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Agent 110: An American Spymaster and the German Resistance in WWII
“Lively and engrossing.” — The Wall Street Journal
“Absorbing and bracing.” — The Seattle Times
This is the secret and suspenseful account of how OSS spymaster Allen Dulles led a network of Germans conspiring to assassinate Hitler and negotiate surrender to bring about the end of World War II before the Soviet’s advance.
Agent 110 is Allen Dulles, a newly minted spy from an eminent family. From his townhouse in Bern, and in clandestine meetings in restaurants, back roads, and lovers’ bedrooms, Dulles met with and facilitated the plots of Germans who were trying to destroy the country’s leadership. Their underground network exposed Dulles to the political maneuverings of the Soviets, who were already competing for domination of Germany, and all of Europe, in the post-war period.
Scott Miller’s fascinating Agent 110 explains how leaders of the German Underground wanted assurances from Germany’s enemies that they would treat the country humanely after the war. If President Roosevelt backed the resistance, they would overthrow Hitler and shorten the war. But Miller shows how Dulles’s negotiations fell short. Eventually he was placed in charge of the CIA in the 1950s, where he helped set the stage for US foreign policy. With his belief that the ends justified the means, Dulles had no qualms about consorting with Nazi leadership or working with resistance groups within other countries to topple governments.
Now Miller brings to life this exhilarating, and pivotal, period of world history—of desperate renegades in a dark and dangerous world where spies, idealists, and traitors match wits and blows to ensure their vision of a perfect future.
“Absorbing and bracing.” — The Seattle Times
This is the secret and suspenseful account of how OSS spymaster Allen Dulles led a network of Germans conspiring to assassinate Hitler and negotiate surrender to bring about the end of World War II before the Soviet’s advance.
Agent 110 is Allen Dulles, a newly minted spy from an eminent family. From his townhouse in Bern, and in clandestine meetings in restaurants, back roads, and lovers’ bedrooms, Dulles met with and facilitated the plots of Germans who were trying to destroy the country’s leadership. Their underground network exposed Dulles to the political maneuverings of the Soviets, who were already competing for domination of Germany, and all of Europe, in the post-war period.
Scott Miller’s fascinating Agent 110 explains how leaders of the German Underground wanted assurances from Germany’s enemies that they would treat the country humanely after the war. If President Roosevelt backed the resistance, they would overthrow Hitler and shorten the war. But Miller shows how Dulles’s negotiations fell short. Eventually he was placed in charge of the CIA in the 1950s, where he helped set the stage for US foreign policy. With his belief that the ends justified the means, Dulles had no qualms about consorting with Nazi leadership or working with resistance groups within other countries to topple governments.
Now Miller brings to life this exhilarating, and pivotal, period of world history—of desperate renegades in a dark and dangerous world where spies, idealists, and traitors match wits and blows to ensure their vision of a perfect future.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published March 7, 2017
71 people are currently reading
747 people want to read
About the author
Scott Miller
3 books78 followersThere is more than one author with this name
As a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and Reuters, Miller spent nearly two decades in Asia and Europe, reporting from more than twenty-five countries. He covered fields as varied as the Japanese economic collapse, the birth of a single European currency, and competitive speed knitting. His articles have also appeared in the Washington Post and the Far Eastern Economic Review, among others, and he has been a contributor to CNBC and Britain's Sky News. The President and the Assassin stems in part from several years of researching and writing about global trade.
Mr. Miller holds degrees in economics and communications and earned a Master of Philosophy in international relations from the University of Cambridge. He now lives in Seattle with his wife and two daughters. He enjoys mountain biking, back-country skiing, fly fishing and college football.
As a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and Reuters, Miller spent nearly two decades in Asia and Europe, reporting from more than twenty-five countries. He covered fields as varied as the Japanese economic collapse, the birth of a single European currency, and competitive speed knitting. His articles have also appeared in the Washington Post and the Far Eastern Economic Review, among others, and he has been a contributor to CNBC and Britain's Sky News. The President and the Assassin stems in part from several years of researching and writing about global trade.
Mr. Miller holds degrees in economics and communications and earned a Master of Philosophy in international relations from the University of Cambridge. He now lives in Seattle with his wife and two daughters. He enjoys mountain biking, back-country skiing, fly fishing and college football.
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January 11, 2018
”My husband doesn’t converse with me, not that he doesn’t talk to me about his business, but that he doesn’t talk about anything.... It took me a long time to realize that when he talks it is only for the purpose of obtaining something…. He has either to be making someone admire him, or to be receiving some information worth his while; otherwise he gives one the impression that he doesn’t talk because the person isn’t worth talking to.” Clover Dulles, wife of Allen Dulles
The dashing and enigmatic Allen Dulles. Mary Bancroft said for many decades after she’d last had contact with him the memory of his laugh would always bring a smile to her lips.
I get the impression that Allen Dulles always felt an inordinate amount of pressure to compete with his older brother John Foster Dulles. This can lead to reckless, unprincipled behavior in a younger sibling, but in Allen it seems to have fostered (I couldn’t help it) a focused need to succeed. This book primarily covers the WW2 years of Dulles while he was working for the OSS (Office of Strategic Service) in Bern, Switzerland. I first learned about the OSS from a retired judge who used to come into the bookstore I worked at in Phoenix. The guy was nuts about books, maybe even more nuts than I am. He told me stories about his work in the OSS. He was one of the guys in on the capture of Hermann Goering. As he said to me, “I had the privilege of laying hands on that evil man.”
The OSS is the precursor of the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency). Receiving this Bern assignment was a perfect fit for Dulles. He was on his own. Any bosses he may have had were generally thousands of miles away. He loved the freedom and, as Scott Miller alludes to, he chafed under the strictures of a normal, hierarchical, office situation later in his career. I’m sure he didn’t want to have to consult with others. He wanted the ability to say, let’s do this or not, without having to get approval from a committee of people.
He was effective, and especially during wartime, if a person proves themselves to be competent, they are generally given the latitude to what they feel they need to do with very little interference. Dulles hired a secretary, a saucy, married, American woman by the name of Mary Bancroft. He needed someone who would make his spies feel more at ease. Miller never actually states that Bancroft may have also worked her feminine wiles on the series of spies she helped Dulles manage, but she certainly, briskly warmed Dulles’ bed for a while. As we learn more about Dulles, we realize that he flipped an hourglass over on every sexual relationship the moment it began. ”Such an affair was not unusual for men of Dulles’s generation, who considered such relationships an entitlement for the wealthy and powerful.”
I’ve looked at several pictures of Mary Bancroft and do not see the beauty that was attributed to her, but we all know how deceptive the lens is. I have a feeling her mannerisms and personality added to her attractiveness.
And women, married or otherwise, seemed to find Allen Dulles irresistible, despite knowing or maybe because they knew the relationship was doomed to be a fleeting one. There is speculation that his affairs may have numbered in the hundreds. Normally, I would think this would make him vulnerable to blackmail or to inappropriate pillow talk, but my impression is that he never really trusted anyone, and women were really just a source of pleasure, not confidants.
From Bern, Dulles did manage to make contact with several, important or certainly dedicated Germans intent on helping bring down Hitler’s Germany. They wanted their Germany back. It was through this network that he learned about Operation Valkyrie, which was the July 20th, 1944, plot to assassinate Hitler. His network was also how Dulles came into contact with Waffen-SS General Karl Wolff, who under the Operation name Sunrise was trying to peacefully surrender the German troops in Northern Italy. Beyond all the spy work that was going on within Germany, there was a growing understanding that the Soviet Union was going to be a problem after the war. As Germany grew weaker, the Russians became more emboldened, and soon the war focus was more about what the Russians were up to than concerns about Hitler and his remaining, beaten German forces.
The July 20th bomb should have killed Adolf Hitler, but by a quirk of fate he survived unscathed.
The Cold War began, a game that Dulles was particularly perfectly suited for.
Scott Miller provided me with a several insights about Dulles in Bern that I didn’t know before. There was a prominent psychologist, which I will leave as a surprise for the readers, who provided him with in-depth analysis about Hitler and other prominent Nazis. Hitler’s inner circle was a perverted and broken bunch of human beings, whose loyalty to him was their need to belong to something for the first time in their life. They finally had a place in society where they could judge others as they felt like they had always been judged. Dulles lost people, some were apprehended and some just disappeared. Tension of this magnitude requires a special person. I sense that there was a distance between Dulles and every person he ever became “friends” with, and in the spy business this may have been a real source of strength.
President Kennedy and Allen Dulles, a duel of contrasting personalities.
This book is a great way to meet Allen Dulles before he became the icon and face of American Intelligence, which lasted even beyond his summary dismissal as Director (officially a resignation) by President Kennedy in 1961. With the revolving door of CIA directors, his tenure stands as a testament to the value of his service. If you like spy novels, in particular John le Carré, you will enjoy experiencing the real life adventures and tribulations of the men and women who were trying to defeat German from within.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten
The dashing and enigmatic Allen Dulles. Mary Bancroft said for many decades after she’d last had contact with him the memory of his laugh would always bring a smile to her lips.
I get the impression that Allen Dulles always felt an inordinate amount of pressure to compete with his older brother John Foster Dulles. This can lead to reckless, unprincipled behavior in a younger sibling, but in Allen it seems to have fostered (I couldn’t help it) a focused need to succeed. This book primarily covers the WW2 years of Dulles while he was working for the OSS (Office of Strategic Service) in Bern, Switzerland. I first learned about the OSS from a retired judge who used to come into the bookstore I worked at in Phoenix. The guy was nuts about books, maybe even more nuts than I am. He told me stories about his work in the OSS. He was one of the guys in on the capture of Hermann Goering. As he said to me, “I had the privilege of laying hands on that evil man.”
The OSS is the precursor of the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency). Receiving this Bern assignment was a perfect fit for Dulles. He was on his own. Any bosses he may have had were generally thousands of miles away. He loved the freedom and, as Scott Miller alludes to, he chafed under the strictures of a normal, hierarchical, office situation later in his career. I’m sure he didn’t want to have to consult with others. He wanted the ability to say, let’s do this or not, without having to get approval from a committee of people.
He was effective, and especially during wartime, if a person proves themselves to be competent, they are generally given the latitude to what they feel they need to do with very little interference. Dulles hired a secretary, a saucy, married, American woman by the name of Mary Bancroft. He needed someone who would make his spies feel more at ease. Miller never actually states that Bancroft may have also worked her feminine wiles on the series of spies she helped Dulles manage, but she certainly, briskly warmed Dulles’ bed for a while. As we learn more about Dulles, we realize that he flipped an hourglass over on every sexual relationship the moment it began. ”Such an affair was not unusual for men of Dulles’s generation, who considered such relationships an entitlement for the wealthy and powerful.”
I’ve looked at several pictures of Mary Bancroft and do not see the beauty that was attributed to her, but we all know how deceptive the lens is. I have a feeling her mannerisms and personality added to her attractiveness.
And women, married or otherwise, seemed to find Allen Dulles irresistible, despite knowing or maybe because they knew the relationship was doomed to be a fleeting one. There is speculation that his affairs may have numbered in the hundreds. Normally, I would think this would make him vulnerable to blackmail or to inappropriate pillow talk, but my impression is that he never really trusted anyone, and women were really just a source of pleasure, not confidants.
From Bern, Dulles did manage to make contact with several, important or certainly dedicated Germans intent on helping bring down Hitler’s Germany. They wanted their Germany back. It was through this network that he learned about Operation Valkyrie, which was the July 20th, 1944, plot to assassinate Hitler. His network was also how Dulles came into contact with Waffen-SS General Karl Wolff, who under the Operation name Sunrise was trying to peacefully surrender the German troops in Northern Italy. Beyond all the spy work that was going on within Germany, there was a growing understanding that the Soviet Union was going to be a problem after the war. As Germany grew weaker, the Russians became more emboldened, and soon the war focus was more about what the Russians were up to than concerns about Hitler and his remaining, beaten German forces.
The July 20th bomb should have killed Adolf Hitler, but by a quirk of fate he survived unscathed.
The Cold War began, a game that Dulles was particularly perfectly suited for.
Scott Miller provided me with a several insights about Dulles in Bern that I didn’t know before. There was a prominent psychologist, which I will leave as a surprise for the readers, who provided him with in-depth analysis about Hitler and other prominent Nazis. Hitler’s inner circle was a perverted and broken bunch of human beings, whose loyalty to him was their need to belong to something for the first time in their life. They finally had a place in society where they could judge others as they felt like they had always been judged. Dulles lost people, some were apprehended and some just disappeared. Tension of this magnitude requires a special person. I sense that there was a distance between Dulles and every person he ever became “friends” with, and in the spy business this may have been a real source of strength.
President Kennedy and Allen Dulles, a duel of contrasting personalities.
This book is a great way to meet Allen Dulles before he became the icon and face of American Intelligence, which lasted even beyond his summary dismissal as Director (officially a resignation) by President Kennedy in 1961. With the revolving door of CIA directors, his tenure stands as a testament to the value of his service. If you like spy novels, in particular John le Carré, you will enjoy experiencing the real life adventures and tribulations of the men and women who were trying to defeat German from within.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten
March 26, 2017
I received a copy of this book from the author in expectation of a review.
In Agent 110: An American Spymaster and the German Resistance in WWII Scott Miller shows us once again there are still many interesting stories about WWII to be told. This is one of them. Allen Dulles, future head of the CIA, gets his introduction to the world of spies as the OSS chief in Switzerland. He spends the next two years running the OSS operation there, involved to some degree in various spying and resistance efforts Germany. His big claim to fame is the July 20th attempt to kill Hitler, Op Valkyrie. Another is the surrender of German forces in northern Italy.
Reading this book is like a meal of appetizers without the filling main course. Don’t get me wrong, the hors d'oeuvres are tasty. His trip into Switzerland at the start was fascinating. Kim Philby, psychologist Carl Jung and other individuals make appearances in the book. Many spying operations and resistances groups and efforts that are new to me. But Dulles’ connections to them are often tenuous at best. The author doesn’t pull the string on these tidbits and give a thorough account. Maybe that’s because this is intelligence operations after all and it’s hard to find out what really went on. Maybe Dulles didn’t leave a good record. I felt at the end of the book I needed a lot more.
I did not come away with a good impression of Dulles. The guy was cypher, and that’s probably why he did well in the intelligence business. He loved being out on his own and set his own priorities.
The unsupervised isolation Dulles had so enjoyed came to an abrupt end with the American invasion of the South of France in August 1944. He had never liked taking orders. In March 1944, for instance, he had refused to cooperate with the War Refugee Board and its plan to use Switzerland as a safe haven for Jews trapped in Germany. “Zealous individuals who are ignorant of conditions and do not have the necessary technical training can do the refugees the greatest amount of harm.” he wrote. “There is a tremendous need for work now neglected among refugees already here, especially Jews and Italians, without bringing in a new avalanche of refugees.”
Excuse me? He didn’t want more Jewish refugees in Switzerland because it would mean more work? Asshole, how many more died in the Holocaust that might have been saved? In fact, the book is silent on any effort to find out about the Holocaust, which he certainly was in position to gather information.
The OSS did not have a great reputation and relied on Roosevelt for existence. Truman axed the agency and spread its functions to the State Dept and War Dept.
The loosely disciplined and disorganized OSS was culturally a world apart from the buttoned-down FBI and the G-2, the intelligence operations of the army. One officer in army intelligence, Colonel B. A. Dixon, summed up the feeling of many an OSS critic when he said: “The OSS is the most fantastic damned organization in all of our armed forces. Its people do incredible things. They seduce German spies; they parachute into Sicily one day and two days later they’re dancing on the St. Regis roof. They dynamite aqueducts, urinate in Luftwaffe gas tanks, and play games with IG. Farben and Krupp, but ninety per cent of this has not a goddamned thing to do with the war.”
As we know, he reversed and established the CIA after a few years of watching the Soviets operate. Dulles didn’t get the job at first but would later. I am giving the book a solid 3 Stars and wish I could give it more. I just need more details to go higher. Well worth the time to find out about Agent 110.
