William Joseph Spahr was a prominent American CIA analyst, author, and retired Army colonel who was an authority on Soviet military policy. A 1943 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he spent 26 years in the U.S. Army and served in Europe during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. He earned the Bronze Star Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal, and the CIA Career Intelligence Medal.

He known for writing the books "Zhukov: The Rise and Fall of a Great Captain" which was published in 1993 and "Stalin’s Lieutenants: A Study of Command Under Duress" which was published in 1997.