What do you think?
Rate this book
MI9: A History of the Secret Service for Escape and Evasion in World War Two
A thrilling history of MI9 - the WWII organization that engineered the escape of Allied forces from behind enemy lines
When Allied fighters were trapped behind enemy lines, one branch of military intelligence helped them MI9. The organization set up clandestine routes that zigzagged across Nazi-occupied Europe, enabling soldiers and airmen to make their way home. Secret agents and resistance fighters risked their lives and those of their families to hide the men.
Drawing on declassified files and eye-witness testimonies from across Europe and the United States, Helen Fry provides a significant reassessment of MI9’s wartime role. Central to its success were figures such as Airey Neave, Jimmy Langley, Sam Derry, and Mary Lindell, who was one of only a few women parachuted into enemy territory for MI9. This astonishing account combines escape and evasion tales with the previously untold stories behind the establishment of MI9 - and reveals how the organization saved thousands of lives.
When Allied fighters were trapped behind enemy lines, one branch of military intelligence helped them MI9. The organization set up clandestine routes that zigzagged across Nazi-occupied Europe, enabling soldiers and airmen to make their way home. Secret agents and resistance fighters risked their lives and those of their families to hide the men.
Drawing on declassified files and eye-witness testimonies from across Europe and the United States, Helen Fry provides a significant reassessment of MI9’s wartime role. Central to its success were figures such as Airey Neave, Jimmy Langley, Sam Derry, and Mary Lindell, who was one of only a few women parachuted into enemy territory for MI9. This astonishing account combines escape and evasion tales with the previously untold stories behind the establishment of MI9 - and reveals how the organization saved thousands of lives.
Audible Audio
Published November 3, 2020
55 people are currently reading
478 people want to read
About the author
Helen Fry
37 books73 followersHelen Fry has written numerous books on the Second World War with particular reference to the 10,000 Germans and Austrians who fought for Britain in the war.
Other books by Helen include histories of various Anglo-Jewish communities, including The Lost Jews of Cornwall (with Keith Pearce); and The Jews of Exeter. Her titles also include books on Christian-Jewish Dialogue. Her textbook Christian-Jewish Dialogue: A Reader has been translated into Russian, Czech and Polish.
Helen has branched out into fiction with James Hamilton under the pseudonym JH Schryer. Together they have written two novels of historical fiction and been in development on scripts with Green Gaia Films for a TV drama based on their novels.
Helen is an Honorary Research Fellow in the Dept of Hebrew & Jewish Studies at University College London and Lecturer at the London Jewish Cultural Centre. She is a member of The Biographers’ Club, The Society of Authors and an Honorary member of The Association of Jewish Refugees.
Other books by Helen include histories of various Anglo-Jewish communities, including The Lost Jews of Cornwall (with Keith Pearce); and The Jews of Exeter. Her titles also include books on Christian-Jewish Dialogue. Her textbook Christian-Jewish Dialogue: A Reader has been translated into Russian, Czech and Polish.
Helen has branched out into fiction with James Hamilton under the pseudonym JH Schryer. Together they have written two novels of historical fiction and been in development on scripts with Green Gaia Films for a TV drama based on their novels.
Helen is an Honorary Research Fellow in the Dept of Hebrew & Jewish Studies at University College London and Lecturer at the London Jewish Cultural Centre. She is a member of The Biographers’ Club, The Society of Authors and an Honorary member of The Association of Jewish Refugees.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
October 5, 2020
I was greatly looking forward to reading this new history of the activities of MI-9 during the Second World. Sadly, I found the work a huge disappointment. It is evident that Dr Fry conducted an immense amount of research and the book covers considerable ground but it is let down by the style of writing (a personal opinion) and, more importantly, by the multiplicity of errors and the extraordinarily poor summaries of some events. For instance, the escape of the senior officers from Italy in late 1943 is a mangled summary that barely reflects the true sequence of affairs and the description of the flight of refugees across Burma in 1942 is a bizarre cherry-picking of events under the heading ‘Escape Lines’. Military unit names are incorrect (in one case taken directly from a primary source (itself wrong) without being corrected) and several names are misspelled—e.g. Simmons is used rather than Simonds and Mackerall rather than Mackrell, the latter being awarded a George Medal not a George Cross, as Dr Fry suggests. Although the notes are excellent and the bibliography is extensive, the indexing is incomplete. The book was published by Yale University Press. I do not know who the editor was but they bear some blame for the final product. What I wanted was an authoritative ‘go-to’ resource about MI-9; what I got was a comprehensive telling of the tale but one that cannot be wholly trusted without additional fact-checking. I hope that Dr Fry considers a corrected second edition – it would be worth the effort.
