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The Game Of The Foxes
The untold story of German espionage in the USA & Great Britain during WWII. This book is ostensibly about German espionage, but the political history includes a great deal of information that will startle many readers. Here you can read the hidden & disgraceful facts that led up to the incredible slaughter of WWII.
Introduction
The halcyon days
Britain in focus
The foxes go to war
The foxes in America
The spies on embassy row
"This is a new war"
Twilight of the foxes
Bibliography
Index
Introduction
The halcyon days
Britain in focus
The foxes go to war
The foxes in America
The spies on embassy row
"This is a new war"
Twilight of the foxes
Bibliography
Index
850 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1971
About the author
Ladislas Farago
47 books25 followersLadislas Farago was a military historian and journalist who published a number of best-selling books on history and espionage, especially concerning the World War II era.
He was the author of Patton: Ordeal and Triumph, the biography of General George Patton that formed the basis for the film "Patton" and wrote The Broken Seal, one of the books that formed the basis for the movie ''Tora! Tora! Tora!''.
One of his more controversial books was Aftermath: Martin Bormann and the Fourth Reich .
He was the author of Patton: Ordeal and Triumph, the biography of General George Patton that formed the basis for the film "Patton" and wrote The Broken Seal, one of the books that formed the basis for the movie ''Tora! Tora! Tora!''.
One of his more controversial books was Aftermath: Martin Bormann and the Fourth Reich .
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
July 11, 2013
I'm currently reading a history of the intelligence services during WWII in Europe written by a Britisher. In reference to the question posed in the book's description appended, no, he doesn't mention the UK's unconscienceable callousness towards continental Jewry at all.
Farago, a veteran of Naval Intelligence during the war himself, details the attempts and almost unbelievable failures of Axis intelligence to infiltrate agents into the USA and the UK during WWII: they died, they were imprisoned or they were turned to serve the Allies.
The writing style is fluid. One should have a mental map of the basic chronology of the war in place before reading.
Farago, a veteran of Naval Intelligence during the war himself, details the attempts and almost unbelievable failures of Axis intelligence to infiltrate agents into the USA and the UK during WWII: they died, they were imprisoned or they were turned to serve the Allies.
The writing style is fluid. One should have a mental map of the basic chronology of the war in place before reading.
February 21, 2014
This book is subtitled "The Untold Story of German Espionage in the United States and Great Britain During World War II". This sells the book a bit short as there is a fair amount of information about German agents in Panama, Sweden, Turkey, Spain, and Portugal.
The German espionage apparatus comes across looking almost like a comedy of errors. The field wasn't taken seriously by the Nazis. Seems they didn't put much effort into training their spies, didn't support them in any material way, and generally ignored what they found unless it met Nazi leadership's preconceived notions.
There are lots of funny little tidbits as well. For instance, the British locked captured German spies in a facility that was formerly an insane asylum.
Any single book about the subject necessarily is only a shallow survey of the subject. For example, I read "Agent Zigzag" a while back. A fascinating story in book form that is given less than two pages here. I have no doubt that dozens of other characters introduced here in a few pages or less would be quite interesting if properly researched and narrated.
The German espionage apparatus comes across looking almost like a comedy of errors. The field wasn't taken seriously by the Nazis. Seems they didn't put much effort into training their spies, didn't support them in any material way, and generally ignored what they found unless it met Nazi leadership's preconceived notions.
There are lots of funny little tidbits as well. For instance, the British locked captured German spies in a facility that was formerly an insane asylum.
Any single book about the subject necessarily is only a shallow survey of the subject. For example, I read "Agent Zigzag" a while back. A fascinating story in book form that is given less than two pages here. I have no doubt that dozens of other characters introduced here in a few pages or less would be quite interesting if properly researched and narrated.
February 9, 2009
An excellent non-fiction account of the actual spying conducted by the Germans prior to and during WWII based upon the actual surviving documents of the Abwehr as well as extensive interviews of the surviving perpetrators. Very interesting and detailed with the revelations of double and even triple agents in the US, Britain and throughout many of the 'neutrals' in the Western Hemisphere as well as Europe and Asia.
April 2, 2007
Good. it showed the real goings on in the pre-war years of the 1920's and 1930's. It is a must for any student of World War 2 history. It is astonishing on how much research that Farago did to formulate this book.
November 11, 2019
Admiral Canaris and his Abwehr were not really a match for the allied sercret services. A compelling book which shows that espionage was also taking part in and with help of the neutral countries.
May 31, 2025
It is a long and somewhat arduous read, likely due to the magnitude of the topic of German spying on the Allies during WW2. It is tempered with a good amount of anecdotes and focuses on generalities rather than getting bogged down in too much detail. That's not to say it lacks detail, but the book gives background and a human touch to the subject matter rather than spending too much time on technical aspects of the spy business.
