OSS; The Secret History of America's First Central Intelligence Agency

xii, [2], 458, [6] pages. Illustrations. Notes. Bibliography, Index. Derived from a Kirkus review: Its declared goal was -- "a reasoned and thoughtful critique of the excesses of clandestine bureaucracy". This compilation offers a rich file of facts, vignettes, and who was who in the OSS, the chief intelligence agency during World War II. A heavy emphasis on personalities produces piquant sidelights on the diverse political opinions and backgrounds of OSS recruits. Leftists like Paul Sweezy, Carl Manzani, and Herbert Marcuse worked with corporate executives, investment bankers, and establishment academics in operations which in turn involved all stripes of antifascists as well as tainted figures like Admiral Darlan of France and Mihailovic of Yugoslavia. The book documents OSS dealings with Ho Chi Minh, who apparently believed the U.S. had no imperial designs on Southeast Asia. The emphasis on personalities and organizational details gives it utility. "The best book about Americaâ s first modern secret service."--Washington Post Book World. 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--Americaâ s first intelligence agency and the direct precursor to the CIA. When he charged William (â Wild Billâ ) 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 countryâ 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. Colorful personalities and truly priceless anecdotes abound in what may arguably be called the most authoritative work on the subject.…