The Winking Fox

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Summary: Facinating insights into the life of a unique man
Review: Rene Defournaux is an excellent writer who, unfortunately, has not been allowed to tell more than about 25% of the story, but that 25% is absolutely riveting. His life puts the fiction of Ian Fleming and W. E. B. Griffith in the shade. This book not only adds to the historical knowledge of the era but is a good read. I couldn't put it down and read it straight through one recent weekend. I recommend it for students of history and for those readers of novels who think that fiction is more exciting than real life, they will find that adventure tales take second place to this man's life.

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Summary: A fascinating, engaging eye-witness military history.
Review: Rene Defourneaux was a young Frenchman who came to the United States shortly before the outbreak of World War II. In 1943 he joined the American army, trained as an intelligence specialist, and was sent to England to join a unit as an interrogator. There he was recruited by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and strained as an agent. He parachuted alone into occupied France to organize and train French resistance groups. After the liberation of Paris he was transferred to Asia where he served as second in command of a team parachuted into Japanese held French Indochina in support of a group assembled by Ho Chi Minh and Vo Nguyen Giap. Shortly after World War II he was recalled to active duty and served twenty years as an Army intelligence office with duty in Europe, Asia, and the United States, finally ending his career at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indianapolis, Indiana. The Winking Fox is a vivid account of some of his activities and explains why his efforts were often misunderstood or ignored by his superiors who lacked the required background and experience to adequately utilize his talents. Because of his ability to overcome adversity, hist phenomenal good luck, his associates dubbed him "The Fox". The Winking Fox is Defourneaux's true life story, told by himself, and a welcome, eye-witness, invaluable addition to the literature of both World War II and Cold War history.

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Summary: A unique stirring, informative, eye-witness account.
Review: The Winking Fox: Twenty-Two Years In Military Intelligence is Rene Defourneaux's first hand account of his years as an officer with the U.S. Army's intelligence service. A young Frenchman who came to the United States with his mother and sister to join his father shortly before the outbreak of World War II, Defourneaux joined the service in 1943. Trained as an intelligence specialist he was sent to England to join a unit as an interrogator. There he was recruited by OSS and trained as an agent. He was parachuted alone into occupied France to organize and train French resistance groups. With the liberation of Paris he was transferred to Asia where he served as the second in command of a team parachuted into Japanese held French Indochina in support of a group assembled by Ho Chi Minh and Vo Nguyen Giap. After WWII he served for the next twenty years as an Army intelligence officer with duty in Europe and Asia. The Winking Fox is a stirring, eye-witness account of military intelligence activities and his own decisions and efforts that were often misunderstood or simply ignored by his superiors who lacked the background and experience to adequately utilize his talents, experience and expertise. Enhanced for the reader with 75 photographs, illustrations and documents, The Winking Fox is a superb contribution to the growing body of World War II literature and offers a unique insight into the world of Army intelligence.