In Agent 110: An American Spymaster and the German Resistance in WWII Scott Miller shows us once again there are still many interesting stories about WWII to be told. This is one of them. Allen Dulles, future head of the CIA, gets his introduction to the world of spies as the OSS chief in Switzerland. He spends the next two years running the OSS operation there, involved to some degree in various spying and resistance efforts Germany. His big claim to fame is the July 20th attempt to kill Hitler, Op Valkyrie. Another is the surrender of German forces in northern Italy.
Reading this book is like a meal of appetizers without the filling main course. Don’t get me wrong, the hors d'oeuvres are tasty. His trip into Switzerland at the start was fascinating. Kim Philby, psychologist Carl Jung and other individuals make appearances in the book. Many spying operations and resistances groups and efforts that are new to me. But Dulles’ connections to them are often tenuous at best. The author doesn’t pull the string on these tidbits and give a thorough account. Maybe that’s because this is intelligence operations after all and it’s hard to find out what really went on. Maybe Dulles didn’t leave a good record. I felt at the end of the book I needed a lot more.
I did not come away with a good impression of Dulles. The guy was cypher, and that’s probably why he did well in the intelligence business. He loved being out on his own and set his own priorities.
The unsupervised isolation Dulles had so enjoyed came to an abrupt end with the American invasion of the South of France in August 1944. He had never liked taking orders. In March 1944, for instance, he had refused to cooperate with the War Refugee Board and its plan to use Switzerland as a safe haven for Jews trapped in Germany. “Zealous individuals who are ignorant of conditions and do not have the necessary technical training can do the refugees the greatest amount of harm.” he wrote. “There is a tremendous need for work now neglected among refugees already here, especially Jews and Italians, without bringing in a new avalanche of refugees.”
Excuse me? He didn’t want more Jewish refugees in Switzerland because it would mean more work? Asshole, how many more died in the Holocaust that might have been saved? In fact, the book is silent on any effort to find out about the Holocaust, which he certainly was in position to gather information.
The OSS did not have a great reputation and relied on Roosevelt for existence. Truman axed the agency and spread its functions to the State Dept and War Dept.
The loosely disciplined and disorganized OSS was culturally a world apart from the buttoned-down FBI and the G-2, the intelligence operations of the army. One officer in army intelligence, Colonel B. A. Dixon, summed up the feeling of many an OSS critic when he said: “The OSS is the most fantastic damned organization in all of our armed forces. Its people do incredible things. They seduce German spies; they parachute into Sicily one day and two days later they’re dancing on the St. Regis roof. They dynamite aqueducts, urinate in Luftwaffe gas tanks, and play games with IG. Farben and Krupp, but ninety per cent of this has not a goddamned thing to do with the war.”
As we know, he reversed and established the CIA after a few years of watching the Soviets operate. Dulles didn’t get the job at first but would later. I am giving the book a solid 3 Stars and wish I could give it more. I just need more details to go higher. Well worth the time to find out about Agent 110.
January 14, 2017
A real lack of focus hurts this book - there's not nearly enough detail about either Dulles himself or his involvement in the various German plots to kill Hitler to really grab the reader. There's some interesting glimpses at life in neutral Switzerland and wartime Germany, but for a figure as polarizing as Dulles would turn out to be, there's a startling lack of perspective on how these experiences affected his later decisions in life.
March 11, 2017
This book immediately draws you into the intensity of the time. In this second book, Miller once again-and even more so in this book, demonstrates his commitment to research that makes this book so compelling. The author must be very familiar with the Swiss and German region, the way he relates the setting adds to the over all authenticity and ease of the read that relates the complexity of the little-known backstory of contentions within German leadership during the war. I particularly noted the effort the author placed in valuing the women that contributed to the effort- giving voice to the complete movement against Hitler.
March 11, 2017
loved this book - my second Scott Miller book - very enjoyable felt like I was there at the end of WW 2. The Allen Dulles I knew was the JFK era Dulles. This book gave me a new look on the man. I can't recommend this enough.
August 8, 2019
This was a very interesting book for a number of reasons.
First up is the reason why I bought the book. It was about espionage, always exciting. Secondly, it takes place towards the end of WWII, a time period I have been enjoying reading about and all you fellow fans of Foyle's War would enjoy the book for that reason.
Finally, Miller presents information of which I was not previously aware.
Allen Dulles is an agent for the U.S. in the O.S.S., the precursor to the C.I.A. He has been assigned to Switzerland and flush out any Germans disenchanted with Hitler and the Nazi's and persuade them to provide essential information to the Allies leading toward defeating Hitler and his regime.
Dulles is able to contact the German resistance movement, a group of Germans who are trying to overthrow Hitler internally. They were responsible for several failed assassination attempts on Hitler's life. Dulles and the cooperative Germans work together through the final year of the war.
Miller sheds new light on the fact there was a significant internal resistance to Hitler throughout the war and on more than one occasion, the Allies unintentionally thwarted their attempts at organizing the Germans against Hitler, which might have lead to the overthrow of Hitler from the inside. This was no doubt due to a lack of awareness that such an organization even existed on the Allies' part.
There are several reasons for this, but you'll have to read the book, because it's too involved to try to sum up here.
The book is non fiction but reads like a high action suspense novel. Many of the resistance members were actually part of the Nazi regime, which is why they were able to access valuable information and carry it to Dulles. When Hitler fell, many of them were racing to escape and some of them ended in prison until Dulles could come to the rescue and explain their real role in the war. Some of them were later used as witnesses against other Nazis during the Nuremberg Trials.
