Wild Bill Donovan
The Spymaster Who Created the OSS and Modern American Espionage
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Narrated by:
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Johnny Heller
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By:
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Douglas Waller
About this listen
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, and of powerful men pitted against one another.
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This is the book the CIA does not want you to read. For the last 60 years, the CIA has maintained a formidable reputation in spite of its terrible record, never disclosing its blunders to the American public. It spun its own truth to the nation while reality lay buried in classified archives. Now, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Tim Weiner offers a stunning indictment of the CIA, a deeply flawed organization that has never deserved America's confidence.
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Flawed but Important
- By Michael on 07-18-08
By: Tim Weiner
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Agent Garbo
- The Brilliant, Eccentric Secret Agent Who Tricked Hitler & Saved D-Day
- By: Stephan Talty
- Narrated by: Clinton Wade
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Before he remade himself as the master spy known as Garbo, Juan Pujol was nothing more than a Barcelona poultry farmer. But as Garbo, he turned in a masterpiece of deception that changed the course of World War II. Posing as the Nazis’ only reliable spy inside England, he created an imaginary million-man army, invented armadas out of thin air, and brought a vast network of fictional subagents to life. The scheme culminated on June 6, 1944, when Garbo convinced the Germans that the Allied forces approaching Normandy were just a feint - the real invasion would come at Calais.
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Good story, writing overly dramatic
- By Matthew on 08-13-13
By: Stephan Talty
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The Main Enemy
- The Inside Story of the CIA's Final Showdown with the KGB
- By: Milton Bearden, James Risen
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 19 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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A landmark collaboration between a thirty-year veteran of the CIA and a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, The Main Enemy is the inside story of the CIA-KGB spy wars, told through the actions of the men who fought them. Based on hundreds of interviews with operatives from both sides, The Main Enemy puts us inside the heads of CIA officers as they dodge surveillance and walk into violent ambushes in Moscow. This is the story of the generation of spies who came of age in the shadow of the Cuban missile crisis and rose to run the CIA and KGB in the last days of the Cold War.
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A masterpiece of espionage history
- By kucherv on 08-21-18
By: Milton Bearden, and others
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Shadow Warriors of World War II
- The Daring Women of the OSS and SOE
- By: Gordon Thomas, Greg Lewis
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
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They were told that the only crime they must never commit was to be caught. Women of enormous cunning and strength of will, the Shadow Warriors' stories have remained largely untold - until now. In a dramatic tale of espionage and conspiracy in World War II, Shadow Warriors of World War II unveils the history of the courageous women who volunteered to work behind enemy lines.
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Excellent telling of a story of women's strength, courage and intelligence
- By Ralph's mother on 02-24-17
By: Gordon Thomas, and others
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The Brilliant Disaster
- JFK, Castro, and America's Doomed Invasion of Cuba
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- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
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The U.S.-backed military invasion of Cuba in 1961 remains one of the most ill-fated blunders in American history, with echoes of the event reverberating even today. Despite the Kennedy administration’s initial public insistence that the United States had nothing to do with the invasion, it soon became clear that the complex operation had been planned and approved by the best and brightest minds at the highest reaches of Washington, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff and President John F. Kennedy himself.
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US Government Perspective
- By Kindle Customer on 05-25-11
By: Jim Rasenberger
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Destination Casablanca
- Exile, Espionage, and the Battle for North Africa in World War II
- By: Meredith Hindley
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In November 1942, as a part of Operation Torch, 33,000 American soldiers sailed undetected across the Atlantic and stormed the beaches of French Morocco. Seventy-four hours later, the Americans controlled the country and one of the most valuable wartime ports: Casablanca. In the years preceding, Casablanca had evolved from an exotic travel destination to a key military target after France's surrender to Germany. Jewish refugees from Europe poured in, hoping to obtain visas and passage to the United States and beyond.
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A city of intrigue
- By David on 11-30-17
By: Meredith Hindley
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Charlie Wilson's War
- The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History
- By: George Crile
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 20 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Charlie Wilson's War is the untold story behind the last battle of the Cold War and how it fueled the rise of militant Islam. George Crile tells how Charlie Wilson, a maverick congressman from east Texas, conspired with a rogue CIA operative to launch the biggest, meanest, and most successful covert operation in the agency's history.
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The REAL Story of the Middle East and the CIA
- By Dale on 08-24-04
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Roosevelt's Centurions
- FDR and the Commanders He Led to Victory in World War II
- By: Joseph E. Persico
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
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All American presidents are commanders in chief by law. Few perform as such in practice. In Roosevelt’s Centurions, distinguished historian Joseph E. Persico reveals how, during World War II, Franklin D. Roosevelt seized the levers of wartime power like no president since Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. Declaring himself "Dr. Win-the-War", FDR assumed the role of strategist in chief, and, though surrounded by star-studded generals and admirals, he made clear who was running the war. FDR was a hands-on war leader, involving himself in everything from choosing bomber targets to planning naval convoys to the design of landing craft.
