The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington by Jennet Conant covers the story of Roald Dahl from a WWII pilot shot down in the early part of the war to his espionage efforts for the BSC (British Security Coordination) in coordination with the OSS run by Wild Bill Donavon in the United States. The book outlines the strategies the British used to influence America. This was done with the secret approval of Roosevelt over the objection of J. Edger Hoover.
Dahl along with Ian Fleming and other unconventional spies were recruited by a Canadian businessman William Stephenson to assist with the British efforts to move the US out of its isolationist mindset and bring them about to support the British in their fight against Germany. Many of Ian Flemings ideas for the James Bond character and the gadgets used came from his wartime experience spying on the U.S. He described William Stephenson as the real James Bond. He was played by David Niven in a TV miniseries "A Man Called Intrepid."
Roald Dahl befriends some of the most influential people in Washington, DC, including FDR and his wife Eleanor. He befriended Charles E. Marsh a Texas newspaperman who is one of the power brokers behind LBJ's rapid rise to power in Congress. Dahl and Marsh engage in an extended satirical correspondence with British Ambassador Halifax being the main target. Marsh was a good friend of Henry A.Wallace the wartime VP for Roosevelt. As part of his job, Dahl woos then discards a significant number of women including Clare Boothe Luce.
Jennet Conant on the Irregulars- 2 min.
Roald Dahl wrote Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
A Man called Intrepid - William Stephenson
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