Miller writes in a way that shows us the lives of each player involved on both sides of the war. He also provides a follow up at the end of the book to let us know what happened to each of the major players after the war up to their death.
I think this book is an excellent and unique source of WWII history.
First up is the reason why I bought the book. It was about espionage, always exciting. Secondly, it takes place towards the end of WWII, a time period I have been enjoying reading about and all you fellow fans of Foyle's War would enjoy the book for that reason.
Finally, Miller presents information of which I was not previously aware.
Allen Dulles is an agent for the U.S. in the O.S.S., the precursor to the C.I.A. He has been assigned to Switzerland and flush out any Germans disenchanted with Hitler and the Nazi's and persuade them to provide essential information to the Allies leading toward defeating Hitler and his regime.
Dulles is able to contact the German resistance movement, a group of Germans who are trying to overthrow Hitler internally. They were responsible for several failed assassination attempts on Hitler's life. Dulles and the cooperative Germans work together through the final year of the war.
Miller sheds new light on the fact there was a significant internal resistance to Hitler throughout the war and on more than one occasion, the Allies unintentionally thwarted their attempts at organizing the Germans against Hitler, which might have lead to the overthrow of Hitler from the inside. This was no doubt due to a lack of awareness that such an organization even existed on the Allies' part.
There are several reasons for this, but you'll have to read the book, because it's too involved to try to sum up here.
The book is non fiction but reads like a high action suspense novel. Many of the resistance members were actually part of the Nazi regime, which is why they were able to access valuable information and carry it to Dulles. When Hitler fell, many of them were racing to escape and some of them ended in prison until Dulles could come to the rescue and explain their real role in the war. Some of them were later used as witnesses against other Nazis during the Nuremberg Trials.
Miller writes in a way that shows us the lives of each player involved on both sides of the war. He also provides a follow up at the end of the book to let us know what happened to each of the major players after the war up to their death.
I think this book is an excellent and unique source of WWII history.
March 14, 2017
Excellent story, excellent writing! Thoroughly entertaining and educational as well. This was more interesting than I thought it would be. I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. I highly recommend this book.
February 15, 2017
Agent 110 is a very well-written book, filled with fascinating and colorful detail about Nazi-era spycraft. We know about Allan Dulles and what a controversial figure he later became as head of the CIA. This book focuses on a short period when he was running spies for the OSS and working with the German resistance to get rid of Hitler. It helps us understand why he (and America) was so aggressive with the Soviets during the Cold War. I was looking forward to reading this because I loved Mr Miller’s first book, The President and the Assassin. The President and the Assassin: McKinley, Terror, and Empire at the Dawn of the American Century In both cases, Mr Miller sets his narrative within important historical events, providing just enough context without burdening the pace of the story.
September 24, 2017
This book jumped around and was less about Dulles and more about his network of spies and informants. A little disappointing.
July 26, 2020
Agent 110's story seems like it would be an interesting read, but it's not.
May 4, 2017
In Agent 110 Scott Miller gives an excellent overview of both Allen Dulles' early work in the intelligence community as well as the German resistance during WWII. There is enough detail to keep the work flowing but stops short of becoming bogged down in minutiae as some history books will do.
While the focus is on Dulles and includes his personal life (though the line between personal and professional was a bit bleary) this is not a biography. Likewise this is not a detailed examination of the German resistance. Rather this is a look, again focused on Dulles, at the intersection of US intelligence and the German resistance. Appraising as such, in other words, judging it for what it tried to do and not what it never tried to do, Miller succeeds in his task. No, there is not a lot of dramatic action, this is not a fictionalized novel of the period.
While the minimization of smaller details helped to make this more readable there is plenty of sources for those interested to look into if they desire. Rather than get stuck qualifying and citing everything within the text itself there are plenty of notes and other sources. Wonder where Miller found his information? With a minimal amount of due diligence, like turning to the back of the book, you can find 32 pages of notes and 12 pages of a bibliography. If you don't want to exert such Herculean effort then the bit you wonder about must not be too important to you.
The notes and bibliography also provide multiple opportunities for historians and/or those curious to follow their own lines of inquiry. I find such things to be a wonderful opportunity for delving deeper into an aspect of a story that interests me.
I would recommend this to readers of WWII history, intelligence and spy history and those interested in Dulles himself.
Reviewed from a copy made available through Goodreads' First Reads.
While the focus is on Dulles and includes his personal life (though the line between personal and professional was a bit bleary) this is not a biography. Likewise this is not a detailed examination of the German resistance. Rather this is a look, again focused on Dulles, at the intersection of US intelligence and the German resistance. Appraising as such, in other words, judging it for what it tried to do and not what it never tried to do, Miller succeeds in his task. No, there is not a lot of dramatic action, this is not a fictionalized novel of the period.
While the minimization of smaller details helped to make this more readable there is plenty of sources for those interested to look into if they desire. Rather than get stuck qualifying and citing everything within the text itself there are plenty of notes and other sources. Wonder where Miller found his information? With a minimal amount of due diligence, like turning to the back of the book, you can find 32 pages of notes and 12 pages of a bibliography. If you don't want to exert such Herculean effort then the bit you wonder about must not be too important to you.
The notes and bibliography also provide multiple opportunities for historians and/or those curious to follow their own lines of inquiry. I find such things to be a wonderful opportunity for delving deeper into an aspect of a story that interests me.
I would recommend this to readers of WWII history, intelligence and spy history and those interested in Dulles himself.
Reviewed from a copy made available through Goodreads' First Reads.