May 9, 2023
If someone were to find hundreds of boxes of documents concerning a wartime government agency… And if that person was to write out a list of almost every fact, name, piece of correspondence, and date found in those documents… Then you would have this book. Sure there is some loose organization of these facts, but just barely. There is no real attempt to either make a coherent narrative or to make a solid point with this information. Almost all facts listed seem to have equal weight. While the author’s research is clearly thorough, I’m waiting for another author to turn this into a gripping war story, an argument defending (or deriding) this type of agency, or even an explanation of why we need to know all of the minutiae included here. This book had all the reading enjoyment of an excel spreadsheet.
March 29, 2022
Such a fascinating topic, and yet a somewhat disappointing read. There's a lot of interesting stuff here, lots of stories well worth telling, but unfortunately all of it is presented in a jumbled mess without any semblance of a coherent structure, jumping merrily between events and persons, back and forth across years and locations, in a haphazard manner that made it nearly impossible to keep track of any one person or incident mentioned related to anything else. Between that and the various errors in the published text, one has to wonder whether an editor was involved at any stage at all in the process of getting this book released.
February 18, 2022
I was very disappointed with this book, and didn't get very far with it.
The author knows her facts: what she doesn't seem to know is how to structure a book. Facts are just chucked in because they are known; anecdotes are told at too great length. The editing too is dire - a captured man in Norway is taken to hospital in Littlehammer.
Sorry, but this was not for me.
The author knows her facts: what she doesn't seem to know is how to structure a book. Facts are just chucked in because they are known; anecdotes are told at too great length. The editing too is dire - a captured man in Norway is taken to hospital in Littlehammer.
Sorry, but this was not for me.
July 19, 2025
An interesting read! I've always been a big Hogan's Heroes fan, so reading the real story about WWII prisoners of war, escapees, and intelligence networks was very interesting. I didn't even know MI9 existed until I saw this book, so I enjoyed learning about a new topic!
May 26, 2023
I randomly found this book on the shelves of Caldicot library. I read a lot of books on U.K. Intelligence services: MI5, MI6 and GCHQ. During the war…. Mt grandfather (GaGa) was in 618 Squadron RAF and 143 Coastal Command. He didn’t really speak to me much about World War 2 itself until quite late on in his life. Typical of an Armed Forces Officer, though, he kept a pristine home and in part of this home, in his back garden, where he had erected a wigwam, at the top of his garden, lay a treasure trove of WW2 memorabilia. The lost fascinating of items to me as a kid were all his ‘secret’ gadgets. He had all these sort of special James Bond Q-like military aids, secret maps, secret compartments. The most fascinating of all his possessions for me was his ‘trick’ compass which was a normal RAF uniform button, which unscrewed to reveal a miniature, fully-working compass. Whenever I visited him I forced him to show me it God knows how many times - with the full story of how, if he was shot down by the Luftwaffe, behind enemy lines, this little compass would help him to escape and evade capture and get home safe and sound. Of course, he was lucky and although he saw a lot of action, he never got downed in Nazi Occupied Europe or in the later stages of the war in Japanese held South East Asia. He always mentioned this secret intelligence service MI9 which was much more powerful and effective and secret than MI5 or MI6 or any others and was the ‘real’ secret’ service but that you wouldn’t read about them in any newspapers etc. I didn’t really pay much attention, just enjoyed the idea of British ingenuity and secret gadgets. Old Gaga retained a fascinat6ion with all gadgets for the rest of his life, and any Xmas or Birthday presents usually involved some sort of novelty gadget style fun toy that would keep him amused for a bit.
