He was one of America's most exciting and secretive generals—the man Franklin Roosevelt made his top spy in World War II. A mythic figure whose legacy is still intensely debated, "Wild Bill" Donovan was director of the Office of Strategic Services (the country's first national intelligence agency) and the father of today's CIA. Donovan introduced the nation to the dark arts of covert warfare on a scale it had never seen before. Now, veteran journalist Douglas Waller has mined government documents and private archives throughout the United States and England, drawn on thousands of pages of recently declassified documents, and interviewed scores of Donovan's relatives, friends, and associates to produce a riveting biography of one of the most powerful men in modern espionage. The son of poor Irish Catholic parents, William Joseph Donovan married into Protestant wealth and fought heroically in World War I, where he earned the nickname "Wild Bill" for his intense leadership. After the war he made millions as a lawyer on Wall Street until FDR tapped him to be his strategic intelligence chief. A charismatic leader, Donovan was revered by his secret agents. Yet at times he was reckless, risking his life unnecessarily in war zones and engaging in extramarital affairs that became fodder for his political enemies. Wild Bill Donovan reads like an action-packed spy thriller, with stories of daring young men and women in Donovan's OSS sneaking behind enemy lines for sabotage, breaking into Washington embassies to steal secrets, plotting to topple Adolf Hitler, and suffering brutal torture or death when they were captured by the Gestapo. It is also a tale of political intrigue, of infighting at the highest levels of government, of powerful men pitted against one another. Deftly separating fact from fiction, Waller investigates the successes and the occasional spectacular failures of Donovan's intelligence career, making for a gripping and revealing portrait of this most controversial spymaster.
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"Waller takes a fresh look at Donovan, the founder of the OSS. He deals with topics that previous biographies avoided, like infidelity, but doesn't dig deep enough into the bigger events to demonstrate the wartime success of the OSS." — Tom (4 out of 5 stars)
"Waller takes a fresh look at Donovan, the founder of the OSS. He deals with topics that previous biographies avoided, like infidelity, but doesn't dig deep enough into the bigger events to demonstrate the wartime success of the OSS."
“Entertaining history…As [Waller] amply shows, Donovan was a combination of bold innovator and imprudent rule bender, which made him not only a remarkable wartime leader but also an extraordinary figure in American history.”
Waller's realism about these issues combined with an obvious affection for the remarkable charter of Wild Bill Donovan have resulted in a splendid biography.
“In this fast-paced, entertaining, and engrossing biography, the author delivers a portrait of a hard-driving, type A extrovert willing to take on political enemies…A well-calibrated assessment of Donovan and the impact of the OSS on the war…The book is replete with fascinating anecdotes …and tales of derring-do.”
“This superb, dramatic yet scholarly biography, tells a great deal about the man who built a far-flung intelligence organization from scratch in the midst of World War II.”
" Satisfactory overview of Donovan and the OSS. Well-researched and meticulous. Tends to focus on bureaucratic infighting as well as espionage, and some of the material can be a bit baffling to those not well-versed in WW2 history. "
" Very interesting life story stuffed into episodic less than thrilling book. "
" Not a bad book, just one in which I couldn't maintain interest. "
" Ouch. Painful read. I struggled but got through Wild Bill Donovan. Read more like a dictionary than a book. Heavy on the facts, figures, dates, and too light on the analysis of the man's and the OSS's impact on WWII. Nonetheless, solid background and now I am more informared on the orgin of the CIA and Bill Donovan's amazing personal impact. He wins the Medal of Honor in WWI and Douglas McArthur who commanded in the same assault line does not. I'm sure that stuck in McArthur's throat and may be part of the reason why McArthur never permitted the OSS to operate or contribute significantly in the Pacific campaign in WWII. "
" A biography it is spot on, but I which it had more details on the doings of the OSS, In fact based on all the forces aligned against Donovan according to this account, it is a surprise that the OSS did anything at all. Look for a different book to learn about the exploits of the OSS in WWII, as they are numerous, compelling and hard to believe! "
" Fair would be a gift. "
" We were lucky to have Donovan at the start of WWII. Interesting about all the plots he had cooking to spy on the Nazis, Vichey FRANCE, Chiang Kai Chek, the Japanese, Tito, the Russians, all over the world. A real American hero. "
" (read 8/31/11) A good biography about a national hero and spies. "
" very interesting, detailed story about the man who led the spy organization during WWII "
" Excellent excellent. A well needed book about a legendary man. "
" I learned a great deal about World War II from an espionage point-of-view. Crazy. Then there were personalities like Roosevelt and Churchill I never knew about. "
" Great look at the origins of the OSS and the colorful man who arguably can be called the father of the CIA. "
" I really enjoyed the(ebook). I could hardly wait to get to the next page. If you enjoy this type of intrigue and suspense with alot of action. I highly recommend this (ebook). "
Douglas Waller is a former correspondent for Newsweek and Time, where he covered the CIA, Pentagon, State Department, White House, and Congress. He is the author of the bestsellers Wild Bill Donovan, Big Red, and The Commandos, as well as critically acclaimed works such as Disciples, the story of four CIA directors who fought for Donovan in World War II, and A Question of Loyalty, a biography of General Billy Mitchell.
Johnny Heller, winner of numerous Earphones and Audie Awards, was named a “Golden Voice” by AudioFile magazine in 2019. He has been a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award winner from 2008 through 2013 and he has been named a top voice of 2008 and 2009 and selected as one of the Top 50 Narrators of the Twentieth Century by AudioFile magazine.
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