Rating: 
Summary: Valuable record of the experience of OSS members.
Review: "Operatives, Spies and Saboteurs" is most likely not the most detailed or comprehensive work describing the contributions of the OSS to the war effort, but it is valuable and entertaining. Any record of the firsthand experiences of WWII veterans is, of course, extremely valuable. The effort O'Donnell put into recording such experiences shows through clearly, and O'Donnell presents the stories of the OSS agents he interviewed in an entertaining, highly readable manner. "Operatives, Spies, and Saboteurs" is a fine overview of the OSS, and a much appreciated record of the firsthand experiences of some "unsung heroes" of WWII.
Rating: 
Summary: Additional Editorial Reviews for OSS
Review: "First rate reading for fans of cloak-and-dagger stuff..."
-Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)Review by Dennis Showalter for the History Book Club (OSS is a Main Selection) Operatives, Spies, and Saboteurs is as gripping as a techno-thriller, with the bonus that its stories are true. O'Donnell's history of the Office of Strategic Service begins with President Franklin Roosevelt's decision that a country on the edge of entering a world war for survival needed an undercover foreign intelligence service. On July 11, 1941, he ordered the establishment of a Coordinator of Information, whose mission was to collect and analyze all information relevant to national security. Its head was Colonel William "Wild Bill" Donovan. Front-line infantryman in World War I, Wall Street lawyer and business executive, former Assistant Attorney General, Donovan became one of the century's masters of clandestine war. He argued convincingly that the U.S.needed an organization that would take the fight to the Axis through propaganda, espionage, sabotage and guerrilla operations. In June 1942 the COI's name was changed to Office of Strategic Service; it was placed directly under the Joint Chiefs of Staff-and Donovan set about building a legend. The "Oh So Secret" recruited from Ivy League schools, law firms, corporations, and-occasionally-prisons. Veterans of the Spanish Civil War, stigmatized elsewhere as "premature anti-fascists," were assigned to work with Communist resistance networks. Foreign nationals, even some prisoners of war, joined and went behind Axis lines with ropes around their necks, knowing they could expect only execution if captured. O'Donnell conducted extensive interviews with over 300 former OSS members. He then cross-checked their narratives, as far as possible, against the extensive OSS records in the National Archives, many only recently declassified. First committed in North Africa, OSS teams and individuals operated in Sicily and Italy, in the Balkans alongside their British counterparts. But it was in France that the organization did its best work and had its greatest days. Well before the invasion, OSS agents were parachuted in to contact and organize resistance groups. Once the invasion began, OSS teams engaged in guerrilla operations, especially against the 2nd SS Panzer Division on its march to Normandy. It was not all triumph. Individual operations were blown or defeated, usually at heavy cost in lives. A late-war OSS attempt to support partisans in Slovakia ended in disaster, with most of the agents falling into German hands. Nor was the OSS entirely about derring-do behind Axis lines. O'Donnell included a solid chapter describing the growing sophistication and effectiveness of OSS efforts in the field of propaganda. By the end of the war, OSS agents were conducting diplomatic negotiations as well, above all in Italy, where Allen Dulles, later chief of the Cold War CIA, played a key role in negotiating a theater-level German surrender. O'Donnell concludes by suggesting the OSS may well have been too successful for its own good. Roosevelt's successor, Harry S. Truman, disbanded the organization in part because he feared an "American Gestapo." In little over a year Truman would authorize the Central Intelligence Agency, which for good and ill took over the OSS records, a good few of its agents, and its heritage.