Fast forward to the actual book review now. I have read this and appreciate that MI9 did exist ad that everything he said was basically completely true and indeed the book documents the full lists of gadgets handed out to RAF pilots and others who faced the potential of capture on foreign shores. Indeed James Bond, creator Sir Ian Fleming was connected to MI9 along other (less fêted) famous espionage figures such as Kim Philby. MI9 were the par excellence intelligence service of World War 2 for Britain – It encompassed Room 900 and also IS9. Their mission was focussed on ‘Escape and Evasion’. Whereas services such as SOE, MI6 and GCHQ (Bletchley Park – Alan Turing, Enigma Code, computers etc) did exist and indeed were often established due to WW2, MI9 was so clandestine that very little information has ever been released and much is still locked away in the archives. This book therefore was well-researched. It does tell the most remarkable tales, one of the most exciting collection of narratives I have encountered in studying WW2 history.
MI9 did indeed liaise and work with the collaboration of the other intelligence agencies, although frictions and rivalries did exist. We look at its formation at the start of the book.
It was created specifically to deal with the issue of servicemen who were ‘behind enemy lines’. In addition to ‘Escape and Evasion ‘ which was the main goal, it also was a direct intelligence-gathering operation with any repatriated personnel being debriefed for vital intelligence about enemy movements and other critical information related to the enemy and the situation of other allies in hostile territory.
I randomly found this book on the shelves of Caldicot library. I read a lot of books on U.K. Intelligence services: MI5, MI6 and GCHQ. During the war…. Mt grandfather (GaGa) was in 618 Squadron RAF and 143 Coastal Command. He didn’t really speak to me much about World War 2 itself until quite late on in his life. Typical of an Armed Forces Officer, though, he kept a pristine home and in part of this home, in his back garden, where he had erected a wigwam, at the top of his garden, lay a treasure trove of WW2 memorabilia. The lost fascinating of items to me as a kid were all his ‘secret’ gadgets. He had all these sort of special James Bond Q-like military aids, secret maps, secret compartments. The most fascinating of all his possessions for me was his ‘trick’ compass which was a normal RAF uniform button, which unscrewed to reveal a miniature, fully-working compass. Whenever I visited him I forced him to show me it God knows how many times – with the full story of how, if he was shot down by the Luftwaffe, behind enemy lines, this little compass would help him to escape and evade capture and get home safe and sound. Of course, he was lucky and although he saw a lot of action, he never got downed in Nazi Occupied Europe or in the later stages of the war in Japanese held South East Asia. He always mentioned this secret intelligence service MI9 which was much more powerful and effective and secret than MI5 or MI6 or any others and was the ‘real’ secret’ service but that you wouldn’t read about them in any newspapers etc. I didn’t really pay much attention, just enjoyed the idea of British ingenuity and secret gadgets. Old Gaga retained a fascinat6ion with all gadgets for the rest of his life, and any Xmas or Birthday presents usually involved some sort of novelty gadget style fun toy that would keep him amused for a bit.
Fast forward to the actual book review now. I have read this and appreciate that MI9 did exist ad that everything he said was basically completely true and indeed the book documents the full lists of gadgets handed out to RAF pilots and others who faced the potential of capture on foreign shores. Indeed James Bond, creator Sir Ian Fleming was connected to MI9 along other (less fêted) famous espionage figures such as Kim Philby. MI9 were the par excellence intelligence service of World War 2 for Britain – It encompassed Room 900 and also IS9. Their mission was focussed on ‘Escape and Evasion’. Whereas services such as SOE, MI6 and GCHQ (Bletchley Park – Alan Turing, Enigma Code, computers etc) did exist and indeed were often established due to WW2, MI9 was so clandestine that very little information has ever been released and much is still locked away in the archives. This book therefore was well-researched. It does tell the most remarkable tales, one of the most exciting collection of narratives I have encountered in studying WW2 history.
