The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington | 
 enlarge | Author: Jennet Conant
Publisher: Simon Schuster
Category: Book
List Price: $27.95
Buy New: $17.15
You Save: $10.80 (39%)
New (46) Used (16) Collectible (1) from $16.80
Rating:  31 reviews
Sales Rank: 1766
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st Simon Schuster Hardcover Ed
Pages: 416
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6 x 1.4
ISBN: 0743294580
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.5486410973
EAN: 9780743294584
ASIN: 0743294580
Publication Date: September 9, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
strongAmazon Best of the Month, September 2008/strong: Long before Willy Wonka sent out those five Golden Tickets, Roald Dahl lived a life that was more James Bond than emJames and the Giant Peach/em. After blinding headaches cut short his distinguished career as a Royal Air Force fighter pilot, Dahl became part of an elite group of British spies working against the United States' neutrality at the onset of World War II. emThe Irregulars/em is a brilliant profile of Dahl's lesser-known profession, embracing a real-life storyline of suave debauchery, clandestine motives, and afternoon cocktails. If this sounds oddly familiar, it's no coincidence: both Ian Fleming (the creator of 007) and Bill Stephenson (the legendary spymaster rumored to be the inspiration for Bond) were members of the same outfit. Although "Dahl...Roald Dahl" doesn't quite carry the same debonair ring, there is no discrediting this fascinating look at the British author's covert service to the Allied cause during WWII. --emDave Callanan/embr /br /
Product Description
When Roald Dahl, a dashing young wounded RAF pilot, took up his post at the British Embassy in Washington in 1942, his assignment was to use his good looks, wit, and considerable charm to gain access to the most powerful figures in American political life. A patriot eager to do his part to save his country from a Nazi invasion, he invaded the upper reaches of the U.S. government and Georgetown society, winning over First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and her husband, Franklin; befriending wartime leaders from Henry Wallace to Henry Morgenthau; and seducing the glamorous freshman congresswoman Clare Boothe Luce. PDahl would soon be caught up in a complex web of deception masterminded by William Stephenson, aka Intrepid, Churchill's legendary spy chief, who, with President Roosevelt's tacit permission, mounted a secret campaign of propaganda and political subversion to weaken American isolationist forces, bring the country into the war against Germany, and influence U.S. policy in favor of England. Known as the British Security Coordination (BSC) -- though the initiated preferred to think of themselves as the Baker Street Irregulars in honor of the amateurs who aided Sherlock Holmes -- these audacious agents planted British propaganda in American newspapers and radio programs, covertly influenced leading journalists -- including Drew Pearson, Walter Winchell, and Walter Lippmann -- harassed prominent isolationists and anti-New Dealers, and plotted against American corporations that did business with the Third Reich. PIn an account better than spy fiction, Jennet Conant shows Dahl progressing from reluctant diplomat to sly man-about-town, parlaying his morale-boosting wartime propaganda work into a successful career as an author, which leads to his entree into the Roosevelt White House and Hyde Park and initiation into British intelligence's elite dirty tricks squad, all in less than three years. He and his colorful coconspirators -- David Ogilvy, Ian Fleming, and Ivar Bryce, recruited more for their imagination and dramatic flair than any experience in the spy business -- gossiped, bugged, and often hilariously bungled their way across Washington, doing their best to carry out their cloak-and-dagger assignments, support the fledgling American intelligence agency (the OSS), and see that Roosevelt was elected to an unprecedented fourth term. PIt is an extraordinary tale of deceit, double-dealing, and moral ambiguity -- all in the name of victory. Richly detailed and meticulously researched, Conant's compelling narrative draws on never-before-seen wartime letters, diaries, and interviews and provides a rare, and remarkably candid, insider's view of the counterintelligence game during the tumultuous days of World War II.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 26 more reviews...
 It is what it is. November 21, 2008
C. R. Swanson (Phoenix)
So up front let me say, I haven't finished this book. I probably won't. It's not bad or anything like that, just a bit... uninteresting. This is something of a surprise since I like reading about WWII and loved Roald Dahl's books back when I was a wee youngster. br / br /It's not poorly written or anything, it's just that the subject completely failed to grab my attention. I wish I could say more here, but I really can't. It's possible you may enjoy it more than I did.
