In Agent 110 Scott Miller gives an excellent overview of both Allen Dulles' early work in the intelligence community as well as the German resistance during WWII. There is enough detail to keep the work flowing but stops short of becoming bogged down in minutiae as some history books will do.

While the focus is on Dulles and includes his personal life (though the line between personal and professional was a bit bleary) this is not a biography. Likewise this is not a detailed examination of the German resistance. Rather this is a look, again focused on Dulles, at the intersection of US intelligence and the German resistance. Appraising as such, in other words, judging it for what it tried to do and not what it never tried to do, Miller succeeds in his task. No, there is not a lot of dramatic action, this is not a fictionalized novel of the period.

While the minimization of smaller details helped to make this more readable there is plenty of sources for those interested to look into if they desire. Rather than get stuck qualifying and citing everything within the text itself there are plenty of notes and other sources. Wonder where Miller found his information? With a minimal amount of due diligence, like turning to the back of the book, you can find 32 pages of notes and 12 pages of a bibliography. If you don't want to exert such Herculean effort then the bit you wonder about must not be too important to you.

The notes and bibliography also provide multiple opportunities for historians and/or those curious to follow their own lines of inquiry. I find such things to be a wonderful opportunity for delving deeper into an aspect of a story that interests me.

I would recommend this to readers of WWII history, intelligence and spy history and those interested in Dulles himself.

Reviewed from a copy made available through Goodreads' First Reads. ( )

I had no problem whatsoever reading AGENT 110.....there are a lot of historical details but nothing that would bog an interested reader down! Allen Dulles was initially described by the English as being " a Yankee doodle-dandy blow-in who has little to provide in real intelligence." The man more than made up for any naivete' by the end of the war.....he played a big part in creating the OSS and was there for its disintegration. He walked a fine line placating the Germans as well as the politicians in Washington and he did it well!

AGENT 110 has names that all will recognize. BUT! IF i had the chance to meet anyone....it would be Stauffenberg - in fact i am looking for other reading about this murdered, aristocratic, assassin......
RELEVANT QUOTE " the fuhrer reminded him of some of his patients who were so attuned to their inner voices and visions they wouldn't listen to anybody else." Jung. hmmmm ( )