The Web : The Authorized History of the American Protective League

In the final months of the Great War, a vast, silent volunteer force assembled under the direction of the U.S. Department of Justice. Known as the American Protective League, its members—ordinary citizens turned covert monitors—swept towns and cities, gathering intelligence and safeguarding the home front while the nation poured troops overseas. The book traces the league’s rapid rise, the urgency that drove its recruiters, and the uneasy balance between patriotism and privacy in a country poised on the brink of global conflict.

Through vivid anecdotes and official correspondence, the narrative reveals how these unnamed men and women transformed everyday life into a network of vigilance, exposing sabotage, curbing dissent, and bolstering morale. As the armistice is signed and celebrations erupt across America, the league faces a sudden, collective reckoning. Its dissolution and the heartfelt thanks from the Attorney General illustrate a fleeting but pivotal chapter in American civic duty, leaving listeners with a nuanced portrait of sacrifice and service that shaped a nation at war.