THE DIRTY TRICKS DEPARTMENT Stanley Lovell, the OSS, and the Masterminds of World War II Secret Warfare

In this oddly entertaining audiobook, narrator Pete Cross takes listeners through the many experiments and devices created by the R&D branch of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during WWII. As Cross recounts in a sometimes-bemused tone, the department was headed by Stanley Lovell, an industrial chemist dubbed "Professor Moriarty" by his boss, William "Wild Bill" Donovan. Through their efforts, poison pills, invisible inks, exploding dough, and even mini-bombs to be tethered to bats were developed to confuse and even destroy the enemy. As the war progressed, more thought was given to biological weapons and, of course, nuclear bombs, and Cross's narration takes on a more serious tone. Listeners will be both transfixed and horrified by the decisions weighed, and taken. L.W.S. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2023]