Perhaps much like the espionage business itself, I was impressed at the successes enjoyed by German spies only to find out about a third of the way into the book that most German spies (which is to say spies for Germany more so than spies of German nationality) were part of the famous British Double-Cross program. There was an implication the US was less adept at discovering German spies, but it seems the FBI also played most of them back against their German masters, as well. By the end of the book, I was left not really knowing how successful German intelligence efforts were.
We know Allied efforts at a grand deception plan to prevent the Germans from knowing when and where the D-Day landings would take place were almost entirely successful. I would have liked to learn more about that despite the book being about German espionage. Even so, the whole matter barely rates a couple of chapters, seemingly reduced to a number of statements the Double-Cross program fed misinformation to the Germans on this topic. Thus, perhaps one of the most important aspects of intelligence-gathering and counter-espionage in the entire war seems minimized and glossed-over as if it hardly mattered at all.
Farago provides some interesting insights into a number of espionage schemes and clearly did some extensive research to unearth information about agents and their efforts. Unfortunately, it feels like he only scratched the surface on a number of spy rings.
The book is not a spy thriller, although there are some anecdotes that entertain in that manner It's also interesting to discover certain folks like Ian Flemming and Kim Philby were involved in counter-espionage during WW2. The book is engaging, as far as a historical topic of this nature goes, but it's also not likely to be enjoyable reading for someone not interested in the subject matter.
Perhaps much like the espionage business itself, I was impressed at the successes enjoyed by German spies only to find out about a third of the way into the book that most German spies (which is to say spies for Germany more so than spies of German nationality) were part of the famous British Double-Cross program. There was an implication the US was less adept at discovering German spies, but it seems the FBI also played most of them back against their German masters, as well. By the end of the book, I was left not really knowing how successful German intelligence efforts were.
We know Allied efforts at a grand deception plan to prevent the Germans from knowing when and where the D-Day landings would take place were almost entirely successful. I would have liked to learn more about that despite the book being about German espionage. Even so, the whole matter barely rates a couple of chapters, seemingly reduced to a number of statements the Double-Cross program fed misinformation to the Germans on this topic. Thus, perhaps one of the most important aspects of intelligence-gathering and counter-espionage in the entire war seems minimized and glossed-over as if it hardly mattered at all.
Farago provides some interesting insights into a number of espionage schemes and clearly did some extensive research to unearth information about agents and their efforts. Unfortunately, it feels like he only scratched the surface on a number of spy rings.
The book is not a spy thriller, although there are some anecdotes that entertain in that manner It's also interesting to discover certain folks like Ian Flemming and Kim Philby were involved in counter-espionage during WW2. The book is engaging, as far as a historical topic of this nature goes, but it's also not likely to be enjoyable reading for someone not interested in the subject matter.
April 17, 2023
German Nazi spies in the U.S. from 1933-45? You betcha! Ladislas Farago, author of PATTON: ORDEAL AND TRUMPH, the basis for the 1970 film, here explores a little-known facet of World War II; how the Nazis tried to influence the outcome of the war through sleeper agents in America. From 1933 (start of Franklin Roosevelt's first term) and until the outbreak of war in 1939, German agents had but one mission, and that was to keep the United States in isolation and out of Europe. This was the obverse of British intelligence, including, as we now know, Roald Dahl, whose objective was to bring the U.S. into war on the side of Britain. Interestingly, the Germans decided to play the patriot card. Their agents were to spread the same line Roosevelt supported superficially: "I hate war and I am not going to send your boys to fight in Europe again". (A promise as truthful and meaningful as Lyndon Johnson's "I am not going to send American boys to fight in Asia in a war Asian boys should be fighting".) The German-American Bund, with its membership in the tens of thousands, was instructed to wave the red, white & blue and accept only American born members in its ranks. American public opinion was strongly against U.S. involvement already. The German espionage outfit only helped marginally to move it in that direction. In his most sensational revelation, Farago reveals that when Europe went to war in 1939 Nazi spies funneled money into the Republican Party, first Thomas Dewey and later presidential nominee Wendell Willkie, to defeat FDR's bid for a third term. After 1941 Nazi espionage efforts were severely hampered by the fact that unlike occupied Europe and the neutrals, no pro-German constituency or important fascist party existed on these shores. Whoever the Americans imagine their enemies to be these days I suggest they read this book first. Even the cleverest of foxes needs little foxes for followers.
December 29, 2018
Extremely detailed account of Nazi espionage operations, and, to a lesser extent, of Allied counterespionage efforts; the British initiative to turn Nazi agents into double agents gets particular attention. Some sections drag a tad--it feels at times like every spy get his own chapter, no matter how inconsequential--but the parts on internal conflicts in the Nazi bureaucracy, and on the rollup of the American network, are well told.
July 3, 2021
Awesome read for a history buff. Real life spy stories from German Intelligence papers of WW2.
August 29, 2022
fascinating and revealing...
Want to Read
February 17, 2020Synopsis: the untold story of German espionage in the US and the UK during WWII correlated with the startling political actions of those two.
July 18, 2016
History of the Nazi Abwehr intelligence agency.
The writing's a little melodramatic. The author has a habit of injecting himself into the narrative. But it does provide an interesting glimpse into WWII espionage.
