OSS: The Secret History of America's First Central Intelligence Agency
Included
on the CIA's Official List of Recommended Books for INTELLIGENCE Reading. In the months before
World War II, FDR prepared the country for conflict with Germany and Japan by reshuffling various government agencies to
create the Office of Strategic Services - America's first intelligence agency and the direct precursor to the CIA. When he charged William ("Wild Bill") Donovan, a successful Wall Street lawyer and Wilkie Republican, to head up the office, the
die was set for some of the most fantastic and fascinating operations the U.S. government has ever conducted.
Author Richard Harris Smith, himself an ex-CIA hand, documents the controversial agency from its
conception as a spin-off of the Office of the Coordinator for Information to its demise under Harry Truman and
reconfiguration as the CIA. During his tenure, Donovan oversaw a chaotic cast of some ten thousand
agents drawn from the most conservative financial scions to the country's most idealistic New Deal true believers.
Together they usurped the roles of government agencies both foreign and domestic, concocted unbelievably complicated conspiracies, and fought the good fight against the Axis powers of Germany and
Japan. For example, when OSS operatives stole vital military codebooks from the Japanese
embassy in Portugal, the operation was considered a success. But the success turned into a flop as the Japanese discovered what had happened, and hastily changed a code that had already been
decrypted by the U.S. Navy. Colourful personalities and truly priceless anecdotes abound in what may arguably be called the most authoritative work on the subject.
Publisher : The Lyons Press
Published : 15/07/2005
ISBN-10 : 1592287298
ISBN-13 : 978-1592287291
Author : Richard Harris Smith