I taught history at Iowa State University for one year but then decided to shift my efforts to something less settled and moved to Washington, D.C. That career has taken me to Berlin, Ottawa, Baghdad, and now London, with long stays in Washington in between. “Through it all, I never lost my love of history and literature, especially crime fiction, which I often read to take a break from all the history books I had to study for my coursework, thesis, and dissertation. Fortunately, I was able to apply that affinity for our past throughout my career with the government, while it also inspired much of my writing. You can see that, for example, in the Berlin novels, especially Tears of Innocence, as I spent several years there as a student and later as a diplomat during the fall of the Wall and Germany’s reunification. Even the Naperville private detective series (Angel in Black, A Pale Rain, and Burning Altars) draws on the local history and development of the Chicago area, just as Raymond Chandler and Ross MacDonald–the two paragons of American detective fiction, in my eyes–did in their novels and stories set in southern California. Learn more about Bill here: billrappsbooks.com Click here to buy Bill’s books! About Bill’s newest 2026 book: The Prague Spring: Chief of the CIA station in Prague for nearly a year, Baier has been following the Dubcek government’s efforts to reform the country’s rigid communist system and move closer to Western Europe. On a warm August night, the Soviet Army rolls into Czechoslovakia to crush the reform program and ensure the country’s subservience to the Warsaw Pact. Baier must move quickly to protect his officers, his family, and his Czechoslovak allies and assets from death and deportation by the Red Army and Soviet intelligence. At the same time, Baier must determine who his true friends are among the local officials and the foreign agents spread throughout the country’s capital. Only when he reaches the border with Austria is Baier certain whom he can trust. Even then, new surprises await. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Assignment-Saigon-Bill-Rapp-ebook/dp/B0D9WRH28C?ref_=ast_author_dp_rw&th=1&psc=1&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.xTlTHSTEG0cWuVcHVMiiSVG4imEUHAzeAk4CYnr6xnAH5H8pSzFaR43RwDT4vVEOZb6VTISHSg59U4qUE7IM
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Author of the Cold War Thriller series Bill Rapp shares his latest novel, “The Prague Spring,” at Elaine’s Literary Salon
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