About the Author: Patrick K. O'Donnell, the author of Beyond Valor and Into the Rising Sun, is a pioneer of Internet-based "oral history." He is the creator of www.thedropzone.org, a virtual community for WWII veterans and buffs dedicated to collecting and sharing stories of the war. About the Reviewer: DENNIS SHOWALTER is Prof.of History at Colorado College. He is the author of Tannenberg. "A revealing look into the intrigue and extraordinary courage of our intelligence gatherers of World War II . A rare combination of suspense thriller and true heroism by a great American writer." -Clive Cussler "Before there was a James Bond or a CIA, before there was a genre called the spy thriller, real-life spooks worked behind the scenes, often at tremendous risk, to win World War II. Deftly using oral history and recently declassified documents, Patrick O'Donnell gives us a fascinating look at the shaken-not-stirred life of these intrepid spies and soldiers, who are into intrigue before intrigue was cool." -Hampton Sides, author of GHOST SOLDIERS "This is a unique and uniquely valuable contribution, casting a penetrating light into the war in the shadows during World War II. O'Donnell breaks new ground with these first hand accounts by people who never expected to tell their story. Just as there was nothing new to say, along comes a book like this." -Geoffrey Perret, Author of Eisenhower "OPERATIVES, SPIES AND SABOTEURS is a superbly told story of the men and women of the OSS. Only by understanding the deeds of those who have gone before us can we appreciate the sacrifices made that paved the way for the outstanding records established by present-day special warriors." -Captain Robert A. Gormly, USN (Ret.), author of COMBAT SWIMMER and former commander SEAL Teams Two and Six and Naval Special Warfare Group Two
Rating:
Summary: Covers a different dimension of warfare in depth
Review: Drawn heavily from interviews, Operatives, Spies And Saboteurs: The Unknown Story Of The Men And Women Of WWII's OSS is the fascinating true story of espionage, intrigue, and sabotage that took place across the occupied territories of Europe. From disruption of supply lines to the relaying of critical information, targeted killings, resistance organization and much more, Operatives, Spies And Saboteurs covers a different dimension of warfare in depth and is a most welcome addition to World War II military history and reference shelves. An inset selection of black-and-white photograph illustrates this remarkable account of the OSS and its critical work in the shadows, long overdue for its public acclaim for weakening Axis defenses.
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: History spiced with espionage in a book that keeps the facts straight and the drama intense. If you love military history or just page-turning non-fiction, this book is recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A GRAND SLAM IN STORYTELLING
Review: 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:
Summary: Impressive In Detail and a Complelling Read
Review: I really enjoyed this book, and I read it cover to cover. The author did a nice job.
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. Patrick O'Donnell introduces various OSS guests who are now getting on in years and are in their eighties, and Bachelor leads them through a series of questions. The guys are ordinary but the stories are often riveting. They put themselves in tremendous danger with their patriotic actions. Based on the interviews, I bought the 365 page book. The main text is about 314 pages, and the text is followed by extensive notes, a glossary of terms and a good index. The book has a collection of WWII-OSS-spy photos plus many chapters have maps.
The book is a bit of a "sleeper" and I would encourage you to buy the book. 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. It is much more intense and educational as a book than the radio interviews; it is filled with lots of details, history on the OSS, personalities, and many intelligence gathering incidents successes and many failures. The failures are usually brutal and the Germans were under orders to execute the OSS/intelligence guys. As you will read, we sometimes returned the favor.
Frankly it is a bit of an eye opner to read about the ferocity of some of the fighting and the risks that the spies took in order to gather critical targeting information for bombers and similar. It makes some of our current CIA guys seem like PC social workers! And talk about the French! Many gave their lives to help American and British spies. Detection usually resulted in death for yourself and any civilians that were housing you during your secret visits to occupied France and elsewhere. The spies had to mingle with the local population, take the trains, etc and were subject to a continuous (and justified) fear of detection and death. You shot first and asked questions later.
The book centers around a series of stories woven together - often brief - that seem to run together in a rough chronological order covering spies here in the US and in Europe and elsewhere throughout WWII. It is clear that he has done a lot of research for the book. He covers foreign embassy burglaries, field work that goes hand-in-hand to guide troop movements and bombing runs, code breaking, and he outlines the critical work of saboteurs. He covers North Africa, Spain, Italy, Sweden, and other locations. The stories come to life with the maps and the set of black and white photos. He uses a lot of quotes and stories from living sources. In that context the book is different from most of what must now be a 1000 books on WWII.
