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Secret Missions: The Story of an Intelligence Officer
An instant bestseller when it was first published in 1946, this memoir recounts the author's nearly forty years of service in naval intelligence, beginning in 1908. One of the first to venture into the realm of psychological warfare, Ellis Zacharias was awarded the Legion of Merit with two gold stars for his contributions. Among the highlights of his impressive career was the role he played in convincing the Japanese to accept surrender in 1945, a subject he deals with in fascinating detail in this book.
Zacharias gives readers access to rare psychological profiles that he prepared for the Office of Naval Intelligence on leading political and military figures in Japan. His book also recounts his exploits as a young naval attaché with the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo in the early 1920s. In the early months of the war readers join him in the thick of combat in the Pacific, first aboard a cruiser under his command and later in a battleship. Of particular interest are descriptions of his one-man radio broadcasts beamed at Japan between V-E and V-J days that received kudos from Adm. Ernest J. King for helping bring about the surrender.
Zacharias gives readers access to rare psychological profiles that he prepared for the Office of Naval Intelligence on leading political and military figures in Japan. His book also recounts his exploits as a young naval attaché with the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo in the early 1920s. In the early months of the war readers join him in the thick of combat in the Pacific, first aboard a cruiser under his command and later in a battleship. Of particular interest are descriptions of his one-man radio broadcasts beamed at Japan between V-E and V-J days that received kudos from Adm. Ernest J. King for helping bring about the surrender.
- GenresHistory
448 pages, Paperback
First published March 31, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 4, 2023
A very unique inside look at the war in the Pacific from someone who was there throughout. It's basically a linear memoir about Zacharias' life in the Navy from 1908 to the publishing date of 1946. Can be a bit dry at some points, but overall something any WWII history buff should pick up and read. A lot of first hand information you really won't find anywhere else.
October 6, 2012
Chapter 24, The Lessons of Pearl Harbor, documents the warnings of an attack provided by communications intelligence.
"...the imminence of war was recognized by all concerned. Regardless of whether or not it was to include the Phillippines, Guam, territory bordering on the South China Sea, or areas farther to the south, all far distant from Pearl Harbor, this Hawaiian outpost was our main Pacific naval base and as such was authmatically involved in any and all naval activities of a hostile nature." (pages 264-265)
"We know that Pearl Harbor was a test of leadership. And we know that when this test came, leadership was found wanting." (page 268)
"...the imminence of war was recognized by all concerned. Regardless of whether or not it was to include the Phillippines, Guam, territory bordering on the South China Sea, or areas farther to the south, all far distant from Pearl Harbor, this Hawaiian outpost was our main Pacific naval base and as such was authmatically involved in any and all naval activities of a hostile nature." (pages 264-265)
"We know that Pearl Harbor was a test of leadership. And we know that when this test came, leadership was found wanting." (page 268)
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews