How CIA Predecessors Were Assessed and Selected

Back in the early days of the OSS, when the stakes were sky-high and the playbook still being written, candidates faced a gauntlet of tests designed to weed out all but the toughest, sharpest minds—because only a ‘PhD who could win a bar fight’ would survive behind enemy lines.

Hitler’s Last Walther

The Führer’s last firearm, long speculated to be an ornate showpiece, was most likely an unremarkable Walther PP—just a standard-issue sidearm for a man whose final days were anything but.

What Would Alvin York Carry Today?

York didn’t need nods or Gucci gear to be lethal—he just needed faith, a clean rifle, and the will to get up and move forward when hell broke loose.