In this book Maochun Yu tells the story of the intelligence activities of the Office of Strategic services (OSS) in China during World War II. Yu draws on recently released classified materials from the US National Archives and on previously unopened Chinese documents to reveal the challenges the agency and its director, General William Donovan, confronted in China. Forerunner of the CIA, OSS lacked a central command to oversee policy and had to compete fiercely with either US agencies for intelligence turf. This situation confused the lines of command and reduced the effectiveness of American foreign policy throughout the war. OSS's embryonic and symbiotic ties with the British also proved to be a major obstacle to conducting clandestine operations in China, as the newly formed organization struggled to establish its own independence and command integrity. Complicated espionage warfare among the Americans, the British, the Chinese nationalist, and the Chinese and Soviet communists contributed further to the intense and confusing environment. Yu concludes that the experiences of OSS in China had long-lasting and important effects, leading toward the eventual globalization and totalitarianisation of US intelligence in the subsequent era of the CIA.
