The Secret War: Personal Accounts of the secret heroes of World War II

by Michael Paterson

This title offers a comprehensive look at the undercover war, revealing just how much of WWII was won away from the battlefields and how each side desperately tried to get into the 'mind set' of their enemies' code makers. From the British cryptologists to the Navajo Indians whose codes helped win the war against Japan, this book reveals the stories of extraordinary people and their chance finds, lucky accidents, dogged determination and moments of sheer brilliance, to expose how the war was really won. It includes an intriguing glimpse of the early history of the computer - its spectacular uses and subsequent development. It features vivid first-hand accounts from the staff of Bletchley Park, French and Dutch resistance fighters, the American secret agents and members of the Services Liaison Unit who passed on vital coded information to field commanders. It also includes a 16 page plate section with rare archive photographs.

Genres: World War II, History, Nonfiction, Military Fiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book was interesting. Liked that they interviewed those were involved in decoding messages in WWII.

[Sammie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up following a visit to Bletchley Park. This book covers a lot of information, and if I hadn't been on a well-informed guided tour of the museums at Bletchley Park I wouldn't have fully understood some of it. It was very interesting to read though, and covers not only the work done at Bletchley Park, but also other code-breaking operations around the world.

Overall a good overview of British code-breaking in WWII.

[Cecilia Van Der Merwe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read on the work done by code breakers