Robin W. Winks (1930–2003)

A history of how students, graduates and faculty from Yale formed the backbone of early American intelligence acquisition in the years just prior to World War II. For example they produced an Order of Battle using only sources found in the Yale Library. They vacuumed up travel books, street maps and railway maps just prior to the war that assisted targeting information. Aside from these gems it has a good overview of the Wild Bill Donovan days, and after. These social academic connections show more are an unstudied part of intelligence organizations, creating an agency cultural mindset, something few else study (for biases), aside from the much studied Cambridge spy ring. (Winks also wrote the first general history of Blacks in Canada.) show less

The subtitle of this book is incorrect. To my mind, it should be "Yalies in the Secret War'. The author admits as much in the notes at the end of the book; that he concentrated on Yale alumnae for two reasons. First, because most of the Yale members were in positions he wanted to write about and second, because he was from Yale and wanted to write about Yale men.

The book featured five men, all Yale men of course, and the history of their service in the OSS and later, for some, in the CIA. It show more was not about operations, there were no tales of derring-do and parachuting into enemy territory although there are some casual mentions of such things.

The book was written using historical methodology and research. And it is indeed well researched and, I must say, well written. I believe the book was written for scholars but this was not explicitly stated. The language and syntax are at a high level. No esoteric or obscure vocabulary but well selected and educated.

The book does a good job on parts of the OSS not, perhaps, usually covered by the typical book on the OSS which is more likely to be presented on the action side of the agency. I enjoyed the book and thought it covered its subject matter well. I enjoyed it. show less

The period between the end of the Thirty Years War (1648) and the end of the Napoleonic Wars (1815) is covered in this short readable undergraduate survey, part of a series by the author that covers all of European history. The first half of the period is characterized by recovery and consolidation after an age of chaos (16th and early 17th century Wars of Religion); the second half by a movement to towards Enlightenment and Revolution (political and industrial).

Although no one living at show more the time saw themselves as transitory, historians today see the period as a transition from the Medieval to the Modern, sometimes called the "Early Modern". This perspective makes me wonder if our time will be securely placed within history, or be a road sign pointing to a as yet unknown destination not afforded the attention and study of other more interesting periods (the Renaissance, the Ancients). As an introductory school survey for a semester long class, it at least mentions in passing most of the important things, but because of its brevity, it does not bring the period to life. On the other hand, it's nice to read about things like The French Revolution from start to end in 10 pages to get a big picture view. show less

Superb analysis of what history is, is not and ways to examine it. SEL