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Superficial description of World War II
- By Mike From Mesa on 06-23-13
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Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy
- Ernest Hemingway's Secret Adventures, 1935-1961
- By: Nicholas Reynolds
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
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While he was the curator of the CIA Museum, Nicholas Reynolds, a longtime military intelligence expert, began to discover tantalizing clues that suggested Ernest Hemingway's involvement in the Second World War was much more complex and dangerous than has been previously understood. Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy brings to light for the first time this riveting secret side of Hemingway's life - when he worked closely with both the American OSS and the Soviet NKVD to defeat Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.
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So entertaining you'd think it was fiction
- By Austin on 03-16-17
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Operation Columba - The Secret Pigeon Service
- The Untold Story of World War II Resistance in Europe
- By: Gordon Corera
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
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Gordon Corera uses declassified documents and extensive original research to tell the story of the Operation Columba and the Secret Pigeon Service for the first time. A tale of wartime espionage, bitter rivalries, extraordinary courage, astonishing betrayal, harrowing tragedy, and a quirky, quarrelsome band of spy masters and their special mission, Operation Columba opens a fascinating new chapter in the annals of World War II. It is ultimately, the story of how, in one of the darkest and most dangerous times in history, under threat of death, people bravely chose to resist.
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Belgium Pigeon
- By Don Rottiers on 08-10-21
By: Gordon Corera
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What listeners say about Wild Bill Donovan
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Diane
- 04-23-12
Birth of the Spyworks Industry
I was drawn to this title primarily because of my role as an associate in the early 1980s of the now defunct NYC office of the law firm, Donovan Leisure Newton & Irvine, which claimed "Wild Bill" as its primary founder. A number of the vestiges of Donovan remained at that time, including several elderly, but rarely seen, senior partners and the afternoon tea caddy visit to each office.
I found some of the book quite interesting, including Donovan's early years and his interactions with J. Edgar Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt. There were long sections that dragged--at least for me--relating to WWII strategies and political infighting. I suspect that these sections would be of more interest to aficionados of WWII familiar with the various characters and strategies influenced by the role of the OSS.
What does come across clearly in this book is a portrait of Donovan as a free-wheeling lawyer and businessman who, either courageously or recklessly, depending on your point of view, but always with total self-confidence, threw himself into the realm of subterfuge in what he believed was the best interests of his country. Indeed, his style is can still often be detected in the modus operandi of today's CIA.
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5 people found this helpful
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- BigWally
- 06-06-18
Review of a biography of William Donovan
This is a fascinating biography of the man who developed the OSS which was the forerunner of the CIA. Donovan was a complex man who loved his country and wanted to protect the USA from aliens intent on harming the country. Single handedly, he developed the spy agency which has guarded us from enemies abroad.
I can highly recommend this biography with one minor exception.
My only complaint is that the reader has a pronounced nasal quality which I found very annoying. I wish they had chosen a better reader! Even with that complaint I still recommend the book.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Edward
- 10-29-12
Fair story, almost to much detail
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
Yes, because I learn that the legend of Bill Donovan is partly true and partly fiction.
What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)
Just a wrap up of what happened following his death.
Have you listened to any of Johnny Heller’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
No
Do you think Wild Bill Donovan needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?
No follow up needed. The story of the CIA had been told.
Any additional comments?
None
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- Amazon Customer who canceled Prime
- 08-28-18
Johnny Heller is a miserable narrator
This is a fascinating story, but Johnny Heller is a miserable narrator. He reads too fast!! And his nasal delivery is irritating.
And why the heck is Alexa so stupid that she cannot read at 3/4 speed like my iPad??
Like every war America has ever fought, the rich and or the crooked, have taken advantage of the situation at the expense of the unknown, common soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Most men lead lives of quiet desperation, but eventually even the rich and famous return to dust.
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1 person found this helpful
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- emilio squillante
- 09-13-21
good but it was no Legacy of Ashes.
makes you want to scream at the end of your rope, raise the bkack flag. and commence slitting the throats if the politicos. was that reallythe few number of spies the FBI uncovered on their own investigations?
An interesting account of War Command in the Battle pf gibberish, not much to be proud of in this account of a good idea soured by WASHINGTON politics.
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- Douglas G Luccio
- 08-22-16
American James Bond
Fascinating biography of a spymaster who was ahead of his time. His personal life reads like a political scandal, while his professional life is one courageous chapter after another. He laid the groundwork for the CIA and US Special Operations Command while advancing US interests during WWII. Strongly recommend.
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- Joanne
- 07-11-16
Adventure Part 1
This story was driven by the force of personality of Donovan.; an innovator with ambition and poor relationship skills in his career and his personal life. The captivating way this story was written has led me select Waller's Disciples as my Adventure Part 2.
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- Donald
- 10-13-24
overall great read
this is like chapter one of the the history of american spy craft.. chapter 2 would be the devils chessboard, which picks up where this leaves off offering a great history of the CIA.
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- David Radlauer
- 09-05-24
Warts and all
An unflinching and detailed biography of America’s spymaster in WWII, warts and all.
His perspicacity, leadership and seat of the pants intelligence are portrayed. His headstrong, pugnacious and competitive nature were both his weaknesses and assets.
I will listen to this narrator read any title on almost any topic.
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- hunt16
- 10-21-19
It is a fun story about just the man we needed.
Bill Donovan was just the man for the times and this story does honor.
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