Before the CIA, there was the OSS.

Born in the crucible of World War II, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was America’s first centralised spy agency—an improvised, chaotic, and revolutionary force that changed the nature of warfare forever. In just three short years, the OSS went from a desperate idea to a globe-spanning network of agents, saboteurs, analysts, and operatives who rewrote the rules of espionage.

In The OSS: America’s First Spy Agency, acclaimed historian Cyril Marlen peels back the curtain on the secret missions, eccentric characters, and dangerous innovations that defined the OSS’s short but seismic existence. From hidden radios tucked into shaving kits to jungle warfare in Burma, from psychological propaganda campaigns to midnight parachute drops into Nazi territory, this is the untold story of America’s first experiment with shadow war—and the people bold enough to carry it out.

Discover how William “Wild Bill” Donovan, a WWI hero with a flair for the unorthodox, built an agency from scratch using poets, professors, film directors, and even a future celebrity chef—Julia Child. Meet the fearless Jedburgh teams who coordinated with French resistance fighters ahead of D-Day. Witness the formation of the X-2 counterintelligence branch, whose mission was to hunt Nazi spies. Follow the exploits of Detachment 101 in Burma, where guerrilla tactics and tribal alliances turned the tide against the Japanese.

But this isn’t just a collection of war stories—it’s a deep dive into the roots of modern intelligence.