- Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group (April 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0440234662
- ISBN-13: 978-0440234661
- Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 3 x 17.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,231,431 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Description
Product Description
The daring missions and cloak-and-dagger skullduggery of America's World War II intelligence agency, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), have become the stuff of legend. Yet the contributions of the four thousand women who made up one-fifth of its staff have gone largely unheralded. Here, at last, are their fascinating stories, told by one of their own. A seasoned journalist and veteran of sensitive OSS and CIA operations, McIntosh draws on her own experiences and in-depth interviews with more than one hundred OSS women to uncover some of the most tantalizing stories and best-kept secrets of the war.
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First Sentence
General Donovan once summarized his concept of the role of women in OSS: The great majority of women who worked for America's first organized and integrated intelligence agency, spent their war years behind desks and filing cases in Washington, invisible apron strings of an organization which touched every theater of the war. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
General Donovan once summarized his concept of the role of women in OSS: The great majority of women who worked for America's first organized and integrated intelligence agency, spent their war years behind desks and filing cases in Washington, invisible apron strings of an organization which touched every theater of the war. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Hardcover
I have been an avid reader of espionage books for some time. I believe that Elizabeth McIntosh has written an excellent book covering the role of the women involved in the OSS's clandestine operations during WWII. This is an insightful account of how many women (most, if not all the OSS women were well educated, well traveled, and in many cases multilingual) repeatedly endured physical and mental hardships, and risked their lives to help the greater war effort. Unfortunately, the work of Amy Thorpe, Virginia Hall, Maria Gulovich, and others have not been acknowledged until now. I am proud and grateful that these women decided to serve their nation, and only hope others will follow. This book should be an inspiration to any female who wants to serve her country.
Format:Hardcover
Some years ago while digging in the National Archives I met the author. At that time she was pursuing the research for this book. When she mentioned that she was the "Undercover Girl" I immediately thought, "AHA, Cynthia!" Well, she wasn't. You will have to read this book to find out who Cynthia was and a whole host of others whose exploits were not so "undercover" ; )! At the time we met Ms. McIntosh's original book "Undercover Girl" was scheduled to be reprinted in the TIME-LIFE WW II espionage operations series, but that was not to be. I finally got a copy of the original and found it to be a fascinating read. This one is obviously not so immediate as her original but still gives the flavor of the wartime experience. The fact that male chauvinism ruled in those days is evident in that they were not paid the same rates and were seldom promoted to their potential-- considering that most of the OSS women where well-educated bilingual (or more) cosmopolitan citizens of many nations of the world, as adept with European royalty as with the natives in the fetid jungles of Asia. Their story is well worth telling and is very interesting reading.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
18 reviews
36 of 37 people found the following review helpful
An intriguing overview of OSS sisterhood
24 Aug 1998
Format:Hardcover
Some years ago while digging in the National Archives I met the author. At that time she was pursuing the research for this book. When she mentioned that she was the "Undercover Girl" I immediately thought, "AHA, Cynthia!" Well, she wasn't. You will have to read this book to find out who Cynthia was and a whole host of others whose exploits were not so "undercover" ; )! At the time we met Ms. McIntosh's original book "Undercover Girl" was scheduled to be reprinted in the TIME-LIFE WW II espionage operations series, but that was not to be. I finally got a copy of the original and found it to be a fascinating read. This one is obviously not so immediate as her original but still gives the flavor of the wartime experience. The fact that male chauvinism ruled in those days is evident in that they were not paid the same rates and were seldom promoted to their potential-- considering that most of the OSS women where well-educated bilingual (or more) cosmopolitan citizens of many nations of the world, as adept with European royalty as with the natives in the fetid jungles of Asia. Their story is well worth telling and is very interesting reading.
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
one of the most insightful books on the oss i've ever read
23 Sep 1998
Format:Hardcover
I have been an avid reader of espionage books for some time. I believe that Elizabeth McIntosh has written an excellent book covering the role of the women involved in the OSS's clandestine operations during WWII. This is an insightful account of how many women (most, if not all the OSS women were well educated, well traveled, and in many cases multilingual) repeatedly endured physical and mental hardships, and risked their lives to help the greater war effort. Unfortunately, the work of Amy Thorpe, Virginia Hall, Maria Gulovich, and others have not been acknowledged until now. I am proud and grateful that these women decided to serve their nation, and only hope others will follow. This book should be an inspiration to any female who wants to serve her country.
27 of 31 people found the following review helpful
These sisters break the glass ceiling in WWII intrigue
22 Jun 2002
Format:Mass Market Paperback
For readers who enjoy history (particularly WWII), McIntosh's "Sisterhood of Spies" is a worthwhile experience. The book looks at women in all areas of OSS during WWII in all parts of the globe. McIntosh's writing style is a bit bothersome at times (too much "gung-ho" spirit for me; that's why I only give it three stars) but she knows her stuff and the profiles of these women and their work during the war more than make up for it. I liked the stories of daring (particularly "the lady with the limp" or the episode to steal the naval codes or the woman captured by the Germans). I learned a great deal about hte different aspects of OSS - the R&A, black propaganda (forging postcards to demoralize the families of Japanese soldiers fighting in Burma). McIntosh does a good job of creating a sense of the lifestyle - the pressures, the challenges. She also gives a good bit of detailed "back story" on the women - showing their life before the war, how they got involved with OSS, how their experiences with OSS transformed their lives, and finally, a glimpse of their lives post-war. These women definitely challenged perceived notions of how women could contribute to the war effort. Most all of them encountered "narrow thinking," particularly from the military branches they were working with, and managed to overcome that. I found the stories both fascinating and inspiring.
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