The fascinating biography of the man who laid the foundation for the CIA.One of the most celebrated and highly decorated heroes of World War I, a noted trial lawyer, presidential adviser and emissary, and chief of America’s Office of Strategic Services during World War II, William J. Donovan was a legendary figure. Donovan, originally published in 1982, penetrates the cloak of secrecy surrounding this remarkable man.During the dark days of World War II, “Wild Bill” Donovan, more than any other person, was responsible for what William Stevenson, author of A Man Called Intrepid, described as “the astonishing success with which the United States entered secret warfare and accomplished in less than four years what it took England many centuries to develop.”Drawing upon Donovan’s diaries, letters, and other papers; interviews with hundreds of the men and women who worked with him and spied for him; and declassified and unpublished documents, author Richard Dunlop, himself a former member of Donovan’s OSS, traces the incredible career of the man who almost single-handedly created America’s central intelligence service. The result is the definitive biography that Donovan himself had always expected Dunlop would write.Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
For the past 4 years I have been reading books about World War One, therefore I found the section about Donovan service in WWI most interesting. Donovan was the most decorated American soldier in WWI. The author covered Donovan’s WWI service in-depth and anyone interested in learning more about WWI would find this book helpful. I had just finished reading Caesar Commentaries so when I read that Donovan was reading a French translation of Caesar Commentaries with comments by Napoleon it jumped right out at me.
Richard Dunlop was a journalist for the Chicago Tribune and a former OSS agent in World War II. He passed away in 1987. Sir William Stephenson was a Canadian soldier, spy master and oversaw British Intelligence for the Western Hemisphere during World War II. His code name was “Intrepid” and is thought to be the inspiration for James Bond.
Dunlop and Stephenson’s book is a light weight biography of Donovan. This book was first published in 1982. The audio book was published in February of 2014. If you want a detailed and long book read Anthony Cave Brown’s “The Last Hero: Wild Bill Donovan.”
The book covers an overview of Donovan’s life from childhood in Buffalo, New York and his education at Columbia University and Columbia Law School. During World War I Donovan served in the famous New York fighting 69th Irish Regiment where he received numerous decorations. Donovan was the only person to have received all four of the United States’ highest awards: The Medal of Honor, The Distinguished Service Cross, The Distinguished Service medal with two oak leaf clusters and the National Security Medal. He also was awarded the Silver Star and a Purple Heart with two Oak Clusters. He was awarded medals by all the Allied countries. At the end of World War One he left the Army as a Colonel. After World War One Donovan returned to his Wall Street law practice and he was active in New York politics as well as a friend of FDR.
In WWII FDR created the OSS on the advice of William Stephenson, the British Intelligence officer for the Western Hemisphere. The United States had no intelligence network. FDR then appointed William Donovan as its head. The book covers an overview of Donovan’s work with the OSS during WWII. Donovan was promoted to Major General during WWII. Donovan continued to head the OSS under President Truman and when it was dissolved at the end of the war he helped Allen Dulles set up the CIA that Truman had just created.
After World War II Donovan reverted to his life as a lawyer he was special assistant to Chief Prosecutor Telford Taylor at the Nuremburg War Crimes Tribunal. In 1953 President Dwight Eisenhower appointed Donovan as Ambassador to Thailand.
Dunlop was given access to Donovan’s private papers and spoke with Donovan for hundreds of hours in preparation for writing this biography. The book is well written and most interesting. I read this as an audio book downloaded from Audible. Eric Martin narrated this book. If you are interested in WWI or WWII history this is a book for you. This book provides an excellent overview of the life of William Donovan.
I enjoyed this biography, but it doesn't deserve a high rating. I enjoyed it because of reading a great deal about the OSS, the CIA and WWII beforehand. Someone less involved in those subjects might be discouraged.
This is not a proper biography. Dunlop knew his subject and has only good things to say about him. Donovan comes across as virtually perfect, his failings only becoming apparent between the lines. (He was, for instance, a poor husband and father. He may also have been less than perfect as an administrator.) Very little of his personal life is revealed. One only gets to know him as a public figure, such personal materials as there are come from colleagues and relate to work.