Roald Dahl: more than just the author of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"! November 20, 2008
D. Chou (Los Angeles, CA USA)
Being an avid fan of Roald Dahl's many fascinating books, I was immediately drawn to this book about his real life exploits as a spy during World War II. Interestingly, Dahl was also the screenplay writer for the movie, "You Only Live Twice" featuring James Bond, 007, world famous fictional spy created by one of Dahl's espionage colleagues, Ian Fleming. br / br /Conant obviously did extensive research into the propaganda campaign conducted by the British Security Coordination (BSC)in Washington during WWII. Being an American Ally, this British espionage was more of a coercion of influential American politicians, journalists, and the American public into full support of allied forces and later official entrance into the war. The author also provides photos of Dahl and other renowned personalities, including famous women who were swooned by Dahl's charms. Finally, an index/notes of important abbrevations, notable quotes with sources, and a very thorough bibliography. br / br /This book was thoroughly entertaining: not only providing the intricacies of BSC's deft usage of flamboyant personalities of Dahl and cohorts to achieve their objectives but also lends insight into the minds and behaviors of those involved. Overall a satisfying book certainly worthy of the big screen. Jolly good show! br / br /
 Interesting as History and as Biography, Both Entertaining and Important November 19, 2008
Book Fan (California)
This remarkable book can be read for so many purposes. It is an interesting and readable account of the deeds and trickery of the British Security Council in wartime Washington DC, concentrating on Roald Dahl, but including many many other politicians and future celebrities who crossed his path. The author has pulled together a detailed account drawn from access to all sorts of archives, letters, and interviews. br / br /For those who have ready Dahl's own accounts of his early life, this is the next chapter: who he hung out with, who were his friends, what he did during WWII, how he combined what appeared to be a glitzy social life with his intelligence activities. The rest of his life is briefly given at the end. br / br /I am not a historian, but I believe that it is important for everyone to be aware of how the behind-the-scenes stories of world events are often very different than it appears. This book expands greatly on the activities in Washington DC recounted in _A Man Called Intrepid_. History repeats, and part of this book is about "the shocking willingness of the American press to peddle foreign propaganda aimed at leading the country into war." (p. xvii, sound familiar?). br / br /Fans of biography and those who want to know more about celebrities of the time, (the rich, Hollywood, writers, politicians, and socialites) will enjoy the tidbits about those with who Dahl dealt, what happened during dinner parties, who did what with who, etc., as well as their intelligence activities, like a test of a supposed truth-serum, and so forth. I enjoyed seeing some that I knew only as names brought to life as real people who did and said things, and learning about how they contributed to the war effort. br / br /There are lots of interesting detailed anecdotes. To illustrate, there is an account (p 131) of Roosevelt being helped from his wheel chair to his specially modified hand-lever car and him driving off -- generally there are no accounts which reference Roosevelt's paraplegia due to polio. br / br /Some may feel this book is a collection of celebrity stories, which it is. I think it is also an important and carefully documented record of history of the what happened during that era.
Good biography but missing spy story November 18, 2008
J. Rudy (Fairfax, VA)
Jennet Conant discusses the clandestine activities of popular children's author Roald Dahl. I was looking for a fascinating tale of wartime intrigue in Washington DC and instead found a biography that was rich in gossip, but lacking the many details of a great spy novel. br / br /A great spy novel should describe the strategic objectives of the organization, and then describe the actions that align to that strategy. For example, Conant describes the efforts to counter Pan Am's post-World War II domination of commercial air routes. Dahl was handed a pamphlet describing Pan Am's plan, so he took photos of it and passed it back to his handlers. From my perspective, the book glossed over what that plan was and never really answered the British counter-plan. Did the United Kingdom really have a plan? Did they really have the ability to follow through with it? There was no commercial aircraft industry in Britain capable of matching the ubiquitous C-47 cargo aircraft, which would have become the immediate mainstay of commercial air travel immediately following the war until industry could retool to make the next generation of air transport. br / br /England was not happy with Henry Wallace, FDR's vice president during his third administration. Conant provides anecdotal evidence that the Irregulars were responsible for his demise from the ticket. Were they really, or was it really his work with the "Board of Economic Welfare" demanding labor clauses for Central American contracts, which is not mentioned in the book? The work of the BSC was certainly serendipitous, but the sole reason behind Wallace's demise is certainly debatable. br / br /The book is written at a level that most people can understand. Overall, it is a great biography of "what" Roald Dahl did in wartime Washington DC. Conant missed the mark on answering the bigger questions of the "so what" of what those activities really meant in the overall context of World War II.
Lived up to every expectation November 17, 2008
K. Corn (Indianapolis,, IN United States)
Before reading this book, I was already a huge fan of Roald Dahl's work - and knew something about his life as well, feeling compelled to learn about the man who'd written such quirky, compelling children's books as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He was a flawed man but I think that is one reason why his books had such a singular quality, revealing darkness as well as light. Yes, this DOES connect to his spying activities. br / br /Because there always seemed to be something dark about Dahl, it really came as no surprise to learn that he'd been involved in leading a double life. He was quite adept at fooling people and he wasn't always charming (although he had great charm and used it to his advantage, as noted in this book). It might help to read a bit about him before opening this book particularly his various moral and ethical variations. I'm glad I knew something about them first. br / br /This book was fascinating to read and I felt it was quite well-written. I don't see how anyone who is a fan of Dahl - or of wartime espionage accounts - could fail to find it very engaging. Dahl did his part to try and help influence American and U.S. policy during wartime, all of which is detailed in this book.There was an agenda, of course, and propaganda was a part of that, even trying to shape journalism (sometimes successfully) and news stories. br / br /Because I'm very interested to read about how and why people join various organizations and then become more committed to their actions, I found this one particularly appealing. Dahl is shown as a rather ambivalent figure at first and the author does a fine job revealing how he becomes more involved in covert activities. Because the author had access to material which had not been seen before, any reader of this book will get information drawn from wartime diaries and other works not yet researched. It isn't a rehash of old material. br / br / br / br / br / br / br / br / br /
|
|
|
