Subtitled "British Covert Operations in the United States, 1939-44," Mahl's account brings together bits and pieces of a story that has been told before together with the best research and documentation of the subject available on this crucial period of Western history. Faced with the growing prospect of war with Germany in 1939, the British government mounted a massive secret political campaign in the United States to weaken the isolationist, bring America into World War II, and then influence policy in England's favor.Desperate Deception reveals Britain's widespread use of front groups, agents, and collaborators and shows how its agents manipulated polling data and influenced election campaigns. This eye-opening book details a vast program that not only helped change the course of war but also the face of American politics.