This book faithfully reproduces the United States Office of Strategic Services' (OSS) 1944 edition of 'Special Weapons and Devices'.

The book covers personal weapons such as the Smatchet and Stinger, Harassing devices such as the repulsive "Who Me?", Sabotage devices such as the ingenious Caccolube, Incendiaries such as the "City Slicker", Explosive devices such as the "Clam", firing devices, cameras, clandestine printing presses, lock picks, and more.

Intended merely as a supply catalog to streamline equipment requisitions and inform field personnel of new stores items, the book remains an enigmatic glimpse back to a time before sub-miniaturization and before computers and GPS revolutionized intelligence gathering and clandestine warfare.