MI9 did indeed liaise and work with the collaboration of the other intelligence agencies, although frictions andEscape andEvasion, rivalries did exist. We look at its formation at the start of the book.
It was created specifically to deal with the issue of servicemen who were ‘behind enemy lines’. In addition to ‘Escape and Evasion ‘ which was the main goal, it also was a direct intelligence-gathering operation with any repatriated personnel being debriefed for vital intelligence about enemy movements and other critical information related to the enemy and the situation of other allies in hostile territory. They set up training programmes for all personnel such as RAF pilots, and D-Day Landing soldiers, who were at risk of enemy capture.
The book contains lots of detail of the escape routes set up, often run by families of resistance Europeans, many young women, who were dissatisfied with Nazi occupation and felt compelled to actively engage the enemy by assisting allied servicemen in any way possible, often very much putting their own lives and the lives of their families and loved ones directly on the line. Indeed if an allied soldier was caught by the Nazis he would often be interred in a POW camp but as unpleasant as the experience was, he would survive. The brave European citizens risking all for the ‘rat-lines’ would have no such luxury. If they were betrayed or captured by the Nazis they were simply shot – Indeed for every successful repatriation, there was an estimated one dead European civilian in the analysis of post war statistics. These people often did it all at their own expense and it is to the credit of I9 that as the war ended and in the aftermath one of the main mission focuses was to provide good financial renumeration for these European heroes and heroines.. The Comet Line was probably the most famous of the escape routes and an obvious lead character was the remarkable young Dédée. Rat Lines were operational in Paris, in Belgium, in Holland, in Italy and indeed in Germany itself and also in South East Asia, in the jungles where the attitude to prisoners by Japanese soldiers was entirely different and Pyrenees and Alpine mountain passes were replaced by tropical rainforest jungle. We hear of the Naga Queen in the Naga Hills of Burma.
Famous stories such as ‘Escape from Colditz’ were based on reality as indeed was ‘Escape to Victory’. I was amazed at the ingenuity of prisoner escapes and just how well organized and versatile and creative the allied POWs were. They used to get smuggled board games from home sent in, secretly containing all the necessary gadgets and escape materials.
MI9 was disbanded after World War 2 and to my knowledge doesn’t exist today. It makes James Bond even look dull. It is such an exciting really war time adventure story and the truth is we are probably only just scraping the surface of the reality of what actually happened in MI9. It’s like ‘Allo Allo’ just without the faux-pas comedy and some real bravery and action. In an age of #brexit it is worth noting just how much the Europeans put on the line for our troops and the real heros of the story are not the POWs or the MI9 officers, but the simple young women and families who went that extra mile to defeat Nazism and win World War 2 for the allied cause.
#centuryofgaga My grandad was Flight Lieutenant William Gordon Gerrard (26.05.1923-14.02.2015). sadly he didn’t make it to celebrate his 100th Birthday (today: 26.05.2023) but I’m most certainly raising a glass to him up in the surly bonds, and this book review is part of the tribute I pay to him to continue his legacy and that of his fellow patriotic countrymen who served us so well during World War 2 and who must be pretty thin on the ground nowadays as we lose aa wise generation who understood what a a genuine global conflagration consisted of. In this tense hostile global atmosphere where it’s pretty much boiling over militarily into World War 3, it makes the study of the history of the previous world wars that much a critical pursuit or paramount importance and therefore I’d encourage you to go out and read Helen Fry’s book on MI9, perhaps.
