Author Talk/Signing: John Tepper Marlin discusses Deadly Choices: How a Dutch Family Fought Its Nazi Occupiers.

DEADLY CHOICES: How a Dutch Family Fought Its Nazi Occupiers, 1940-1945

In 2024, Springs resident John Tepper Marlin told an enthusiastic group in the East Hampton Library the epic story of the Dutch Resistance leader Walraven (“Wally") van Hall. The book, Under Nazi Noses, was awarded a starred review by Kirkus Reviews, which named it in 2025 “one of the 100 Best Indie Books of 2024.” It won the Silver Award from the Independent Book Publishers Association for 2024 Books in History. Ingram Spark ranked it #1 in sales for True Crime Heists and Robberies. It was an “Editors’ Pick” by Booklife/Publishers Weekly.

On May 28, 2026, at 6 p.m., Dr. Marlin will again speak to the East Hampton Library, this time about his new book telling the story of the family connections on which Wally van Hall relied to carry out his daring plan—he stole hundreds of millions of dollars from the Dutch State Bank to support tens of thousands of people hiding from the Nazis, including many on strike.

The new book explores in depth the pressures on the Dutch people during the Nazi occupation, drawing on hundreds of wartime letters left to the author by his Dutch-born mother, Hilda van Stockum Marlin, when she died in 2006. They starkly reveal the steps Hitler took to intimidate Dutch people and kill his perceived enemies.

This is a hybrid talk that will be presented in person, as well as over Zoom. Individuals interested in attending virtually will receive the Zoom link by email.

Dr. Marlin is a 1962 Harvard graduate. He served as Chief Economist in the New York City administrations of Mayors Dinkins, Giuliani, and Bloomberg, and in Washington, D.C., served as an economist under Presidents Johnson, Nixon, Obama, and Trump.