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Kirkus Reviews
The author’s memoir perfectly encapsulates the mixed feelings of his younger self; he was only 20 when sent to the city of Salonica, an event that was both exhilarating and terrifying. His flight from Greece, where he and others hid in caves, is an intense episode, as is his secret passage back into the country. … Treads familiar territory … but readers new to his work will enjoy the exciting life he’s chosen to share.
Foreword Clarion Review
Helias Doundoulakis, now in his nineties, shares the story of his time in the shadowy world of espionage in Trained to Be an OSS Spy… There’s really no sense of bragging in the author’s tone, and he is often generous in his praise of others … favoring a matter-of-fact, almost journalistic approach to his narrative, rather than the glamorous melodrama and egotism a reader might expect from a former spy. Those who want to read about the authentic dangers and complications in the life of a World War II intelligence operative would do well to pick up Trained to Be an OSS Spy. It’s a story they’re not likely to find anywhere else.
BlueInk Review
An unvarnished, understated tale, full of youthful mistakes and narrow escapes, the book is written in a straightforward, conversational style. Readers can easily imagine sitting next to this modest, 93-year-old, decorated veteran as he relates a three-beer story about his harrowing escape to Egypt, his training by the OSS in Cairo, and his secret return to the island of Crete, where he took on the most dangerous spy mission of all: transmitting radio signals right under the Nazi’s noses, while the Gestapo searched for him. That he survived almost a year as an SI is nothing short of miraculous…
“You only live twice, once when you are born and once when you look death in the face,” Japanese poet Matsuo Basho wrote more than 300 years ago. Doundoulakis skillfully conveys that sense of being fully alive, as he transmitted an amazing 400 clandestine radio signals as an OSS spy. This is a tale you are not likely to find elsewhere, one that rings with authenticity.”
