Syndetics cover image
Image from Syndetics

Double crossed : the missionaries who spied for the United States during the Second World War / Matthew Avery Sutton.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Basic Books, 2019Edition: First editionDescription: x, 401 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
  • still image
  • cartographic image
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780465052660
  • 0465052665
Other title:
  • Missionaries who spied for the United States during the Second World War
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
Part 1. Before they were spies (1896-1941) -- "A son of a bitch, but a game one" -- "Between hope and despair" -- "A conquering faith" -- "Prophecies yet to be fulfilled" -- "What a fine schooling you are having" -- Part 2. Going to war (1941-1942) -- "Converted to our service" -- "Spies and lies in Tangier" -- "The double opportunity to serve God and country" -- "It's your souls we want" -- Part 3. Taking the fight to the enemy (1942-1943) -- "The next jump" -- "A great hodge-podge of conflicting loyalties" -- "An angry saint who kept a soldier's faith" -- "The thorough beating they so richly deserve" -- Part 4. Occupying holy lands (1943-1945) -- "America's one priority in the Arab world" -- "Top-notch and absolutely fearless" -- "The beginning of the end of Japan's ungodly power" -- "Pilgrim's progress" -- Part 5. Winning the war -- "God help us!" -- "An unusual opportunity" -- "The high point of Muslim alliance" -- "Between a strife-torn earth and wrath-darkened heavens" -- Legacies (1945-present) -- "The CIA holds nothing sacred including the sacred".
Summary: "What makes a good missionary makes a good spy. Or so thought "Wild" Bill Donovan when he launched a secret new program under the Office of Strategic Services. His recruits, in turn, believed an American victory would help them protect their foreign ministries and expand the kingdom of God. In Double Crossed, historian Matthew Avery Sutton tells the extraordinary story of the entwined roles of spycraft and faith in World War II. Sutton shows how missionaries, though acutely aware of the conflict between their faith and their role as secret agents, nonetheless played an outsize part in the war, carrying out bombings and assassinations. After securing victory, those who survived helped establish the CIA, ensuring that religion continued to influence American foreign policy. Gripping and authoritative, Double Crossed is a remarkable account of the spiritual stakes of World War II."-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 940.5486 S967 Available 33111009718442
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The untold story of the Christian missionaries who played a crucial role in the allied victory in World War II
What makes a good missionary makes a good spy. Or so thought "Wild" Bill Donovan when he secretly recruited a team of religious activists for the Office of Strategic Services. They entered into a world of lies, deception, and murder, confident that their nefarious deeds would eventually help them expand the kingdom of God.
In Double Crossed , historian Matthew Avery Sutton tells the extraordinary story of the entwined roles of spy-craft and faith in a world at war. Missionaries, priests, and rabbis, acutely aware of how their actions seemingly conflicted with their spiritual calling, carried out covert operations, bombings, and assassinations within the centers of global religious power, including Mecca, the Vatican, and Palestine. Working for eternal rewards rather than temporal spoils, these loyal secret soldiers proved willing to sacrifice and even to die for Franklin Roosevelt's crusade for global freedom of religion. Chosen for their intelligence, powers of persuasion, and ability to seamlessly blend into different environments, Donovan's recruits included people like John Birch, who led guerilla attacks against the Japanese, William Eddy, who laid the groundwork for the Allied invasion of North Africa, and Stewart Herman, who dropped lone-wolf agents into Nazi Germany. After securing victory, those who survived helped establish the CIA, ensuring that religion continued to influence American foreign policy.
Surprising and absorbing at every turn, Double Crossed is the untold story of World War II espionage and a profound account of the compromises and doubts that war forces on those who wage it.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 351-382) and index.

Part 1. Before they were spies (1896-1941) -- "A son of a bitch, but a game one" -- "Between hope and despair" -- "A conquering faith" -- "Prophecies yet to be fulfilled" -- "What a fine schooling you are having" -- Part 2. Going to war (1941-1942) -- "Converted to our service" -- "Spies and lies in Tangier" -- "The double opportunity to serve God and country" -- "It's your souls we want" -- Part 3. Taking the fight to the enemy (1942-1943) -- "The next jump" -- "A great hodge-podge of conflicting loyalties" -- "An angry saint who kept a soldier's faith" -- "The thorough beating they so richly deserve" -- Part 4. Occupying holy lands (1943-1945) -- "America's one priority in the Arab world" -- "Top-notch and absolutely fearless" -- "The beginning of the end of Japan's ungodly power" -- "Pilgrim's progress" -- Part 5. Winning the war -- "God help us!" -- "An unusual opportunity" -- "The high point of Muslim alliance" -- "Between a strife-torn earth and wrath-darkened heavens" -- Legacies (1945-present) -- "The CIA holds nothing sacred including the sacred".

"What makes a good missionary makes a good spy. Or so thought "Wild" Bill Donovan when he launched a secret new program under the Office of Strategic Services. His recruits, in turn, believed an American victory would help them protect their foreign ministries and expand the kingdom of God. In Double Crossed, historian Matthew Avery Sutton tells the extraordinary story of the entwined roles of spycraft and faith in World War II. Sutton shows how missionaries, though acutely aware of the conflict between their faith and their role as secret agents, nonetheless played an outsize part in the war, carrying out bombings and assassinations. After securing victory, those who survived helped establish the CIA, ensuring that religion continued to influence American foreign policy. Gripping and authoritative, Double Crossed is a remarkable account of the spiritual stakes of World War II."-- Provided by publisher.

Powered by Koha