Beyond Top Secret U

by Ewen Montagu

“Few fictional spy thrillers are as gripping as Ewen Montagu’s account of real-life British Intelligence operations during World War II.” Sunday Express “My recollections of ‘The War to End Wars’ had convinced me that there were better ways of dying than in a modern army.” A keen sailor in the years preceding the outbreak of World War II, Ewen Montagu joined the Navy’s supplementary reserve, hoping that they would find some use for him. Following the emergence of his qualifications as a K.C. he found himself attached to the Admiralty and stepping into the shadowy world of British Intelligence. For most officers Top Secret was the highest classification, but for those involved with Enigma it was Ultra Secret (Top Secret U), and yet there was a higher classification still. Working under the Director of Naval Intelligence, Montagu was one of those few privy to that highest classification, beyond Top Secret U, and the Double Cross System. Involved in the strategic deception surrounding D-Day and V-bombs, as well a lead role in Operation Mincemeat, his work was so secretive that it even prevented promotion. Bringing to the fore the collaborative efforts of NID’s 17M, MI5’s B1A and the XX Committee, ‘Beyond Top Secret U’ is a very personal account of the secret war, filled with intrigues and ingenuity, ne’er-do-wells and corpses … and more incredible than any thriller. Praise for Beyond Top Secret U “One of the incomparable accounts of the secret war.” Times Literary Supplement Ewen Montagu (1901-1985) was a British judge, Naval Intelligence Officer and writer from a prominent Jewish family. Following his wartime service he held the position of Judge Advocate of the Fleet for nearly thirty years. In addition to Beyond Top Secret U he notably authored The Man Who Never Was, his account of Operation Mincemeat. Endeavour Press is the UK’s leading independent publisher of digital books. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Thriller, Espionage, World War II

190 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[NRVOUTDOORSMAN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Montagu is best know for his role in "Operation Mincemeat," a story he told in his book "The Man Who Never Was." This memoir mentions that but discusses in more general terms his part in hoodwinking Germany's intelligence services using double agents. Coupled with "Ultra" and the ability to read German ciphers the British pulled the wool over their eyes for years. Montagu had a front row seat in this and tells his story with humor and candor.

[Martin Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lieutenant-Commander Montagu is best known for devising one off the most ingenious descriptions of the Second World War. "The Man Who Never Was",a corpse carrying supposedly secret papers washed ashore in Spain and fooled the Germans ahead of the allied invasion of Sicily. Montagu was the key man in British naval intelligence linking deception operations, codebreaking and double agents. He provides a personal and readable account of the War as he saw it.

[Christopher Bowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely fascinating Book

A book has to be awesome to get five stars from me. The subject matter is very interesting. Anybody who has an interest in ww2 or spies needs to read this. It is well written and I love that it is factual.

[Gail Harkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding.

Montague gives a vivid inside look at the running of double agents during WWII, based on his personal, high level experience . The accounts are incredible.


experiences

[Efguirguis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting

A potentially captivating read spoiled by bad writing and confusing syntax.
He could have done better to have had his experiences recounted by a good ghost writer. It would have been a kind of poetic justice given that deception was the subject matter.

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a thoroughly charming memoir of the war time experiences of a British Naval Intelligence officer best known for his central role in 'Operation Mincemeat' whereby the Germans were misled as regards Allied intentions in North Africa and Sicily. Readable, often amusing.

[John Purvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Beyond Top Secret U” eBook was published in 2016 (originally published in paper in 1977) and was written by Ewen Montagu (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ewen_Mo...). Mr. Montagu published three books.

I received a galley of this novel for review through https://www.netgalley.com. I categorize this novel as ‘G’. This Non-Fiction work covers World War II and describes some of the ‘Ultra Secret’ operations conducted by British Naval Intelligence during World War II.

Tales are included of how the British ran German ‘spies’ sending misleading information to the German high command. He also tells how the Germans were misled as to the accuracy of their bombing and rocket attacks.

I spent 6 hours with this 192 page book. It was interesting, but it was told in a very dry ‘here are the facts’ fashion. I give this novel a 3.8 (rounded up to a 4) out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.

[Patty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not nearly as interesting as some of the other books I have read on the topic of the breaking of the German code Enigma in WWII and our author, albeit brilliant though he may be, has a bit of an attitude problem that was annoying from time to time.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

good account on operation mincemeat