OSS: The Secret History of America's First Central Intelligence Agency
Language: English
Published by University of California, 1972
- First Edition
- Hardcover
- Used
Seller: These Old Books LLC, Isle, MN, U.S.A.These Old Books LLC
AbeBooks seller since December 9, 2023
Condition: Used - Very good
US$ 20.00
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
Dust jacket sunned along edges, small chips and curling along top edge near spine; still bright; previous owner name stamp on several pages; slight foxing at top edge; small number of black and white photos in text; otherwise a clean and tight book.
Seller Inventory # ABE-1702931725560
- Title
- OSS: The Secret History of America's First Central Intelligence Agency
- Author
- R. Harris Smith
- Publisher
- University of California
- Publication year
- 1972
- Condition
- Very Good
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0520020235
- ISBN 13
- 9780520020238
- Edition
- 1st Edition
--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.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
From the Back Cover
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.
Colorful personalities and truly priceless anecdotes abound in what may arguably be called the most authoritative work on the subject.
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
These Old Books LLC
Isle, MN, U.S.A.
AbeBooks seller since December 9, 2023
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I reside in a rural community in central Minnesota near Mille Lacs Lake. Currently, I am in the third year of an online PhD program in Philosophy, Art and Critical Thought at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland. It has been a lifelong ambition to complete this educational goal. I am retired, having served as a Lutheran parish minister, and I taught philosophy at a small, two-year college in central Minnesota. I have been an ABE book seller in the past, but decided it was too much for me to do with marriage, helping to raise a family, and tending to my vocations, so I gave up my book business – These Old Books. I look forward to getting back into the shelves of books and trying to find the volume that a customer wants or needs.…
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These Old Books LLC
MN, U.S.A.