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Title: Operatives, Spies, and Saboteurs : The Unknown Story of the Men and Women of World War II's OSS by Patrick K. O'Donnell ISBN: 0-7432-3572-X Publisher: Free Press Pub. Date: 10 March, 2004 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $27.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (14 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Intense History
Comment: World War II is such a historical epic, so monumental and sweeping in its scale, that much can be lost in the massive threads that make up the truly great human war. At the same time, the scholarship concerning the war and its effects are so voluminous that little has not been touched on. That's why I was so pleasantly surprised when I finished author Patrick O'Donnell's excellent new history of the Office of Strategic Services, America's WWII era intelligence agency. I have read hundreds of thousands of pages on the war, but I would say 90 percent of the material and stories presented in this book were unknown to me. O'Donnell himself sounds surprised, as he tracked down dozens of aging ex-agents who were willing to give him their long held secrets in amazing detail. O'Donnell has a talent with grafting these new stories with superb document research, giving a gripping and complete account of the OSS in the European theater.
Probably the most startiling tale in this book is how unprepared the United States was for a covert war. The idea of an OSS type group was almost foreign to all American leaders, especially the military. It was only through the enlightened stubborness of the OSS' first director, decorated WWI director Willian "Wild Bill" Donovan, that the US government recognized the need for an international spy agency. It was amazing how rapidly the OSS was able to construct itself, even though it recieved substantial support from its big brothers across the pond, Britain's MI-6. O'Donnell is clear and concise as he describes the makeup and training behind the genesis of the OSS. As the US entered the war against Hitler, the OSS was rapidly moving to counter the threat posed to the world's most powerful democracy. The stories of the OSS in North Africa were amazing to me, this book serves as both an education piece and as a testament to the men and women who were willing to take unimaginable risks in order to hurt the Axis. In Africa, Italy, and the Balkans, OSS teams, made up of both American and foreign agents were instrumental in many Allied successes, such as the guerilla wars in Yugoslavia that caused Germany so many problems. O'Donnell is always ready to remind the reader that the bravery of the OSS was not confined to their American agents, the foreign operatives and armies of the OSS were often fanatically dedicated to the defeat of their homelands fascist oppressors.
As the war against Nazi Germany developed, so did OSS methods and challenges. No longer was OSS faced with the far reaches of the Nazi empire, they were now sending assets directly into the heart of the Reich. At the same time, OSS was charged with very difficult objectives, such as preparing the way for Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of France. These missions made for some great reading, as OSS agents fought with French resistance fighters in order to complicate Nazi military reaction. This included hair raising missions including the destruction of communication hubs, railroads, and convoys. Most famously, the OSS helped Free French forces battle the 2nd SS "Das Reich" Panzer division as it traveled north to the invasion beachheads, delaying it for a full month. Less glamourously, OSS agents and spies worked in places such as Switzerland and Sweden, picking up on Nazi secrets and signals. Psychological units worked tirelessly to erode Nazi morale with a bag full of nefarious tricks. At the end, the OSS was active, amazingly, within Germany itself, where it fought a covert war against the massive Nazi apparatus and its violently fearsome security organs, such as the SS-SD and the Gestapo. As the stakes became higher, so did the risks, and many a OSS operative or member met horrific fate at the hands of Himmler's sadists.
Narrative hstories are always a bit tough to write effectively, as you have to avoid the temptation to just throw all of the interviews together with little real insight. O'Donnell avoids this tripwire, by providing extremely effective scholarly research with the amazingly detailed interviews and testimonials by men and women who have gone relatively unrecognized. Their effect has been felt all over the world, as the covert wars of the 1940's have provided blueprints for the covert wars of today. Some have derided the OSS impact on the overall war, but O'Donnell is careful to point out the OSS' critical role in several turning points of the conflict. It is a very rewarding learning experience while at the same providing for Fleming like action. Amazing book.
Rating: 5
Summary: A GRAND SLAM IN STORYTELLING
Comment: I bought the book and couldn't put it down after reading it straight through over the weekend. So much of O'Donnell's book contains new information on OSS and WWII. O'Donnell does a masterful job capturing OSS's most important missions and the incredible exploits of these men and women agents most of them untold until now. The narrative style of this book combined with oral history, allows it to read like some of Ambrose's classics like D-Day or Citizen Soldiers. O'Donnell has changed his style compared to his other books yet he still allows the voices of these incredible spies and Special Forces troops to speak
I was really stunned with what OSS did during the war: everything from creating the first SEALS; to blowing up bridges in Greece; to operation CROSS a team of 100 ex-German POWs trained to kill or kidnap Hitler. Some of the best chapters revolve around Greece and the Balkans which have hardly been touched by most historians. Also entertaining was the chapter revolving around spy gadgets created in OSS labs. OSS made everything from umbrella guns to cigarettes that were .22 caliber pistols to something called the "Truth Drug." The missions into Germany itself made my hair stand up in the back of head, especially, the stories from Jewish-American veterans that went back facing almost certain death if they were captured.
Rating: 4
Summary: First Hand Testimony Is Always The Best
Comment: This book is not "War and Peace", nor is it a comprehensive book on spies, but rather it is a collection of stories using first hand testimony of the participants in the OSS in WWII. In that context the book is different from most of what must now be a 1000 books on WWII. The strength of this book is the excellent writing and the series of interesting characters and their stories, all involving ordinary men that do heroic things. Thankfully their stories have been recorded by the author since many of these men are now many in the 80's and their first hand recollections will soon be lost. In any case the book is better that one might expect.
I first heard about this book on WABC where John Bachelor has interviewed a series of the living subjects or "spies" on air on his late daily show at 10:00 PM. The guys are ordinary but the stories are often riveting. They put themselves in tremendous danger with their patriotic actions. In many ways this book is like the recent Tim Russert book - a sleeper. The book seems okay from what you have heard from others and from interviews on the radio, but the book is actually a much better read. In many ways the both books (Russert and this book) are on subjects that when properly presented become compelling page turning reads. This is a great value and a good book.
Four Stars
Jack in Toronto
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