OSS, Richard Harris Smith
OSS, Richard Harris Smith
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OSS
The Secret History Of America's First Central Intelligence Agency

Author: Richard Harris Smith

Narrator: Joe Barrett

Unabridged: 15 hr 33 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 10/08/2019

Synopsis

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.

Colorful personalities and truly priceless anecdotes abound in what may arguably be called the most authoritative work on the subject.

About Richard Harris Smith

Richard Harris Smith began writing this history of the OSS after resigning from the CIA in 1968. He now deals in rare and antique American books and lives in Merced, California.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Marti on October 29, 2019

I'll never look at WW2 in the same way. The book is encyclopedic in it's information but the reader is only overwhelmed, not assaulted.......more

Goodreads review by Ben on May 13, 2023

Well, it's thorough. Right off the bat, I'm disappointed in this book. I thought it would be a compedium of OSS daring behind the lines, missions shrouded in secrecy, gadgets and real- world heroics. Instead, I felt this was a jumbled commentary that read like a phone book. " First these people trie......more

Goodreads review by Jerimy on June 24, 2021

Very dry book. There is plenty of information in here to interest a person who thinks about government conspiracies, and spies, and wars, and politics. What a tangled web this book weaves. I did learn a lot about America's first intelligence agency that wasn't linked to the FBI. 1. Many people in th......more

Goodreads review by Glen on January 09, 2023

The book was okay. It was slow reading as it was written as more of a textbook that a light history. Had no problem with that. But it raised my expectations. That’s where this book goes wrong. The author revels in the OSS (and eventually the CIA) failures and reluctantly covers the successes. The bi......more

Goodreads review by Nicolas on April 08, 2023

How do I put this, if you’re doing research this is the book for you. It is filled with names and dates and facts. However, I wanted a book throat with weird stories of the OSS. This takes the outrageous things they did that makes a sound very mundane.......more

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