Roosevelt's Secret War

July 16, 2001
Blending anecdotes, speculations and documented facts into an exciting story of collecting and transmitting information in wartime, Persico (Nuremburg: Infamy on Trial) offers a clear-eyed take on FDR's approach to intelligence. For Persico, Roosevelt was someone to whom dissimulation was second nature, and who enjoyed for their own sake the trappings of secret agentry: clandestine meetings, reports done in invisible ink, codes and ciphers. Roosevelt built espionage into the very structure of American government well before Pearl Harbor, Persico shows. The president preferred human sources over electronic ones and the intuition of field agents to the conclusions of technocrats, but he incorporated electronic intelligence comprehensively into strategic and operational planning. Roosevelt's was the decisive influence in creating the Office of Strategic Services. Under "Wild Bill" Donovan, this initially unstable amalgam of dilettantes, poseurs and experts achieved an enviable record of successes during the war. Roosevelt, however, was by no means dominated by his intelligence services. As we see him here, the president listened, processed and drew his own conclusions. He rejected, for example, repeated OSS recommendations to modify the principle of unconditional surrender rather than risk exacerbating Stalin's distrust of the Western alliance, and he respected the Faustian bargain that kept Russia in the war, even in the face of growing evidence that the U.S. was the target of a major Soviet espionage offensive. Such examples are rife throughout the book, showing how Roosevelt's use of intelligence decisively shaped the war and helped define the peace that followed. (On-sale Oct. 9)Forecast:This book should sell solidly to intelligence enthusiasts, but it doesn't connect clearly to any current issues or make major revelations, and is not quite strong enough to create its own buzz.

August 1, 2001
Philatelist turned President Franklin D. Roosevelt was intrigued by the world and eager to know what other nations were doing. This book keys in on the Machiavellian side of his personality, meshing it with his interest in secrecy. The author of four previous books on espionage and World War II, the biographer of Nelson A. Rockefeller (The Imperial Rockefeller), and the collaborator on Colin Powell's autobiography (My American Journey), Persico is well prepared to tackle the topic of FDR and espionage. While there are no startling revelations, the text covers a fascinating dimension of the American presidency. Persico contrasts FDR's dissembling with Truman's dislike of double-dealing; the latter terminated the OSS only to create the CIA within two years after the start of the Cold War. The author concludes that espionage is, ironically, most successfully used by leaders of free societies. World War II historians and military buffs will welcome this extremely well-written book. Recommended for all libraries. William D. Pederson, Louisiana State Univ., Shreveport

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2001
Forced to fight the war as a military operation, a public relations exercise, a diplomatic mission, and an industrial enterprise, FDR relished the many hats he wore during the crisis years of World War II. Suited by nature, intelligence, and temperament to intrigue and subterfuge, he immensely enjoyed his role as the definitive American spymaster. Credited with institutionalizing espionage in the U.S. government, FDR was responsible for the creation of the OSS and zealously guarded the data gathered by his handpicked ring of agents. Accepting ultimate responsibility for espionage missions, he was privy to an astounding array of intelligence information pertaining to Japanese, German, and Russian motivations, operations, and strategies. Perhaps most fascinating of all was what information an extremely pragmatic FDR decided to utilize for the war effort and what information he tacitly chose to ignore. The first comprehensive account of the definitive role that espionage played in FDR's wartime agenda.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)