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Need to Know: World War II and the Rise of American Intelligence Audiobook
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Historian and former CIA officer Nicholas Reynolds, the New York Times bestselling author of Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy, uncovers the definitive history of American intelligence during World War II, illuminating its key role in securing victory.
“Need to Know is the most thorough and detailed history available on the origins of U.S. intelligence.” —Michael Morell, former Deputy Director and Acting Director, CIA
The entire vast modern American intelligence system—the amalgam of three-letter spy services of many stripes—can be traced back to the dire straits that Britain faced at the end of June 1940. Before World War II, the US had no organization to recruit spies and steal secrets or launch secret campaigns against enemies overseas. It was only through Winston Churchill’s determination to mobilize the US to help in their fight against Hitler that the first American spy service was born, one that was built by scratch in the background of WWII.
In Need to Know, former CIA analyst and trained historian Nicholas Reynolds explores the birth, infancy, and adolescence of modern American intelligence. In this first definitive account, Reynolds combines little-known history and gripping spy stories to analyze the American codebreakers’ and spies’ origins and contributions to Allied victory, revealing how they laid the foundation for the Cold War—and all other conflicts to come.
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“[A] vast, complex, character-rich history. … A comprehensive, authoritative examination of the genesis of America’s national security apparatus.”
— Kirkus Reviews
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About Nicholas Reynolds
Nicholas Reynolds has worked in the fields of modern military history and intelligence off and on for forty years, with some unusual detours. He currently teaches as an adjunct professor for Johns Hopkins University and, with his wife, Becky, cares for rescue pugs.
About Fred Sanders
Fred Sanders, an actor and Earphones Award–winning narrator, has received critics’ praise for his audio narrations that range from nonfiction, memoir, and fiction to mystery and suspense. He been seen on Broadway in The Buddy Holly Story, in national tours for Driving Miss Daisy and Big River, and on such television shows as Seinfeld, The West Wing, Will and Grace, Numb3rs,Titus, and Malcolm in the Middle. His films include Sea of Love, The Shadow, and the Oscar-nominated short Culture. He is a native New Yorker and Yale graduate.