Spymaster William Donovan’s exploits are subject of new biography - Entertainment, Books - Navy Times

Spymaster William Donovan’s exploits are subject of new biography

During World War II, William Donovan asked the Eastman Kodak Co. to survey its 5,000 amateur camera clubs for photos of European buildings that could become military targets.

He did an experiment to find out whether bats could fly under the eaves of Japanese homes to set them on fire if they were dropped from airplanes with incendiary devices attached to them. They couldn’t — because the bats fell like bricks when weighted down.

Who was this guy?

Nicknamed “Wild Bill” during World War I because of the rigorous training he put himself and the younger men under his command through, Donovan founded the Office of Strategic Services, the predecessor to today’s CIA.

In a meticulously researched new biography, author Douglas Waller tells the fascinating story of the colorful and combative native of Buffalo’s First Ward who became America’s first spymaster.

Waller, a former Time magazine reporter who spent three years researching the book, debunks several stories about Donovan in three earlier biographies. For example, Donovan did not meet with Adolf Hitler during the 1930s, says Waller, who searched through 350 boxes of Donovan’s papers trying to verify that juicy anecdote.

And those are major reasons Waller’s new book is so fascinating. He documents Donovan’s extramarital relationships, while debunking the malicious and self-serving rumors spread by then-FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, Donovan’s political enemy.

In a discussion, Waller described his book as three stories in one volume: a biography of a heroic American, a spy story and a story of Washington political intrigue.

And it is just that.