The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington Paperback – Illustrated, September 8, 2009

Listened to this in the car. It's fascinating. It's another fascinating true story from Jennet Conant. Conant is known for similar books that tell the little-known stories of important developments during WWII. She has chronicled the Manhattan Project, from idea to the bombing of Hiroshima in Tuxedo Park and 109 East Palace as well as the story of Julia and Paul Child's work for the OSS during the war.Dahl (author of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate, inter alia) was an RAF pilot in the early part of WWII. He was badly injured in a plane crash and could no longer fly. He went to work as the air attache at the British Embassy in Washington, but he was really sent there to help convince America to join the war as a member of the British Security Coordination.His overseers at the Embassy did not always know what or why he was doing something for the BSC. They were none too happy with this situation and periodically tried to have Dahl reassigned back to England. The same was not true for the social and political elites in DC. The work required him to work his way into the elite social scene in DC which meant that he was rubbing elbows with, and building relationships with, many of the most important people in the country. In fact, he became friends with the Roosevelts, the Vice President, numerous Congressmen, wealthy businessmen who supported election campaigns, and the doyennes who gave the parties that one just couldn't say no to. He had access to the people that mattered, and he knew how to constructively use that access to influence American policy toward Britain and the war.Dahl also began his career as a writer at this time. He wrote essays about his war time experiences for magazines and began writing children's story books. His book, The Gremlins, attracted the attention of Walt Disney who wanted to make a movie of the book. That didn't work out, but Dahl went on to write for the movies as well. This led him to some of Hollywood's most influential actors, writers, producers and studio heads.Conant does a great job, not just telling us the facts of the situation, but of turning real people into fascinating .characters

An interesting book about Roald Dahl in particular and British intelligence activities in the US in general. Dahl, famous for writing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the screenplay for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and other works, was a pilot injured during a crash and went on to become a spy in Washington for the British during WWII. The book recounts British activities designed to bring America into the war and goes into Dahl's friendships with famous and politically connected Americans. Interesting to a point, it gets a little tedious but does cover a subject about WWII that most books leave out. When you think of the war the battles come to mind, this is a behind the scenes look at what went on at home, and really shows the distrust, and at times severe dislike, the Americans and British had for each other.

If you have kids or grandkids you probably know Roald Dahl as the writer of children's books. Among his best known are James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Matilda, all of which have been made into movies of varying quality. The books, however, all hold to a high standard.But this book is not about Roald Dahl, the writer of children's books and silly poems. This is about Roald Dahl before he found that talent within himself. In WWII, after he was invalided out of the RAF, he was assigned to the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., where he was recruited by British Intelligence to spy on the U.S.Did you think all the spies in the U.S. during WWII were German or Japanese or Italian? Well, they weren't. Britain was concerned that the U.S. would wait the war out -- sentiment was strong in the U.S. to stay out of the war. Churchill wanted to know who in our government supported helping England and who didn't. So a group of "friendly" spies, Dahl among them, gathered information that was forwarded to England.It is an interesting account of Washington during WWII from a perspective seldom encountered. I enjoyed it both as history and as a side I didn't know of an author I have long appreciated.

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.

If you fancy yourself as a student of WWII you must read this book. It is hard to imagine what Washington D.C. was like during WWII. You can guess what it must have been like and read all kinds of books about government contracts and who the major players were. Read this book and you'll have met the decision makers in a human way that you've probably not seen anywhere else. Its the D.C. we all have suspected but never seen from the inside. The real persons the author reveals to us in her word paintings are so much more than simply a recitation of facts. Their motivations and personalities come alive. I had some idea previously that the Brits had maneuvered the U.S. into being their allies. We know that Roosevelt and Churchill were instrumental in that effort. Previously unknown to me, was how involved British Intelligence was in manipulating American attitudes towards helping the Brits. I had no idea that Roald Dahl was part of British Intelligence and an ace pilot. The author leads us into Dahl's initial foray into writing. A great and fascinating read. I'm surprised no one has made a movie from the book of Dahl's exploits during WWII. The author has practically written the script.