Rating:		5/5	History

Our Man In New York

The British Plot to Bring America into the Second World War

by Henry Hemming

It’s easy to fall into the trap of assuming that manipulating the public on a mass scale to deliver a desired outcome are recent developments exemplified by the UK Brexit vote or Donald Trump’s win of the US Presidency in 2016; and that these results were only possible thanks to the influence and manipulation by hidden actors using modern technologies like social media.

What is eye opening is to realise that these techniques have been practiced for decades; including the story, as told in this book, about how the British changed US public opinion in order to draw the United States into conflict against Germany despite initial overwhelming opposition from a largely isolationist US population in 1940.

The book is fascinating and describes the activites of various protagonists including Bill Stephenson, the central character, who masterminded a campaign in the US to change public opinion in favour of war. We also learn that it was the British influence that led to the creation and training of an Intelligence Agency reporting directly to the US President, which became the CIA.

Other characters of note in the book include Charles Lindbergh and various German agencies determined to prevent the US entering the war. The machinations of the different groups trying to promote their agenda reads like a spy thriller and I often had to remind myself that this was not a work of fiction.

The author Henry Hemming has pulled off a masterpiece. A highly recommended page turner.