The Last Hero: Wild Bill Donovan

New York: Times Books, 1982. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Good. xx, 891,[1] pages. Donovan's Awards. Illustrations. Maps. A Note on Sources. Sources and Notes. Index, Some soiling to DJ. Some creasing and small tears to DJ edges, front DJ flap creased. Anthony Cave Brown (March 21, 1929 -July 14, 2006) was an English-American journalist and historian. Cave Brown's first work to attract attention was Bodyguard of Lies (1975), which examined the strategical elements of World War II, including codebreaking and its effect on the war's outcome. He followed up with The Last Hero: Wild Bill Donovan, about the director of the American Office of Strategic Services during World War II; OSS later evolved into the Central Intelligence Agency. Another effort was a biography of the head of British MI6 (Secret Intelligence Service) during World War II. The book was titled C: The Secret Life of Sir Stewart Graham Menzies, Spymaster to Winston Churchill. His book Treason in the Blood: H. St. John Philby, Kim Philby, and the Spy Case of the Century, examined the interconnected lives of the famous British spies Kim Philby and Harry St. John Philby, son and father. William Joseph "Wild Bill" Donovan (January 1, 1883 - February 8, 1959) was an American soldier, lawyer, intelligence officer and diplomat, best known for serving as the head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency, during World War II. He is regarded as the founding father of the CIA, and a statue of him stands in the lobby of the CIA headquarters building in Langley, Virginia. A decorated veteran of World War I, Donovan is the only person to have received all four of the United States' highest awards: the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal, and the National Security Medal. He is also a recipient of the Silver Star and Purple Heart, as well as decorations from a number of other nations for his service during both World Wars. From the best-selling author Anthony Cave-Brown, the extraordinary life of William J. ("Wild Bill") Donovan, the founding father of America's first secret intelligence and special operations organization--a hero on the battlefield and a behind-the-scenes power. With exclusive access to all of Donovan's personal and secret papers and his wife's diaries, Mr. Brown has laid out for the first time the remarkable and definitive life story of this most legendary figure of our time. The scope of Donovan's career is astonishing. He made his mark in the U.S. Cavalry chasing Pancho Villa; won half a dozen of the highest medals of World War I in action on the western front, including the supreme award, the Medal of Honor; becoming acting attorney general of the United States; personally won a number of landmark cases before the Supreme Court; ran as Republican candidate for governor of New York and was often spoken of for the presidency; created the great law firm of Donovan Leisure Newton & Irvine; was founding head of the OSS and the creator of the CIA, and ambassador to Thailand.
Among Donovan's greatest accomplishments was his role in the grand strategic plan for Germany's defeat in World War II, the Arcadia plan, in which Donovan's contribution was to ignite the national uprisings coincident with the invasion of France. He also made a decisive contribution in diverting the Nazi armies into the Balkans, fatally delaying the German invasion of Russia. America's counterpart to the tale of Britain's "Intrepid" (Sir William Stephenson), Donovan's story will be relished by espionage and war buffs. Here, revealed at last, are the inside, background details of the most extraordinary military and spy operations of World War II.