Cloak & Gown; Scholars in the Secret War, 1939-1961

New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1996. Second Edition [stated]. First printing [stated]. Trade paperback. Very good. 607, [1] pages. Wraps. Illustrations. Occasional footnotes. Notes. Bibliography. Index. Small crease at spine. This edition of the book includes a new preface by the author. Robin W. Winks (December 5, 1930 in Indiana - April 7, 2003) was an American academic, historian, and diplomat. After joining the faculty of Yale University in 1957, he rose in 1996-1999 to become the Randolph Townsend Professor of History and Master of Berkeley College. At Oxford University he served as George Eastman Professor in 1992-3, and as Harmsworth Visiting Professor of American History in 1999-2000. In 1989 he won the Donner Medal from the Association for Canadian Studies in the United States. Winks held offices and committee chairmanships in the American Historical Association, the Canadian Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians. In this highly acclaimed book, Robin Winks explores the underlying bonds between the university and the intelligence communities. Derived from a Kirkus review: A lengthy, extensively annotated, and consistently fascinating report on many of the ivy Leaguers who have served their country in clandestine capacities. Winks focuses on Yale faculty members and graduates who worked for the OSS or CIA during a period that runs roughly from the start of WW II through 1961. Winks interviewed over 200 former agents and gained access to a wealth of declassified files. His cast of characters features the likes of Norman Holmes Pearson, a distinguished Hawthorne scholar who headed the OSS's counterintelligence unit in wartime London and later played a key role in the publication of Sir John Masterman's The Double-Cross System. Included as well are vivid rundowns on the contributions made by field operatives and desk-bound polymaths who conducted analytic research on subjects ranging from Nazi Germany's tank production through oil consumption by the Axis powers. A very special book--one that affords insights as well as intelligence.