Office of Strategic Services 1942–45: The World War II Origins of the CIA: Elite Eugene Liptak Osprey Publishing

Office of Strategic Services 1942–45

The World War II Origins of the CIA

Office of Strategic Services 1942–45

The World War II Origins of the CIA

Description

Osprey's elite series title for the origins of the CIA during World War II (1939-1945). The Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency, was founded in 1942 by William 'Wild Bill' Donovan under the direction of President Roosevelt, who realized the need to improve intelligence during wartime. A rigorous recruitment process enlisted agents from both the armed services and civilians to produce operational groups specializing in different foreign areas including Italy, Norway, Yugoslavia and China. At its peak in 1944, the number of men and women working in the service totaled nearly 13,500.

This intriguing story of the origins and development of the American espionage forces covers all of the different departments involved, with a particular emphasis on the courageous teams operating in the field. The volume is illustrated with many photographs, including images from the film director John Ford who led the OSS Photographic Unit and parachuted into Burma in 1943.

Establishment of the OSS, June 1942 - founding director William J.Donovan * Size and composition * OSS branches and operations: secret intelligence, special operations, operational groups, maritime units, morale opeations, counter-espionage (X-2), Detachment 101, research & analysis, research & development, field photographic * Weapons * Equipment - communications, documentation, parachute gear, underwater gear, sabotage devices, clothing, miscellaneous kit * Transportation - 'Carpetbagger' B-24 Libeators, RAF Special Duty squadrons, USN PT-boats * Summary and conclusions

Product details

Published	Aug 18 2009
Format	Paperback
Edition	1st
Extent	64
ISBN	9781846034633
Imprint	Osprey Publishing
Illustrations	39 b/w; 9 col
Dimensions	248 x 184 mm
Series	Elite
Short code	ELI 173
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing

Author

Eugene Liptak

Illustrator

Richard Hook

Richard Hook was born in 1938 and trained at Reiga…

If it were possible to take the most comprehensive history of the Office of Strategic Services (the 'OSS') and then abstract it so that the most important information was concentrated into a brief sixty-four page volume, you would have a very valuable reference tool. Fortunately, Eugene Liptak, with the help of illustrator Richard Hook, has given us just such a resource in Office of Strategic Services 1942-1945... Hook's illustrations are wonderful and add an additional layer of detail to Liptak's research... Office of Strategic Services 1942-1945: The World War II Origins of the CIA is a great research volume for any library.

David Mitchell, World War II Forums, ww2f.com (January 2010)
Eugene Liptak's Office of Strategic Services provides a review of the US wartime espionage and covert operations agency during the war, following their tactics and the conflicts behind their operations. Rare photos and original artwork lends to the effort.

The Bookwatch (December 2009)
Author Eugene Liptak does a great job of telling the story of this large and quite varied organization, going through and explaining the various sections such as Secret Intelligence, Special Operations, X-2 Counterespionage, Communications, Research and Analysis and many others. It also covers some of the more successful operations in North Africa, Norway, Italy, China, and Thailand, to name a few.

Scott Van Aken, Modeling Madness (November 2009)