The Dirty Tricks Department: Stanley Lovell, the OSS, and the Masterminds of World War II Secret Warfare
Written by John Lisle
Narrated by Pete Cross
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
"In this oddly entertaining audiobook, narrator Pete Cross takes listeners through the many experiments and devices created by the R&D branch of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during WWII... Listeners will be both transfixed and horrified by the decisions weighed, and taken." - AudioFile Magazine
John Lisle reveals the untold story of the OSS Research and Development Branch—The Dirty Tricks Department—and its role in World War II.
In the summer of 1942, Stanley Lovell, a renowned industrial chemist, received a mysterious order to report to an unfamiliar building in Washington, D.C. When he arrived, he was led to a barren room where he waited to meet the man who had summoned him. After a disconcerting amount of time, William “Wild Bill” Donovan, the head of the OSS, walked in the door. “You know your Sherlock Holmes, of course,” Donovan said as an introduction. “Professor Moriarty is the man I want for my staff…I think you’re it.”
Following this life-changing encounter, Lovell became the head of a secret group of scientists who developed dirty tricks for the OSS, the precursor to the CIA. Their inventions included bat bombs, suicide pills, fighting knives, silent pistols, and camouflaged explosives. Moreover, they forged documents for undercover agents, plotted the assassination of foreign leaders, and performed truth drug experiments on unsuspecting subjects.
Based on extensive archival research and personal interviews, The Dirty Tricks Department tells the story of these scheming scientists, explores the moral dilemmas that they faced, and reveals their dark legacy of directly inspiring the most infamous program in CIA history: MKULTRA.
A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.
John Lisle
JOHN LISLE has a Ph.D. in history from the University of Texas, where he is now a professor of the history of science. His first book, The Dirty Tricks Department, tells the story of the scientists who developed secret weapons, documents, and disguises for the OSS during World War II. He has received research and writing awards from the National Academy of Sciences, the American Institute of Physics, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. His work has been published in Skeptic, Scientific American, Smithsonian Magazine, and elsewhere.
Related to The Dirty Tricks Department
Related audiobooks
The OSS and CIA: The History of America’s Intelligence Community during World War II and the Establishment of the Central Intelligence Agency Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5V Is For Victory Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Day of Deceit: The Truth About FDR and Pearl Harbor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wild Bill Donovan: The Spymaster Who Created the OSS and Modern American Espionage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Nazi Spy Ring in America: Hitler's Agents, the FBI, and the Case That Stirred the Nation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings500 Days: Secrets and Lies in the Terror Wars Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Midnight: The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Operation Gladio: The Unholy Alliance Between the Vatican, the CIA, and the Mafia Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Disciples: The World War II Missions of the CIA Directors Who Fought for Wild Bill Donovan Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Public Enemies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Our Man in Tokyo: An American Ambassador and the Countdown to Pearl Harbor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mayday 1971: A White House at War, a Revolt in the Streets, and the Untold History of America's Biggest Mass Arrest Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Saboteur: The Aristocrat Who Became France's Most Daring Anti-Nazi Commando Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rumsfeld's War: The Untold Story of America's Anti-Terrorist Commander Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Spymasters: How the CIA's Directors Shape History and Guard the Future Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sleeper Agent: The Atomic Spy in America Who Got Away Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Spy Who Knew Too Much: An Ex-CIA Officer’s Quest Through a Legacy of Betrayal Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In the Enemy's House: The Secret Saga of the FBI Agent and the Code Breaker Who Caught the Russian Spies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Operation Underworld: How the Mafia and US Government Teamed Up to Win World War II Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCode Name Blue Wren: The True Story of America's Most Dangerous Female Spy—and the Sister She Betrayed Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Main Enemy: The Inside Story of the CIA's Final Showdown with the KGB Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Betrayal in Berlin: The True Story of the Cold War's Most Audacious Espionage Operation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beijing Rules: How China Weaponized Its Economy to Confront the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Pentagon Papers: The Secret History of the Vietnam War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ghost: The Secret Life of CIA Spymaster James Jesus Angleton Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Red Memory: The Afterlives of China's Cultural Revolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Wars & Military For You
77 Days of February: Living and Dying in Ukraine, Told by the Nation’s Own Journalists Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of September 11, 2001 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Valiant Women: The Extraordinary American Servicewomen Who Helped Win World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You're Stepping on My Cloak and Dagger Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Book of Five Rings Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Korean War: A History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Palestine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ghosts of Honolulu: A Japanese Spy, A Japanese American Spy Hunter, and the Untold Story of Pearl Harbor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Last Kingdom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When I Come Home Again: 'A page-turning literary gem' THE TIMES, BEST BOOKS OF 2020 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Shortest History of Israel and Palestine: From Zionism to Intifadas and the Struggle for Peace Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rape of Nanking: The History and Legacy of the Notorious Massacre during the Second Sino-Japanese War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Founding Mothers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Making of the Atomic Bomb: 25th Anniversary Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Strategy Masters: The Prince, The Art of War, and The Gallic Wars Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Helmet for My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin - Book Summary: How U.S. Navy SEALS Lead And Win Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for The Dirty Tricks Department
15 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great book very informative thank you for writing this