Book · 2023 · History
The Dirty Tricks Department
Stanley Lovell, the OSS, and the Masterminds of World War II Secret Warfare
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A guy called John Lyle. So he wrote a book called The Dirty Tricks Department. It was a a book about the founding of the OSS and the insane tactics that they used in World War II to try and stop World War II.
Chris Williamson · Modern Wisdom · Jun 2025 Listen at 1:54:00 The best things said about it
So John Lyle's first book the dirty tricks department one of the psychological assessments that was done of Hitler was that he had a very fragile hold on his masculinity.
John Kiriakou Modern Wisdom · Oct 2026 Why people recommend it
The Dirty Tricks Department by John Lisle is a historical account detailing the founding of the Office of Strategic Services and the extreme, unconventional tactics developed during World War II. On Modern Wisdom, Jocko Willink and Chris Williamson discussed the book extensively, with Williamson praising it as a fascinating look at the bizarre and ingenious methods deployed to combat enemy forces. Williamson later revisited the author's body of work alongside guest John Kiriakou to examine archival research, secret government programs like MKUltra, and historical psychological evaluations of Adolf Hitler that assessed his fragile grip on masculinity. The speakers highlighted the book's deep dive into clandestine operations, espionage, and the direct lineage connecting wartime sabotage units to the later formation of the Central Intelligence Agency. Through these discussions, the text was highlighted not only as a compelling piece of military history but also as an eye-opening exploration into the shadowy origins of modern state intelligence, psychological warfare, and the extreme measures nations take behind closed doors during times of global conflict.
Every mention
Chris Williamson A guy called John Lyle. So he wrote a book called The Dirty Tricks Department. It was a a book about the fo… 2
“He wrote the Dirty Tricks Department and he also wrote, he's done a lot of research.”
“A guy called John Lyle. So he wrote a book called The Dirty Tricks Department. It was a a book about the founding of the OSS and the insane tactics that they used in World War II to try and stop World War II.”
Jocko Willink But he's got another one coming out which is the OSS came into the CIA and then I think this one is the the… 1
“But he's got another one coming out which is the OSS came into the CIA and then I think this one is the the transitions through that.”
John Kiriakou so John Lyle's first book the dirty tricks department one of the psychological assessments that was done of… 1
“so John Lyle's first book the dirty tricks department one of the psychological assessments that was done of Hitler was that he had a very fragile hold on his masculinity”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
Other mentions (4: passing, ad reads, own books)
“my my first book, The Dirty Tricks Department, it's about Stanley Levelvel and that group and one of the things they do are drug experiments in truth drug experiments”
“His connection, he has a couple of connections. One connection that I mentioned in my first book, the dirty tricks department, he was tasked with creating psychological profiles of German leaders like Hitler.”
“So and the other book is uh The Dirty Tricks Department. Um Stanley Lovl, the OSS and the Masterminds of World War II Secret Warfare.”
“I'm a professor at the University of Texas but I also write books you know this one that just came out the dirty tricks Department that's the book that I've been working on for a year so I'm glad it is finally out there for people to enjoy”