Review Detail

Totally True Tales from World War II (Spy School Secret Files)

Middle Grade Non-Fiction 233

Fun nonfiction companion to the Spy School series.

April 07, 2026 (Updated: June 15, 2026)

Overall rating

4.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

4.0

Learning Value

4.0

Ben Ripley, the main character of Gibbs' Spy School series, wants to shed some light on the history of spy craft. After a brief mention of the history of espionage, he concentrates on the creation of the US involvement in World War II in 1941, when the need for the US to gather intelligence grew. He highlights "Wild" Bill Donovan, whom President Roosevelt made the Coordinator of Information, and runs from there.

There are chapters on research and analysis, recruitment and training, and even Operation Torch, which saw Ralph Bunche, a professor and expert in North African History, involved in this effort to help the British secure the area. Once the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was created and got off the ground, there are plenty of spy antics to discuss! Mini biographies of figures like Julia Child, movie director John Ford, and architect Eero Saarinen, as well as lesser known but just as impressive people, paint a picture of the depth and breadth of US intelligence during the War and give glimpses of many of the investigations and missions.

Good Points

Readers unfamiliar with initiatives like cracking the Enigma Code might be enticed to pick up further books like Sepetys and Sheinkein's fictional The Bletchley Riddle or Barone's nonfiction Unbreakable: The Spies Who Cracked the Nazis' Secret Code (which is mentioned in the afterword!). There's more information about the storied and fascinating Virginia Hall (who has been highlighted in Purnell's Agent Most Wanted: The Never-Before-Told Story of the Most Dangerous Spy of World War II and Friddell's The Mysterious Virginia Hall: World War II's Most Dangerous Spy), but other women spies who aided the war effort are also included. Missions behind enemy lines are detailed, as well as propaganda and my very favorite-- research and development. It's intriguing to read about how equipment like miniature cameras and hidden guns were invented and used!

D-Day is portrayed as the ultimate "con", the culmination of the efforts of so many. Of course, after the war there was less need for concentrated espionage, and the OSS was shut down. It didn't end so much as evolve, and many people who played a role in the OSS were present when the Central Intelligence Agency was created.

The afterword was fascinating. Gibbs has written a number of spy novels, and managed to get invited to the CIA museum, which is only accessible to employees of the organization or their guests. He managed to gather so much information that the Spy School Secret Files is going to be a series! This is a shorter book, and perfect for readers who enjoyed Scholastic Focus titles like Hopkinson's World War II Up Close: They Battled in Blizzards, Race Against Death: The Greatest POW Rescue of World War II, They Saved the Stallions, or titles about spy craft like Spradlin's Close Calls: How Eleven US Presidents Escaped from the Brink of Death or the late Paul Janeczko's The Dark Game or Secret Soldiers: How the U.S. Twenty-Third Special Troops Fooled the Nazis.