February 13, 2022
Agent 110: An American Spymaster and the German Resistance in WWII, by Scott Miller, is the story of Allen Dulles, the younger brother of John Foster Dulles, and his appointment by President Franklin Roosevelt as an OSS (essentially the forerunner to the CIA) operative in Switzerland during the Second World War. He was to make contact with certain anti-Nazi, anti-Hitler Germans and assist in their activities. While there he meets Mary Bancroft (no relation to the actress Ann Bancroft) who proves to be an effective and valuable partner (in more ways than one - no spy story would be complete without such a sidebar).
Among the Germans he encounters are Hans Gisevius, who later testifies at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials, and Fritz Kolbe, who supplied Dulles with copious amounts of classified German information, and even an SS General in the form of Karl Wolff. Furthermore, other members of the Abwehr, Germany’s military intelligence service within the Ministry of Defense and including counter-intelligence (ironic, that) also came forward to contact Dulles.
Dulles’ contribution to negotiations for the surrender of German forces in northern Italy to American forces in order to prevent that part of Italy from falling under the control of Communist forces, either by the Soviets or by Tito’s partisans, is also emphasized. If Scott Miller’s analysis is accurate then the West owes him far more than most realize.
Miller’s writing style is direct, and uncomplicated, yet well researched and insightful. A different perspective than your typical combat memoir, it is a credit to the espionage approach of warfare. Any serious student of the Second World War should add this book to their library.
Among the Germans he encounters are Hans Gisevius, who later testifies at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials, and Fritz Kolbe, who supplied Dulles with copious amounts of classified German information, and even an SS General in the form of Karl Wolff. Furthermore, other members of the Abwehr, Germany’s military intelligence service within the Ministry of Defense and including counter-intelligence (ironic, that) also came forward to contact Dulles.
Dulles’ contribution to negotiations for the surrender of German forces in northern Italy to American forces in order to prevent that part of Italy from falling under the control of Communist forces, either by the Soviets or by Tito’s partisans, is also emphasized. If Scott Miller’s analysis is accurate then the West owes him far more than most realize.
Miller’s writing style is direct, and uncomplicated, yet well researched and insightful. A different perspective than your typical combat memoir, it is a credit to the espionage approach of warfare. Any serious student of the Second World War should add this book to their library.
September 6, 2023
Don't bother. Do yourself a favour and never, ever touch this book. Ignore the other reviews. They are lying or were paid for. This book is basically a 286 page Seinfeld episode, because it's about nothing. Literally nothing happens. Allen Dulles goes nowhere and accomplishes absolutely nothing. If he had never lived. If his mistress turned spy and the 3 major contacts they "worked" had never decided to flip to the Allies, absolutely nothing would have changed. The war would have ended the exact same way. No lives would have been saved. No war criminals would have been captured.
If this book is believed, Allen never actively recruits any spies, at all. He has 3 of note fall into his lap and he wastes all of them. His first resource of note basically wastes the entire time writing a diary, monopolizing the time of Allen's mistress, whom by the way, also adds nothing to the story. In fact, the mention of Allen's wife and mistress and their activities add no bearing to the book, either, but boy is there ever a lot of time wasted on them, too.
The second contact Allen had was the wife of a dead war criminal, who tried to make money selling his diary, but she delayed endlessly and the war was all but decided by that time. So, that was also useless.
I held out some hope for the third and final contact, a Nazi General who was in direct contact with Hitler and Himmler, but he too was a complete waste of time. In fact, by the time he got around to talking to Allen, the Nazi high command was already holed up in the bunker for their last stand. So, once again, too little too late.
I hate myself for reading this book, but I have a compulsive personality. That's on me. Save yourselves.
If this book is believed, Allen never actively recruits any spies, at all. He has 3 of note fall into his lap and he wastes all of them. His first resource of note basically wastes the entire time writing a diary, monopolizing the time of Allen's mistress, whom by the way, also adds nothing to the story. In fact, the mention of Allen's wife and mistress and their activities add no bearing to the book, either, but boy is there ever a lot of time wasted on them, too.
The second contact Allen had was the wife of a dead war criminal, who tried to make money selling his diary, but she delayed endlessly and the war was all but decided by that time. So, that was also useless.
I held out some hope for the third and final contact, a Nazi General who was in direct contact with Hitler and Himmler, but he too was a complete waste of time. In fact, by the time he got around to talking to Allen, the Nazi high command was already holed up in the bunker for their last stand. So, once again, too little too late.
I hate myself for reading this book, but I have a compulsive personality. That's on me. Save yourselves.
November 7, 2019
A clear, accessible and insightful history of Dulles’ OSS career, in particular his assignment as Bern station chief.
Miller does a great job explaining the craft of intelligence, how little Dulles knew about it when he was assigned, and how he was able to do well anyway. Miller clearly explains the inner workings of OSS and its impact on the war and the postwar period, and does a good job providing a broad view of American espionage in Switzerland, at spies like Fritz Kolbe, at OSS contacts with the German resistance, and at Dulles’ quirks (like ignoring orders he didn’t like)
The narrative is engaging and dramatic, but it can also get a little dull at times. Some aspects of Dulles’ experience come off as rushed summaries, and sometimes Dulles himself comes off as a cipher; a lot of the book seems to deal more with the people he dealt with than with Dulles himself.