I also suspect that someone not versed in the period from 1914 through 1948 might have trouble with all the globe-trotting and name dropping. Maps would have been helpful as would a Who's Who of major figures, but neither are provided.
This an amazing story about one of the least understood or document characters in US history. It could even be said that without his insight and vision the entire direction of World War II would have changed.
William Donavan was a model of bravery and integrity who put country ahead of all else and this book brings him to life for all to see.
I learned a lot about the role of the OSS during WWII and its eventual development into our CIA. The book was informative about Bill Donovan's life and accomplishments, but it was somewhat marred by the author's obvious hero worship of Donovan.
Worse, he mentioned in almost every chapter how Donovan was a ladies' man and unfaithful to his wife. I'm not such a prude as to believe infidelity spoils a man's ability to do his job well, but I'd really rather not have it discussed as something to be admired. It certainly didn't need to be mentioned so frequently as to become a repeated irritant.
The chapters about Donovan's life after the end of WWII lost some of the excitement of the earlier sections. It felt as though the author was rushing to conclude the book, and I began wishing it were finished as well.
Donovan the dynamo! This man accomplished an incredible amount in his lifetime. It is noted that he did not sleep much and yet had endless energy and ambition. He did not waste those extra hours! I recommend this book if you want to learn about the formation of the OSS, America's first intelligence organization which is now the CIA. The OSS also was the model for U.S. Special Forces. This one man was responsible for the creation of both of these mighty organizations. I believe this was thoroughly researched and well written.
This is a super book. If you like War History, or spy stories, you will love this. It covers both World Wars, and the spying after The Great War up to and after World War II. A great man who had great friendships with some Presidents, and hostility from others. He worked through all of that to become a master spy, and a great military man. He won every medal available in World War 1, and worked for justice and freedom from tyranny until near his death.
Great book. My father knew Donovan and did a couple of propaganda posters for his propaganda division during W.W.ll. They knew each other socially when both lived for a time at Beekman Place, in NYC. I think for an ordinary person, a man in the street, like myself, it feeds into a fantasy of power to be given the inside story on world events through the life of someone who always seemed to be there. It's like dreaming about flying. "How did I do that?" "I dunno, it just happened." He seemed to have incredible courage and intelligence. He proved himself a leader at every level, from elementary school through the O.S.S. He continually appeared behind the lines. ...I've never been a hero but I admire heroes. This guy was one of the real ones.
Very well researched and written biography of an incredible individual. William Donovan was America's most decorated Soldier in WWI, and would spend the years between the wars preparing for his role in WWII, as the Chief of Intelligence and head of an extraordinarily successful new organization, the OSS. His combination of Irish romanticism and stubbornness, his brilliance as a lawyer and a student of cultures, and his ability to deal with many different people around the world are all characteristics that would allow him to be successful at each of the tasks which he took on, and there is no shortage of those tasks which he took on. Highly recommended.
Great detail on his early life and pre-WWI rise to local prominence. Dunlap does an equally excellent job outlining his experience in WWI and how it led to his rise to national prominence in the 1920s and 1930s - both as an attorney arguing cases in front of the Supreme Court and his failed attempts to become US Attorney General. As WWII approaches, the biography becomes more of a history of the OSS vs. a biography of Donovan. Book is pretty light on his post-war life and time as Ambassador to Thailand.
Important story of the man who built the Office of Strategic Services int an effective intelligence and special operations tool for the United States during WW II, mode,Ed on the British Special Operations Executive. The bureaucratic infighting as the FBI and Military Intelligence branches perceived a threat to their own organizations is described aptly as both unfortunate and a fact of Washington life. The OSS evolved into what we now know as the Central Intelligence Agency.
I got about half way through this before giving up. It sounded like an exciting story of the creation of an espionage network during WWII. It turned out to be a seemingly endless reporting of every meeting that Donovan ever went to between WWI and WWII. The beginning of the book that related his exploits during WWI was somewhat engaging but it was all down hill after that. I made it through the early part of WWII before loosing interest.
