Scholars of Mayhem

Only at the end of his life did Guiet's father reveal that he was the lone American (but a native French speaker) on an SOE four-person commando team dropped behind German lines in France to commit sabotage and aid the Resistance. Personal story, big history.

Starred review from May 1, 2019
A remarkable World War II story of an American within the French Resistance. Guiet teams up with former Fortune senior features editor Smith to tell the story of Guiet's father, Jean Claude Guiet (1924-2013). At the outbreak of war, Jean Claude and his brother, Pierre, got stuck in France for a year, giving them valuable experience in French life. Fluent in idiomatic French, they were prime targets for recruitment by the Office of Strategic Services, the precursor to the CIA. OSS head Bill Donovan drew up the plan for American spy services with Britain's Special Operations Executive. Both brothers were sent to England, Pierre to a desk job and Jean Claude to rigorous training in codes, wireless operations, parachuting, and unconventional warfare. Then he was assigned to an operations group named "Salesman II," along with three others: Violette the messenger, Philippe the leader, and Bob the explosives expert (last names were never used). The authors make it absolutely clear that they were not spies but rather secret agents, trained for mayhem. Their job was to organize and galvanize the "maquisards," the guerrilla army, to create havoc, and to prevent Nazi troops and materiel from reaching the D-Day landing sites. Though poor weather delayed their arrival in Limoges until the day after D-Day, they wasted no time finding the maquisards. The problem was to convince them all to work together. Communists, socialists, and anarchists all disagreed and often trusted no one. Philippe managed to pull everyone together, which left the matter of getting Allied equipment where it was needed. Those drops were epic in their volume, one involving 72 plane loads; another featured tricolor parachutes, which incurred Nazi wrath. In this page-turning, exciting book, the authors demonstrate an eye for significant details and a strong feel for the players. Any World War II buff will love this tale of heroism.

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August 5, 2019
In this thrilling true story, Guiet and journalist Smith take readers on a mission with an elite unit of the Special Operations Executive, Winston Churchill’s secret espionage organization. Jean Claude Guiet (the coauthor’s father), a dual citizen of France and the U.S. who was raised in the former and spoke near-accentless French, was recruited as the wireless expert for the team at age 20. His teammates were Violette Szabo, courier and messenger; Bob Maloubier, weapons and training specialist; and Phillipe Liewer, their leader. Guiet and Smith piece together letters, coded reports, and interview transcripts to reconstruct the activities of the team, which parachuted into occupied France near Limoges the day after D-Day to irritate, frustrate, and wreak havoc on a Nazi Panzer tank division, preventing it from progressing to Normandy Beach, and to coordinate air drops of weapons to the local resisters. As the authors write, “They were not expected to survive,” but the operation, code-named Salesmen II, was highly successful, stopping the Panzer tanks’ progress and eventually retaking villages from the Nazi occupiers. The authors combine strong research and well-paced, suspenseful writing. This nail-biting real-life spy tale will enthrall readers.

May 15, 2019
Jean Claude Guiet was a highly intelligent, cultured, and handsome Franco-American. Having barely escaped from a visit to France when the Nazis invaded, Guiet was soon recruited to serve in the Allied Special Operations efforts to resist Nazi occupation. This secret agent wrote an unpublished memoir, and that, along with official documents, provide the source materials for this astonishing tale of heroic clandestine work during WWII written by journalist Smith and Guiet's son. As part of Operation Salesman II, Guiet and his team played a pivotal role in preventing an elite SS Panzer division from moving north to counterattack the Allied landings in Normandy. This well-composed and gripping story contains fresh and illuminating details about the organization and methodology of England's Special Operations Executive and the America's Office of Strategic Services. Serving as the wireless operator for a team that supplied, trained, and led French Maquis guerrillas was only the opening act in Guiet's long, covert career. Scholars of Mayhem lives up to its enticing title. It's an exciting, informative, and stirring tribute to a heretofore secret war hero's life.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)