Also, at one point, Miller writes that Claude Dansey, assistant chief of SIS, believed Fritz Kolbe to be a double agent, and that Dansey believed Dulles to be ignorant of the risks involved. This assertion isn’t new; it was written about before the secrets of ULTRA were declassified. Dansey’s real concern was that, if the Germans caught Kolbe, they would take the precaution of changing their cipher systems. Dansey thought contact with Kolbe was unnecessary and wouldn’t turn up anything they weren’t getting from ULTRA. However, Dulles misinterpreted SIS’s position because he wasn’t in on the ULTRA secret.
A well-written and well-researched work.
Miller does a great job explaining the craft of intelligence, how little Dulles knew about it when he was assigned, and how he was able to do well anyway. Miller clearly explains the inner workings of OSS and its impact on the war and the postwar period, and does a good job providing a broad view of American espionage in Switzerland, at spies like Fritz Kolbe, at OSS contacts with the German resistance, and at Dulles’ quirks (like ignoring orders he didn’t like)
The narrative is engaging and dramatic, but it can also get a little dull at times. Some aspects of Dulles’ experience come off as rushed summaries, and sometimes Dulles himself comes off as a cipher; a lot of the book seems to deal more with the people he dealt with than with Dulles himself.
Also, at one point, Miller writes that Claude Dansey, assistant chief of SIS, believed Fritz Kolbe to be a double agent, and that Dansey believed Dulles to be ignorant of the risks involved. This assertion isn’t new; it was written about before the secrets of ULTRA were declassified. Dansey’s real concern was that, if the Germans caught Kolbe, they would take the precaution of changing their cipher systems. Dansey thought contact with Kolbe was unnecessary and wouldn’t turn up anything they weren’t getting from ULTRA. However, Dulles misinterpreted SIS’s position because he wasn’t in on the ULTRA secret.
A well-written and well-researched work.
July 5, 2025
Miller's biography of Dulles' time with the OSS is a captivating romance of modern espionage, during perhaps one of the most dire periods of war we'll ever see. While you could fill your own library with tales of devastation and brutality from all ends of the war, Miller is able to instill passion and lust in a time of great despair, highlighting all that makes spies so captivating to the general population.
While Dulles and the resistance never turned to complete a successful assassination attempt of Hitler, the many failed attempts leading through the book and the built intensity of the war's duration was excellently done. We all know how the war ends, but the tales of attempted coups against the Reich and the spy's role in the war - not to mention the fascinating setting of Switzerland being a neutral haven all in the middle of it - gives insight in the lesser 'big-budget Hollywood' aspects of war.
An interesting element to the story as well is that the OSS was built for the war and started in a small old building, and then torn down after. Dulles and Bancroft weren't necessarily trained spies, they were civilians thrown into the war effort, and must return to civility after the war. Miller does an excellent job at showing the inexperience of these individuals, how they had grown and become more adept to the field of espionage, and how Dulles couldn't quite leave it afterwards.
A more romantic, diplomatic take on an otherwise horrendous period in humanity.
While Dulles and the resistance never turned to complete a successful assassination attempt of Hitler, the many failed attempts leading through the book and the built intensity of the war's duration was excellently done. We all know how the war ends, but the tales of attempted coups against the Reich and the spy's role in the war - not to mention the fascinating setting of Switzerland being a neutral haven all in the middle of it - gives insight in the lesser 'big-budget Hollywood' aspects of war.
An interesting element to the story as well is that the OSS was built for the war and started in a small old building, and then torn down after. Dulles and Bancroft weren't necessarily trained spies, they were civilians thrown into the war effort, and must return to civility after the war. Miller does an excellent job at showing the inexperience of these individuals, how they had grown and become more adept to the field of espionage, and how Dulles couldn't quite leave it afterwards.
A more romantic, diplomatic take on an otherwise horrendous period in humanity.
December 17, 2017
I enjoyed this book, found it to be a fascinating read!
One often thinks of war as about infantry, tanks, and planes, but there is evidently a lot more that goes on behind the scenes in terms of espionage, secret deals and plots, and this book places you right there during the final years of WWII.
I was on the edge of my seat during several pages of this book while reading about events that shaped history, and could have cut different ways had the outcomes been different.
A couple additional observations from this book: One, the U.S. and Allied war departments did not take seriously enough the German underground war/Nazi resistance movement. Two, the U.S. placed way too much confidence in then ally The Soviet Union. Read the book for the details!
One often thinks of war as about infantry, tanks, and planes, but there is evidently a lot more that goes on behind the scenes in terms of espionage, secret deals and plots, and this book places you right there during the final years of WWII.
I was on the edge of my seat during several pages of this book while reading about events that shaped history, and could have cut different ways had the outcomes been different.
A couple additional observations from this book: One, the U.S. and Allied war departments did not take seriously enough the German underground war/Nazi resistance movement. Two, the U.S. placed way too much confidence in then ally The Soviet Union. Read the book for the details!
July 24, 2018
A very accessible history of the work of Allen Dulles (Director of the CIA during the cold war) during WWII, and especially the twilight of Naziism. Dulles was stationed in Switzerland, commanding the United States' espionage efforts there. From this position he led crucial operations and collected war-changing intelligence.
Written in very short chapters, it reads more like a series of short essays on related topics. Far from being a detriment, this makes the book very accessible for those who only have brief stretches of time to read (because, I don't know, maybe there are a bunch of children crawling around you).
Recommended for: WWII and Cold War Buffs, parents desperate to read a real book, but don't have time to read 20 pages in a go.
Written in very short chapters, it reads more like a series of short essays on related topics. Far from being a detriment, this makes the book very accessible for those who only have brief stretches of time to read (because, I don't know, maybe there are a bunch of children crawling around you).