Fast forward to the actual book review now. I have read this and appreciate that MI9 did exist ad that everything he said was basically completely true and indeed the book documents the full lists of gadgets handed out to RAF pilots and others who faced the potential of capture on foreign shores. Indeed James Bond, creator Sir Ian Fleming was connected to MI9 along other (less fêted) famous espionage figures such as Kim Philby. MI9 were the par excellence intelligence service of World War 2 for Britain – It encompassed Room 900 and also IS9. Their mission was focussed on ‘Escape and Evasion’. Whereas services such as SOE, MI6 and GCHQ (Bletchley Park – Alan Turing, Enigma Code, computers etc) did exist and indeed were often established due to WW2, MI9 was so clandestine that very little information has ever been released and much is still locked away in the archives. This book therefore was well-researched. It does tell the most remarkable tales, one of the most exciting collection of narratives I have encountered in studying WW2 history.
MI9 did indeed liaise and work with the collaboration of the other intelligence agencies, although frictions and rivalries did exist. We look at its formation at the start of the book.
It was created specifically to deal with the issue of servicemen who were ‘behind enemy lines’. In addition to ‘Escape and Evasion ‘ which was the main goal, it also was a direct intelligence-gathering operation with any repatriated personnel being debriefed for vital intelligence about enemy movements and other critical information related to the enemy and the situation of other allies in hostile territory.
I randomly found this book on the shelves of Caldicot library. I read a lot of books on U.K. Intelligence services: MI5, MI6 and GCHQ. During the war…. Mt grandfather (GaGa) was in 618 Squadron RAF and 143 Coastal Command. He didn’t really speak to me much about World War 2 itself until quite late on in his life. Typical of an Armed Forces Officer, though, he kept a pristine home and in part of this home, in his back garden, where he had erected a wigwam, at the top of his garden, lay a treasure trove of WW2 memorabilia. The lost fascinating of items to me as a kid were all his ‘secret’ gadgets. He had all these sort of special James Bond Q-like military aids, secret maps, secret compartments. The most fascinating of all his possessions for me was his ‘trick’ compass which was a normal RAF uniform button, which unscrewed to reveal a miniature, fully-working compass. Whenever I visited him I forced him to show me it God knows how many times – with the full story of how, if he was shot down by the Luftwaffe, behind enemy lines, this little compass would help him to escape and evade capture and get home safe and sound. Of course, he was lucky and although he saw a lot of action, he never got downed in Nazi Occupied Europe or in the later stages of the war in Japanese held South East Asia. He always mentioned this secret intelligence service MI9 which was much more powerful and effective and secret than MI5 or MI6 or any others and was the ‘real’ secret’ service but that you wouldn’t read about them in any newspapers etc. I didn’t really pay much attention, just enjoyed the idea of British ingenuity and secret gadgets. Old Gaga retained a fascinat6ion with all gadgets for the rest of his life, and any Xmas or Birthday presents usually involved some sort of novelty gadget style fun toy that would keep him amused for a bit.
Fast forward to the actual book review now. I have read this and appreciate that MI9 did exist ad that everything he said was basically completely true and indeed the book documents the full lists of gadgets handed out to RAF pilots and others who faced the potential of capture on foreign shores. Indeed James Bond, creator Sir Ian Fleming was connected to MI9 along other (less fêted) famous espionage figures such as Kim Philby. MI9 were the par excellence intelligence service of World War 2 for Britain – It encompassed Room 900 and also IS9. Their mission was focussed on ‘Escape and Evasion’. Whereas services such as SOE, MI6 and GCHQ (Bletchley Park – Alan Turing, Enigma Code, computers etc) did exist and indeed were often established due to WW2, MI9 was so clandestine that very little information has ever been released and much is still locked away in the archives. This book therefore was well-researched. It does tell the most remarkable tales, one of the most exciting collection of narratives I have encountered in studying WW2 history.
MI9 did indeed liaise and work with the collaboration of the other intelligence agencies, although frictions andEscape andEvasion, rivalries did exist. We look at its formation at the start of the book.
