Overview

"The stirring, little-known story of the forerunners to today's Special Forces. The OSS - Office of Strategic Services - created under the command of William Donovan, has been celebrated for its cloak-and-dagger operations during World War II and as the precursor of the CIA. As the ""Oh So Social"", it has also been portrayed as a club for the well-connected before, during, and after the war.  Donovan's Devils tells the story of a different OSS, that of ordinary soldiers, recruited from among first- and second-generation immigrants, who volunteered for dangerous duty behind enemy lines and risked their lives in Italy, France, the Balkans, and elsewhere in Europe. Organised into Operational Groups, they infiltrated into enemy territory by air or sea and operated for days, weeks, or months, hundreds of miles from the closest Allied troops. They performed sabotage, organised native resistance, and rescued downed airmen, nurses, and prisoners of war. Their enemy showed them no mercy, and sometimes their closest friends betrayed them. They were the precursors to today's Special Forces operators. Based on declassified OSS records, personal collections, and oral histories of participants from both sides of the conflict, Donovan's Devils provides the most comprehensive account to date of the Operational Group activities, including a detailed narrative of the ill-fated Ginny mission, which resulted in one of the OSS's gravest losses of the war."

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9781628725674

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Reviews

Praise for Operation Valuable Fiend In Operation Valuable Fiend, Albert Lulushi has told a fascinating story well and made excellent use of untapped archival resources. --David Robarge, Chief Historian, Central Intelligence Agency [For the operation's dismal failure, historians have blamed Soviet mole Kim Philby, who worked in British intelligence and knew of the operation, but Lulushi disagrees. His lively, detailed account of Hoxha's viciously efficient intelligence service, the exiles' terrible security, and CIA naivete make a convincing case. --Publishers Weekly An important and well-researched account of one of the Cold War's less known and often misunderstood clandestine operations ... The book tells a lively and well-written if discouraging story. Any reader has a treat in store, and any student of the history of America's role in the Cold War will find the book indispensable. --Ambassador Frank G. Wisner, former ambassador to four countries, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and Under Secretary of State for International Security Affairs In Operation Valuable Fiend, Albert Lulushi has done a splendid job in updating our knowledge of the clandestine activities that CIA and its partners conducted in Albania in the late 1940s and early 1950s. --Nicholas C. Pano, Professor Emeritus of History, Western Illinois University

Praise for Operation Valuable Fiend In Operation Valuable Fiend, Albert Lulushi has told a fascinating story well and made excellent use of untapped archival resources. --David Robarge, Chief Historian, Central Intelligence Agency [For the operation's dismal failure, historians have blamed Soviet mole Kim Philby, who worked in British intelligence and knew of the operation, but Lulushi disagrees. His lively, detailed account of Hoxha's viciously efficient intelligence service, the exiles' terrible security, and CIA naivete make a convincing case. -- Publishers Weekly An important and well-researched account of one of the Cold War's less known and often misunderstood clandestine operations . . . The book tells a lively and well-written if discouraging story. Any reader has a treat in store, and any student of the history of America's role in the Cold War will find the book indispensable. --Ambassador Frank G. Wisner, former ambassador to four countries, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and Under Secretary of State for International Security Affairs In Operation Valuable Fiend, Albert Lulushi has done a splendid job in updating our knowledge of the clandestine activities that CIA and its partners conducted in Albania in the late 1940s and early 1950s. --Nicholas C. Pano, Professor Emeritus of History, Western Illinois University

Author Information

Albert Lulushi, a native of Albania, fled to the West in 1990 and moved to the US in 1991. He built a successful career as an information technology entrepreneur working with US government agencies and Fortune 500 companies. He has assisted the US in conducting relations with Albania and Kosovo. Mr. Lulushi is the author of Operation Valuable Fiend: The CIA's First Paramilitary Strike Against the Iron Curtain, which was a History Book Club and Military History Book Club selection. He lives in Oakton, Virginia.

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