Ironically, the Nazis made lousy spies.
Bureaucratic infighting hobbled them horribly. The Foreign Ministry didn't want spies operating anywhere. While the military ignored whatever was given to them. They knew that America had a nuclear program. They didn't think it was a big deal.
Hitler refused to spy on the British because he thought he was close to winning them over. When he changed his mind, it was too late. The British pretty much turned every German spy that came their way into a double agent.
We'll never know how successful Nazi sabotage was in America and Britain because they heavily relied on criminals and Irish dissidents who often lied about their accomplishments to get money.
Spain, Sweden and Argentina claimed to be neutral but were pro-Nazi. Spies from all sides hung out in Turkey.
The British bragged about their guy Kim Philby outmaneuvering the Nazis in Iberia just to learn years later in horror that he screwed them over too and was a Soviet mole.
The Germans were pissed that the Japanese refused to attack the Russians. The Japanese didn't trust the Germans at all and ignored their warning that the Americans had broken their code.
The jury's still out on William Canaris, Nazi Germany's top spy. Some think he deliberately botched attempts to bring Spain into the Axis alliance, capture Gibraltar and kidnap the Pope. At the very end of the war he was arrested, accused of being part of the plot to depose Hitler and executed.
Leave it to the Germans to not be sentimental. The center of Nazi espionage is now a generic office building. Why tear down a perfectly good building?
The writing's a little melodramatic. The author has a habit of injecting himself into the narrative. But it does provide an interesting glimpse into WWII espionage.
Ironically, the Nazis made lousy spies.
Bureaucratic infighting hobbled them horribly. The Foreign Ministry didn't want spies operating anywhere. While the military ignored whatever was given to them. They knew that America had a nuclear program. They didn't think it was a big deal.
Hitler refused to spy on the British because he thought he was close to winning them over. When he changed his mind, it was too late. The British pretty much turned every German spy that came their way into a double agent.
We'll never know how successful Nazi sabotage was in America and Britain because they heavily relied on criminals and Irish dissidents who often lied about their accomplishments to get money.
Spain, Sweden and Argentina claimed to be neutral but were pro-Nazi. Spies from all sides hung out in Turkey.
The British bragged about their guy Kim Philby outmaneuvering the Nazis in Iberia just to learn years later in horror that he screwed them over too and was a Soviet mole.
The Germans were pissed that the Japanese refused to attack the Russians. The Japanese didn't trust the Germans at all and ignored their warning that the Americans had broken their code.
The jury's still out on William Canaris, Nazi Germany's top spy. Some think he deliberately botched attempts to bring Spain into the Axis alliance, capture Gibraltar and kidnap the Pope. At the very end of the war he was arrested, accused of being part of the plot to depose Hitler and executed.
Leave it to the Germans to not be sentimental. The center of Nazi espionage is now a generic office building. Why tear down a perfectly good building?
June 28, 2008
This book looks like it's going to be really dry and scholarly. The author talks about the tomes of papers and things that he unearthed of the German WWII spy papers: logs of people, places, events, code names, payments, and all kinds of miscellany. However dry the material that went into the book, however, the picture that emerges in the hands of the capable author is fascinating.
If you want to know what mid-twentieth century spying was like, as seen from the side of the aggressors, this is a great place to start. The stories he relates of the various spies, their techniques, who they worked for, who were double-agents, and what the Allies tried to do about the plague of German spying makes for compelling reading.
If you want to know what mid-twentieth century spying was like, as seen from the side of the aggressors, this is a great place to start. The stories he relates of the various spies, their techniques, who they worked for, who were double-agents, and what the Allies tried to do about the plague of German spying makes for compelling reading.
December 1, 2015
A fine and somewhat famous book, but should be read with a few cautions and corrections in mind. Farago published this in 1971, before Britain's Official Secrets Act was relaxed (courtesy of J. C. Masterman's The Double-Cross System, released in 1972), and before Dusko Popov's memoirs in 1974.
As a result, Farago has nothing on the greatest spy of WWII, Tricycle (Popov); Farago's section on Operation Fortitude (deception plan for D-Day) thus has a glaring omission.
Farago also makes a number of minor errors, such as referring to British spy Arthur Owens as "Johnny" Owens.
As a result, Farago has nothing on the greatest spy of WWII, Tricycle (Popov); Farago's section on Operation Fortitude (deception plan for D-Day) thus has a glaring omission.
Farago also makes a number of minor errors, such as referring to British spy Arthur Owens as "Johnny" Owens.
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October 11, 2007the book is mind searching, having to have gone this deep in digging out all that happened even secretely before and during the world war 2. kudos to the author!
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July 17, 2008940.54osbwar
May 19, 2010
fascinating and revealing...
January 21, 2011
I absolutely loved this book!
November 28, 2014
A highly detailed history of German espionage operations in Great Britain and the U. S. during WWII.
A slow read but thoroughly engaging.
A slow read but thoroughly engaging.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews