INTELLIGENCE AND THE WAR AGAINST JAPAN: Britain, America and the Politics of Secret Service, by Richard J. Aldrich. Cambridge University Press, April 2000, 500 pp., 22.95 British pounds (cloth).

"Foreign secretary. What do you say? I am lukewarm and therefore looking for guidance. On the whole I incline against another SOE-OSS duel, on grounds too favorable for that dirty Donovan." -- Winston Churchill to Anthony Eden, April 1945

What would drive Winston Churchill to use such disparaging terms to refer to U.S. Gen. William Donovan, a staunch friend of Britain since the early days of World War II? The answer lies in the general's activities as head of the Office of Strategic Services, the intelligence organization charged with leading Washington's covert efforts to mold the shape of postwar Asia -- and thwarting British attempts to do the same.

Citing a "special relationship" between the two nations, historians have traditionally portrayed Anglo-American intelligence relations during World War II as an intimate alliance solely dedicated to defeating the Axis powers.