Like any good book, 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, the stories have been recorded by the author since many of these men are now many in the 80's and the first hand recollections will soon be lost. In any case the book is better that one might expect.
Excellent read and strongly recommend.
Four or Five Stars
Jack in Toronto
Rating: 
Summary: Too little, too late
Review: I was deeply disappointed by this book. Whilst it was useful overview of the OSS during WWII it was superficial and simplistic. As an American I can appreciate that we have to the biggest and best at everything. The truth of the matter in the matter of supporting the European resistance movements with was neither - an honor that most go the British Special Operations Executive (SOE). The point is that this work is nothing like as comprehensive as M.R. Foot's "SOE in France" that I just read prior to this rather sorry work. The biggest criticism of the author is his totally unquestioning attitude to the work of the OSS and its' policies. For example; O'Donnell presents facts and then fails to interpret them in any meaningful manner, for example the betrayal of the agreement with the British over the operations is Yugoslavia. He fails to explain the politics of the Free French and the problems this present to the resistance. Finally, his biggest omission is to completely ignores the operations of the OSS against Japan.
Rating:
Summary: author interview on NPR Diane Rehm show, 7/9/2004
Review: On 7/9/2004 on NPR's Diane Rehm show, they interviewed the author. The book sounds interesting. I haven't read it yet but probably will. See ( http://www.wamu.org/dr/ )
Rating:
Summary: This Book is Great
Review: Pat O'Donnell has done it again. I read this book from cover to cover in just one day, and I think it's his best work yet. The stories of these real American heroes, told in their own words, really shows the emotions these men and women felt, and the hardships they endured 60 years ago. Most have maintained their vow of silence that long, both out of respect for the work that they did, but also because of some of the bad memories these experiences evoked. Pat O'Donnell got these heroes (no other way to describe them) to open up and relive some of their adventures and missions. The way that Mr. O'Donnell interwove their stories into his book made me wish that I had heard these stories first-hand, or even lived the adventure with them. Mr. O'Donnell has definitely succeeded in his mission to pull us into their world. I can't wait for the next book in his series.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, if a bit superficial
Review: Patrick O'Donnell has now written three of these books. Each is a collection of oral histories from World War 2, the first following elite units in Europe, the second covering the same ground in the Pacific. This third volume is a collection of oral histories covering the Office of Strategic Services, or OSS, in Europe. The format is simple. The author collects the histories into a coherent narrative, provides some context, and pads the narrative with some text. The result is a recounting of various campaigns or actions from the ground level, right at the tip of the bayonet. The difficulty, such as it is, comes from the context. There's nowhere near enough of it. The author (as noted elsewhere) speaks in this book as if the OSS did all or most of the infiltration into France and Germany during WW2, only briefly mentioning the French and British infiltrations that were more prevalent. The author focuses on the American forces, as he did in the previous two books, but here it's a bit more egregious. For one thing, the intelligence world is somewhat murky and indistinct, and its effect on the larger campaigns in the war is, to say the least, controversial. Given that we're not sure how much effect these actions had on the campaigns, the author's presentation is problematic. He tends to take whatever a spy says about the effect of an intelligence coup at face value, and expects the reader to do likewise. This is a bit much, at times. Other than that, the book does feel a bit incomplete. One reviewer made an unfavorable comparison with M.R.D. Foot's SOE in France (which by the way should never have been allowed to go out of print); this comparison is unfair, as Foot's book was written in the Sixties, and the author had unprecedented access to classified documents and was allowed to interview a great number of people who were then alive. Though it was a great success, Foot's book cause such a controversy that critics succeeded in blocking publications of any further books by Foot or anyone else. O'Donnell's book is nowhere near as comprehensive, and couldn't be, given the differences in the way they were written. This is a good book, if you understand it's limitations and gee-whiz-look-what-we-did attitude. I enjoyed it and would recommend it.
|