Extremely thorough story of Bill Donovan’s patriotic life
Excellent and very thorough description of this relatively “unsung” American hero and who is fundamentally the Father of the CIA. As a leader who was always ahead of the enemies of America, the international travel schedule he maintained during WWII is remarkable. There are parts of the book that I found a little tedious, but definitely recommend it
A fascinating biography of a prominent American who, it seems, is not nearly as well known today as his accomplishments would dictate. William J. Donovan is best known as the driving force behind the development and then leadership of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during WWII, the forerunner of the CIA. Going into this biography, I knew that much, but during my reading of this book, I discovered so much more about this man, much of it amazing. Donovan’s name ought to be as familiar to us as any of the giants of WWII, except, perhaps, for the leaders of the countries involved.
Among other things, Donovan is, even today, the most decorated US military veteran of all time. He earned more medals during WWI for his exemplary leadership and action than even Douglas MacArthur, including the Medal of Honor as well as the senior military medals of numerous allied countries. He remains the only person to have received all four of the United States' highest awards. Donovan was also an extremely successful lawyer, starting his own firm at a young age, building it, and becoming one of the few lawyers to argue and win his cases before the Supreme Court dozens of times. He recognized the need for a centralized intelligence operation long before other American leaders and fought to get it instituted. The OSS that he built from the ground up in short order and ultimately led was instrumental in the outcome of the war and it is easy to wonder how things might have been different without it. He routinely met with world leaders and funneled information back to President Roosevelt on almost a daily basis. After the war, he was a prominent member of the Nuremberg tribunals, using OSS intelligence to form the basis of the prosecutions. Later, near the end of his career, Donovan served as the ambassador to Thailand and leveraged his background in intelligence and natural ability to see the big picture and to foresee the upcoming instability in SE Asia, subsequently making huge positive changes to that country’s relationship to the US which would prove valuable in what was to come. Donovan truly was America’s “Master Spy”.
The detail offered throughout the book is extensive and fully backed by exhaustive references and notes from personally conducted interviews. Readers not intimately familiar with the historical backdrop might feel a bit overwhelmed with the sheer volume of detail offered here, not to mention the hundreds of names scattered through each chapter. But such was the nature of Donovan’s life. Reportedly, he only routinely slept a couple of hours each night and could read and comprehensibly absorb books quickly and often. His energy and drive was unsurpassed. Such a man’s life is complex and filled to overflowing with events and so any thorough biography of his life must necessarily be the same.
This book was an awesome reading experience and certainly educational. If ever there were an American historical figure that deserved greater remembrance in the mind of the general public, William J. Donovan is it.
Audible.com 25 hours Narrated by Eric Jason Martin (A)
This is the story of one America's lesser known heroes. I had planned to read more about the First World War this year, but I no idea that it would begin with this biography. William Donovan was the most highly decorated officer in The Great War. If his biography had ended after his return afterward and Donovan 'accomplishments as a lawyer, it would have been a worthwhile read. But Donavan was a dynamo of both physical and mental powers. His understanding of Europe's situation after the war ended gave him insight into the great possibility of another war. He used his business ties and those of his law firm to investigate the economic, social and poitical status of the new geographic divisions . He wanted to see that the US was more prepared than than she had been in the past, and this led him make secret contacts with reliable sorces around the worldd. He also was able to see that we couldn't continue to rely wholly on military resources. He looked for the right man for each job no matter their background. Thus when the second war started in Europe, he was ready to present Roosevelt with well organized small but secure plan for gathering information. Donovan and OSS brought creative, innovative ideas to fighting war, but upon Roosevelt's death, Truman had a deliberate personal dislike for Donovan and refused him the position of Director of the CIA after the end of war, but Donovan was a force that could not be stopped by anything short of death. This was fascinating book, and if I had many more years to read, I'd look for another biographer for a differect point of view. As it is, I'm grateful to learn much about this man's incredible life and contributions. 4.5 stars Note: The author Richard Dunlap who worked it Donovan during WW2 has written another book "Behind Enemy Lines" that I have added to my Wish list.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Fascinating topic and I believe the book was largely factual, though overlong, but much more of a hagiography than a biography. No real context for Donovan's place in a number of efforts, no attempt to understand him as a man of his times, no real psychology or multi-faceted views. Just pure hero worship with Donovan as always correct, always prescient, always the hero - in every interaction and effort he made his entire life. This book definitely piqued my interest in Donovan and the OSS, just made me want to search elsewhere for the real history.