Recommended for: WWII and Cold War Buffs, parents desperate to read a real book, but don't have time to read 20 pages in a go.
November 20, 2017
After reading AN HONEST SPY about the WWII German spy, Fritz Kolbe, who gave Americans enormous amounts of valuable information during the last years of the war I was ripe for another book about the agent Kolbe gave information to. That was AGENT 110, Allen Dulles, of the United States OSS. I did not get as engrossed in this book as the Kolbe story, but it certainly broadened my understanding of the place of intelligence work in world affairs, especially during wartime. I recooment this book to any who enjoy reading of the real life figures of history.
December 4, 2017
A very readable history of the German resistance during the war told from the perspective of Allen Dulles, the OSS station chief in Bern. From this neutral site he oversaw operations throughout Europe and gave particular attention to the resistance, which was not fully embraced by the Allied nations. He was also intimately involved in operations toward the end of the war that induced surrender of German forces in Italy. An interesting personal biography and history of some overlooked elements of this period.
September 25, 2019
Another insightful book into WW II and how the OSS and Allen Dulles had worked to negotiate peace agreements with German military in northern Italy. It also covers his work with resistance in Germany who had failed attempts to over throw or to kill Hitler. The book shows how life in Switzerland remained somewhat normal, but was a bit of a strange juxtaposition of spies from many Nations and it's close proximity to Germany allowed visits from some in the German resistance. Dulles also had early insights that were largely ignored about the influence of the Soviets.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 26, 2017
Readable but in repeatedly pointing out that Roosevelt was wrong to insist on Germany's unconditional surrender it ignores one of the major causes of the resentment of Germans after WWI - the feeling that their military leadership had sold them out in surrendering. In fact the Allies in WWI did not invade Germany before the surrender. Roosevelt wanted unconditional surrender in part because he wanted WWII to be the last war with Germany.
October 14, 2023
This book is basically a 286 page Seinfeld episode, because it's about nothing. Literally nothing happens. Allen Dulles goes nowhere and accomplishes absolutely nothing. If he had never lived, if his mistress turned spy and the 3 major contacts they "worked" had never decided to flip to the Allies, absolutely nothing would have changed. The war would have ended the exact same way. No lives would have been saved. No war criminals would have been captured.
If this book is believed, Allen never actively recruits any spies, at all. He has 3 of note fall into his lap and he wastes all of them. His first resource of note basically wastes the entire time writing a diary, monopolizing the time of Allen's mistress, whom by the way, also adds nothing to the story. In fact, the mention of Allen's wife and mistress and their activities add no bearing to the book, either, but boy is there ever a lot of time wasted on them, too.
The second contact Allen had was the wife of a dead war criminal, who tried to make money selling his diary, but she delayed endlessly and the war was all but decided by that time. So, that was also useless.
I held out some hope for the third and final contact, a Nazi General who was in direct contact with Hitler and Himmler, but he too was a complete waste of time. In fact, by the time he got around to talking to Allen, the Nazi high command was already holed up in the bunker for their last stand. So, once again, too little too late.
I hate myself for reading this book, but I have a compulsive personality. That's on me. Save yourselves.
If this book is believed, Allen never actively recruits any spies, at all. He has 3 of note fall into his lap and he wastes all of them. His first resource of note basically wastes the entire time writing a diary, monopolizing the time of Allen's mistress, whom by the way, also adds nothing to the story. In fact, the mention of Allen's wife and mistress and their activities add no bearing to the book, either, but boy is there ever a lot of time wasted on them, too.
The second contact Allen had was the wife of a dead war criminal, who tried to make money selling his diary, but she delayed endlessly and the war was all but decided by that time. So, that was also useless.
I held out some hope for the third and final contact, a Nazi General who was in direct contact with Hitler and Himmler, but he too was a complete waste of time. In fact, by the time he got around to talking to Allen, the Nazi high command was already holed up in the bunker for their last stand. So, once again, too little too late.
I hate myself for reading this book, but I have a compulsive personality. That's on me. Save yourselves.
September 22, 2020
This is a good, not great, book. It is the story of Allen Dulles and his work during World War II as the lead OSS officer stationed in Switzerland. It reports on his work helping the German resistance movement, primarily with Germans of the military and upper-class. Most of it seemed to come of naught, especially Operation Sunrise - the effort to surrender the German forces in Italy.
March 17, 2019
Interesting piece of history regarding possible endings of WWII with Germany
Did we really need an unconditional surrender? How much more did this cost in wealth and lives? There is always the aftermath of war, and it impacts the future of all.
Did we really need an unconditional surrender? How much more did this cost in wealth and lives? There is always the aftermath of war, and it impacts the future of all.
May 16, 2020
Unrelatable, couldn't make it all the way through. Story of privileged wealthy people living a life a common person couldn't attain. Example of the taxpayer supporting the already wealthy aristocrats of America.
July 14, 2017
An interesting story of Nazi-era spycraft. There are historical details with names one will recognize.
July 26, 2017
interesting
September 2, 2017
See synopsis above.
Very interesting read. Lots of history as to how things got to be as they are today, especially in Europe. Behind the scenes Cold War stuff.
Very interesting read. Lots of history as to how things got to be as they are today, especially in Europe. Behind the scenes Cold War stuff.
October 19, 2017
A cool account of how Dulles interacted with the German resistance.
November 23, 2017
Pretty interesting book that sheds some light on the early days of the OSS and Allen Dulles, as well as the attempted assassination of Adolf Hitler.
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