OSS: The Secret History Of America's First Central Intelligence Agency

Ok book

This book is a must for anyone interested in the part Intelligence plays in the history of our country- and its ramifications in the rest of the world . It is well researched, factual, and presented to the readers clearly. Not only does it throw light on the importance of the work done by the OSS during WW2, but lessons can be learned about the present time, especially about the relationship between the different branches of our Intelligence System , as well as that of Great Britain's . It is a great reference book, as well as a challenging one. The roles played by the different heads of the Intelligence Agencies , even to petty competing among them, are quite interesting - and give much food for thought. Recommended reading , easy but revealing .

This is a hard read. It is written like a school history book so it is very difficult to get into. Perfect as a reference book for your personal library.

I found the book interesting, but it is not for the person who is bogged down by details. There are a lot of them in the book. Smith seems to like to present every aspect of each part of the book, from operations to the people involved. One example is that he lists the former occupations of the principals in many of the OSS operations, even though those occupations may not relate at all to OSS work. If you are looking for a story, you probably would not find this book interesting. It reads more like a textbook. It is more for the person who is looking for in depth analysis of the OSS part in the war.

With a subject that is so intriguing, why isn't this book a page turner? Somehow, I find it tedious to read. The first part required self discipline to get through and then I finally got into the book to a somewhat greater degree. I think the reason is that it comes off as a laundry list of many characters who were involved in very interesting missions but the author has little time to delve into the individuals themselves. What I learned was that there was much more infighting among the allies than I was aware of. We must have lengthened the war by at least a year due to turf protection and misunderstandings, as well as our desire to set prior colonies free and the British desire to regain their empire after the war. All that waste of effort gave the Nazis more time. The other interesting point is that even though the way to enter the OSS often was to be an alum of an Ivy League school, there were quite a few interesting characters who got in via language/cultural know how or friendships with well connected people. Capt. Peter Ortiz is one of the most interesting. A Marine officer with prior service in the Foreign Legion, he spoke fluent French and knew his way around the German controlled area. His brave and very daring actions would fill a book. Another Marine who might have served in the Pacific was instead running a small sailboat fleet to supply Yugoslav partisans in their efforts against the Nazis. That was the actor Sterling Hayden.The book appears to be very well researched and contains information not found in other books I have read. It does a thorough job of demonstrating the somewhat valid yet frustrating nature of our disagreements with the British and French over policy, strategy and even tactics. I just wish that the author had edited the material down and focused on key points rather than attempting to cover everything more shallowly.

Whether liberties have been taken by the author, a truly fun and often exciting book on the subject.