The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington - Books

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com Review
Amazon Best of the Month, September 2008: Long before Willy Wonka sent out those five Golden Tickets, Roald Dahl lived a life that was more James Bond than James and the Giant Peach. After blinding headaches cut short his distinguished career as a Royal Air Force fighter pilot, Dahl became part of an elite group of British spies working against the United States' neutrality at the onset of World War II. The Irregulars is a brilliant profile of Dahl's lesser-known profession, embracing a real-life storyline of suave debauchery, clandestine motives, and afternoon cocktails. If this sounds oddly familiar, it's no coincidence: both Ian Fleming (the creator of 007) and Bill Stephenson (the legendary spymaster rumored to be the inspiration for Bond) were members of the same outfit. Although "Dahl...Roald Dahl" doesn't quite carry the same debonair ring, there is no discrediting this fascinating look at the British author's covert service to the Allied cause during WWII. --Dave Callanan

Product Description
The rollicking true story of British spies who shaped American policy during WWII, told by the bestselling author of 109 East Palace.

When dashing young RAF pilot Roald Dahl (that Roald Dahl) took up his post at the British Embassy in 1942, his assignment was to use his good looks, wit, and charm to gain access to the most powerful figures in American political life. He and his co-conspirators David Ogilvy, Ivar Bryce, and Ian Fleming (that Ian Fleming) called themselves the Baker Street Irregulars after the band of street urchins in some Sherlock Holmes stories. Their goals: to weaken the American isolationist forces, bring the country into the war against Germany, and influence U.S. policy in favor of England. Their mastermind: Churchill's legendary spy chief, William Stephenson, code name "Intrepid," who would later serve as the model for Fleming's James Bond.

Based on never-before-seen wartime letters, diaries, and interviews, this lively account of deceit, doubledealing, and moral ambiguity is richly detailed, carefully researched, and better than any spy fiction.

Customer Reviews: Read 24 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Interesting as History and as Biography, Both Entertaining and Important November 19, 2008
This remarkable book can be read for so many purposes. It is an interesting and readable account of the deeds and trickery of the British Security Council in wartime Washington DC, concentrating on Roald Dahl, but including many many other politicians and future celebrities who crossed his path. The author has pulled together a remarkable story drawn from access to all sorts of archives, letters, and interviews.

For those who have ready Dahl's own accounts of his early life, this is the next chapter: who he hung out with, who were his friends, what he did during WWII, how he combined what appeared to be a glitzy social life with his intelligence activities. The rest of his life is briefly given at the end.

I am not a historian, but I believe that it is important for everyone to be aware of how the behind-the-scenes stories of world events are often very different than it appears. This book expands greatly on the activities in Washington DC recounted in _A Man Called Intrepid_. History repeats, and part of this book is about "the shocking willingness of the American press to peddle foreign propaganda aimed at leading the country into war." (p. xvii, sound familiar?).

Fans of biography and those who want to know more about celebrities of the time, (the rich, Hollywood, writers, politicians, and socialites) will enjoy the tidbits about those with who Dahl dealt, what happened during dinner parties, who did what with who, etc., as well as their intelligence activities, like a test of a supposed truth-serum, and so forth. I enjoyed seeing some that I knew only as names brought to life as real people who did and said things and learning about how they contributed to the war effort.

There are lots of interesting detailed anecdotes. To illustrate, there is an account (p 131) of Roosevelt being helped from his wheel chair to his specially modified hand-lever car and him driving off -- generally there are no accounts which reference Roosevelt's paraplegia due to polio.

Some may feel this book is a collection of celebrity stories. I think it is an important and carefully documented record of history of the what happened during that era.

3 out of 5 stars

Good biography but missing spy story November 18, 2008
Jennet Conant discusses the clandestine activities of popular children's author Roald Dahl. I was looking for a fascinating tale of wartime intrigue in Washington DC and instead found a biography that was rich in gossip, but lacking the many details of a great spy novel.

A great spy novel should describe the strategic objectives of the organization, and then describe the actions that align to that strategy. For example, Conant describes the efforts to counter Pan Am's post-World War II domination of commercial air routes. Dahl was handed a pamphlet describing Pan Am's plan, so he took photos of it and passed it back to his handlers. From my perspective, the book glossed over what that plan was and never really answered the British counter-plan. Did the United Kingdom really have a plan? Did they really have the ability to follow through with it? There was no commercial aircraft industry in Britain capable of matching the ubiquitous C-47 cargo aircraft, which would have become the immediate mainstay of commercial air travel immediately following the war until industry could retool to make the next generation of air transport.

England was not happy with Henry Wallace, FDR's vice president during his third administration. Conant provides anecdotal evidence that the Irregulars were responsible for his demise from the ticket. Were they really, or was it really his work with the "Board of Economic Welfare" demanding labor clauses for Central American contracts, which is not mentioned in the book? The work of the BSC was certainly serendipitous, but the sole reason behind Wallace's demise is certainly debatable.

The book is written at a level that most people can understand. Overall, it is a great biography of "what" Roald Dahl did in wartime Washington DC. Conant missed the mark on answering the bigger questions of the "so what" of what those activities really meant in the overall context of World War II.

4 out of 5 stars

Lived up to every expectation November 17, 2008
Before reading this book, I was already a huge fan of Roald Dahl's work - and knew something about his life as well, feeling compelled to learn about the man who'd written such quirky, compelling children's books as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He was a flawed man but I think that is one reason why his books had such a singular quality, revealing darkness as well as light. Yes, this DOES connect to his spying activities.

Because there always seemed to be something dark about Dahl, it really came as no surprise to learn that he'd been involved in leading a double life. He was quite adept at fooling people and he wasn't always charming (although he had great charm and used it to his advantage, as noted in this book). It might help to read a bit about him before opening this book particularly his various moral and ethical variations. I'm glad I knew something about them first.

This book was fascinating to read and I felt it was quite well-written. I don't see how anyone who is a fan of Dahl - or of wartime espionage accounts - could fail to find it very engaging. Dahl did his part to try and help influence American and U.S. policy during wartime, all of which is detailed in this book.There was an agenda, of course, and propaganda was a part of that, even trying to shape journalism (sometimes successfully) and news stories.

Because I'm very interested to read about how and why people join various organizations and then become more committed to their actions, I found this one particularly appealing. Dahl is shown as a rather ambivalent figure at first and the author does a fine job revealing how he becomes more involved in covert activities. Because the author had access to material which had not been seen before, any reader of this book will get information drawn from wartime diaries and other works not yet researched. It isn't a rehash of old material.

4 out of 5 stars

Dahl (and Others) in America November 13, 2008
This was a very entertaining book. As a childhood fan of Dahl (and especially his two autobiographies) I decided to read this well-reviewed book. I have no idea what I was in for. It came as a complete shock to me the number of people Dahl interacted with while in DC. He knew everyone who was anyone in the political world during and after WWII. Though Dahl is the main focus, the book also looks at other famous members of this group of spies (William Stephenson, David Oglivy, Ian Fleming, to name a few). This is an engrossing and well-told look at Dahl's work as a covert operative--complete with debauchery and many cocktails--working for the Allied cause during WWII.

2 out of 5 stars

Didn't live up to the hype on the cover November 2, 2008
0 out of 4 found this review helpful

Having read a lot of history was eager to read this version. Started out with some good information but digressed into a minor biography of two characters neither of which I would not have wanted to meet, nor rely on for anything.

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