Having been born in Cuba before the revolution and leaving at an early age, I was captivated by the stories of "Wild Bill Donovan." His role, particularly in negotiations with Fidel Castro, in which some meetings took place in my parents' residence in Havana, had always caught my attention.
He was a tremendous, daring, and intellectually p;reparred character. I found the book fascinating.
He was a special type of man, which I have always associated with a Hemingway type of character. He could be right out of one of his books.
An excellent read on a man that is the embodiment of a true patriot. I felt like the first two thirds of the book were so good I could not put it down. Donovan truly lived a life full of adventure. The last third of the book was not as enjoyable and the ending felt rushed. The author adored Donovan which you can get from the writing so their wasn't depth to the reality of the man and his errors. However; I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys World War I and II history, American Patriotism, and intelligence/Spy material.
I wish I could give this book 6 stars. I've heard of Bill Donovan but not heard the whole story until now. He was born in 1873, served admirably in WW1, winning the Congressional Medal of Honor. A brilliant lawyer with an unceasing need to serve his country. Brilliant strategist who founded the OSS. His work continued until his death in 1959. One of the greatest patriots ever! READ this book!
A superlative biography of one of the country's greatest heroes. Donovan was THE MOST decorated soldier in WWI, something McArthur never forgave him. And he single-handedly put together an intelligence service when some in the USA thought we didn't need one- Truman for one. Donovan's service to our country probably exceeds that of anyone else in the 20th century, and if you think I am exaggerating, read the book!!
As some other reviewers said, reading about this master of propaganda in a book that only colors him as perfect makes one think the author is a propagandist himself. Nevertheless, there's a lot of detail here to work with about an interesting man and time period.
One of the most interesting parts was where Truman stopped the OSS in part because he feared its misuse in peace time by future politicians... Duh! Well, future iterations of the OSS have certainly done that.
It is inconceivable how one person can accomplish so much, so well in a remarkable life. General Donovan saved countless lives and years of war by the clandestine organization he founded and swiftly put into action in WW2. His leadership did the same in WW1 and had it not been for partisan politics his accomplishments would have been greater. This book should be read by everyone interested in American history.
Great portrait of an interesting man. I tend to rate biographies on how they keep my interest and this one achieved this by portraying him in both military and political settings. I knew little of the man, except for brief mentions in other WW1 & WW2 biographies. He played a greater role during that period than I expected, so I found it compelling.
Tough slog to get through. 600 pages of incredible detail on this man and his achievements. The best parts frankly were those describing his incredible bravery in WW1. Easily 150 pages could have been cut by eliminating mentions of unimportant meetings and unnecessary detail. Great American, but so-so book.
I don't remember why I ever bought this book but I am really glad I did. I had never even heard of Bill Donovan before picking up this book but now he is one of my favorite historical figures. He isn't perfect but he is really human. The book does bog down a little but all in all very good
A detailed life of an influential figure in 20th Century American History. A bit biased showing few weaknesses and vulnerabilities while revealing his significant part in developing U.S. intelligence.
An older book on Donovan originally published in the early 1980s, but it holds up quite nicely. I found the pre-OSS life of Donovan to be richly detailed and enjoyed its overall depth and length. There are more contemporary attempts to capture his life, but this treatment is a quality classic.
I listened to the Audible version. The narrator was mediocre, in my opinion.
The biography is very detailed and tells the story of a fascinating, intelligent, and dedicated man. Worthwhile if you're interested in WW2 politics and military history.
"There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know."