A Secret Diary Turns Memoir

In her first volume of memoirs, Eva Krutein told the harrowing tale of how she and her baby daughter fled the Russian army during WWII while her husband, Manfred, was serving as a lieutenant in the German navy.

In her second, she chronicled her family’s postwar move to Chile, where they lived for nine years before moving to the United States in 1960.

Now comes the third and final installment of the 76-year-old Irvine resident’s memoirs.

In “Amerika? America!: From Immigration to Espionage” (Amador Publishers: $14), Krutein continues her novel-like narrative as she, Manfred, and their five children adjust to life in California.

This time, Krutein is sharing a byline with her husband. That’s where the “espionage” of the subtitle comes in.

The Kruteins make extensive use of the secret diary that Manfred, an ocean-mining engineer, kept while working on the Hughes Glomar Explorer Project, the U.S. government’s secret mission to lift a sunken Soviet nuclear submarine from the floor of the Pacific Ocean in the early ‘70s.

The salvage project--under the cover of an ocean-mining operation--remained a secret for four years until, Krutein says, investigative journalist Jack Anderson “brought everything out.”

“Manfred’s life in those four years was a James Bond story,” Krutein says. “I knew absolutely nothing about it until it got in the newspapers. Then Manfred told me everything and showed me the diary.”

Manfred Krutein, 80, is also the author of “Hitler’s Last Gasp, the Miracle Weapon,” a 1995 thriller about the final months of World War II when Hitler still believed he could win the war.

The Kruteins will discuss their books at a meeting of the Inside Edge Foundation for Education at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday in the University Club at UC Irvine, Los Trancos and Peltason East drives. Cost: $20 for first-time guests; $35 for returning guests. Reservations: (714) 460-4242.

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Richard Paul Evans, author of “The Letter”; Lisa See, author of “Flower Net”; Ralph Helfer, author of “Modoc”; and Barbara Seranella, author of “No Human Involved,” will discuss their books at the Round Table West luncheon at noon Thursday at the Balboa Bay Club, 1221 W. Coast Highway, Newport Beach. Cost: $35. For reservations, call (213) 256-7977.

Also This Week

* Jeff Moss, author of “Bone Poems,” will sign at 2:30 p.m. today at Whale of a Tale Children’s Bookstore, 4187 Campus Drive, Irvine.

* Poets Donato Martinez and Rita Mitzner will read at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Alta Coffee House & Roasting Co., 506 31st St., Newport Beach.

* Julie Mammano, author of “Rhinos Who Snowboard,” will read and sign at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday at Barnes & Noble in Metro Pointe, 901 South Coast Drive, Costa Mesa.

* Louis B. Jones, author of “California’s Over,” will sign at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Rizzoli Bookstore in South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa.

* Former Navy SEAL Harry Constance, author of “Good to Go,” will speak and sign at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Brea Community Center, 695 E. Madison Way, Brea. General admission: $2.

* Amy Keehn, author of “Love and War Between the Signs,” will speak and sign at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Barnes & Noble in Metro Pointe, 901 South Coast Drive, Costa Mesa.

* Novelist Susan Dworkin, author of “The Book of Candy,” will discuss “Women of Valor in History and Literature” at noon Friday at the Newport Beach Central Library, 1000 Avocado Ave., Newport Beach.

* Glenn Hanket, author of “Underwear by the Roadside,” will speak and sign at 7 p.m. Friday at Borders Books and Music, 429 Associated Road, Brea.

* Poets Monica Brett-Serle, Donna Gebron, Jana McCarty and Catherine Spear will present a poetry performance, “In the Company of Women,” at 7 p.m. Friday at Barnes & Noble in Metro Pointe, 901 South Coast Drive, Costa Mesa.

* Robert Hine, author of “Second Sight,” will sign at 1 p.m. Saturday at Upchurch-Brown Booksellers, 384 Forest Ave., Laguna Beach.

* Thom Rutledge, author of “The Self-Forgiveness Handbook,” will speak and sign at 7 p.m. Saturday at Borders Books and Music, 429 Associated Road, Brea.

* Marcel Montecino, author of “Sacred Heart,” will sign at 1 p.m. Saturday at Book Carnival, 348 S. Tustin Ave., Orange.

* Sharon O’Connor, author of “Menus and Music: Afternoon Tea Serenade,” will speak and sign the latest in her CD and book series at 2 p.m. Saturday at Rogers Gardens, 2301 San Joaquin Hills Road, Corona del Mar.

* Writer-teachers Judith P. Josephson and Edith Fine will speak at the National Writers Assn. luncheon meeting at 10 a.m. Saturday at Claim Jumper, 18050 Brookhurst St., Fountain Valley. Nonmembers: $25. For reservations, call (714) 960-2581.

* Henry Pontell, author of “Profit Without Honor,” will sign at 2 p.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble in Fashion Island, 953 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach.

* Illustrator Michael Marchenko will sign “The Dark” at 2 p.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble in Metro Point, 901 South Coast Drive, Costa Mesa.

Send information about book-related events at least 10 days before event to: Dennis McLellan, O.C. Books & Authors, Life & Style, The Times, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626.