The Istoriaphile’s Corner

One of the amazing powers of literature is its ability to draw aside the curtain.  Writers who have experienced other roles in life use their background for a book and the readers get a glimpse of life-in-the-trenches written by someone who knows what they’re talking about.  Want to see World War I as a medic?  Pick up Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms.  How much of Mad Men is true?  Try Jerry Della Femina’s From those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor, a terrific book on advertising.  Those books and others entertain us with insights into the human condition but they also enlighten readers by revealing a world we’ve never known.  One of my best friends recommended a book that fits in this shelf.  No matter what else happens I guarantee you won’t forget You’re Stepping on My Cloak and Dagger.  Who could give us a better inside view at military intelligence than a former OSS officer? Roger Hall was an army lieutenant during World War II, ensconced on a base in Louisiana when luck and poor work on the commander’s baseball team led to a transfer to the Office of Strategic Services, a precursor to the CIA.  Because of…