It was created specifically to deal with the issue of servicemen who were ‘behind enemy lines’. In addition to ‘Escape and Evasion ‘ which was the main goal, it also was a direct intelligence-gathering operation with any repatriated personnel being debriefed for vital intelligence about enemy movements and other critical information related to the enemy and the situation of other allies in hostile territory. They set up training programmes for all personnel such as RAF pilots, and D-Day Landing soldiers, who were at risk of enemy capture.
The book contains lots of detail of the escape routes set up, often run by families of resistance Europeans, many young women, who were dissatisfied with Nazi occupation and felt compelled to actively engage the enemy by assisting allied servicemen in any way possible, often very much putting their own lives and the lives of their families and loved ones directly on the line. Indeed if an allied soldier was caught by the Nazis he would often be interred in a POW camp but as unpleasant as the experience was, he would survive. The brave European citizens risking all for the ‘rat-lines’ would have no such luxury. If they were betrayed or captured by the Nazis they were simply shot – Indeed for every successful repatriation, there was an estimated one dead European civilian in the analysis of post war statistics. These people often did it all at their own expense and it is to the credit of I9 that as the war ended and in the aftermath one of the main mission focuses was to provide good financial renumeration for these European heroes and heroines.. The Comet Line was probably the most famous of the escape routes and an obvious lead character was the remarkable young Dédée. Rat Lines were operational in Paris, in Belgium, in Holland, in Italy and indeed in Germany itself and also in South East Asia, in the jungles where the attitude to prisoners by Japanese soldiers was entirely different and Pyrenees and Alpine mountain passes were replaced by tropical rainforest jungle. We hear of the Naga Queen in the Naga Hills of Burma.
Famous stories such as ‘Escape from Colditz’ were based on reality as indeed was ‘Escape to Victory’. I was amazed at the ingenuity of prisoner escapes and just how well organized and versatile and creative the allied POWs were. They used to get smuggled board games from home sent in, secretly containing all the necessary gadgets and escape materials.
MI9 was disbanded after World War 2 and to my knowledge doesn’t exist today. It makes James Bond even look dull. It is such an exciting really war time adventure story and the truth is we are probably only just scraping the surface of the reality of what actually happened in MI9. It’s like ‘Allo Allo’ just without the faux-pas comedy and some real bravery and action. In an age of #brexit it is worth noting just how much the Europeans put on the line for our troops and the real heros of the story are not the POWs or the MI9 officers, but the simple young women and families who went that extra mile to defeat Nazism and win World War 2 for the allied cause.
#centuryofgaga My grandad was Flight Lieutenant William Gordon Gerrard (26.05.1923-14.02.2015). sadly he didn’t make it to celebrate his 100th Birthday (today: 26.05.2023) but I’m most certainly raising a glass to him up in the surly bonds, and this book review is part of the tribute I pay to him to continue his legacy and that of his fellow patriotic countrymen who served us so well during World War 2 and who must be pretty thin on the ground nowadays as we lose aa wise generation who understood what a a genuine global conflagration consisted of. In this tense hostile global atmosphere where it’s pretty much boiling over militarily into World War 3, it makes the study of the history of the previous world wars that much a critical pursuit or paramount importance and therefore I’d encourage you to go out and read Helen Fry’s book on MI9, perhaps.
dnf
April 21, 2024Full disclosure, this is the third time I’ve attempted to read this book, and even though life is too short to read books you’re not enjoying, I AM going to get through this. I’ve been fascinated by MI9 since I was about 11 (so nearly 25 years), so it’s not that I don’t have a genuine interest in it; but this book has sat on my shelves since its release in 2020 and each time I’ve had to put it down due to its clunky writing and baffling chapter structure (a thousand apologies Dr Fry, but I’m not the first, nor likely to be the last to identify this as the book’s biggest flaw).
So in order to help me keep going I’m going to review as I go along; buckle up? We may all be wishing for MI9 escape aids by the time I’ve finished….
First thoughts (again) on attempt 3? I’ve just read the chapter The Creation of MI9 (yes, only one so far. This may take me all year). I don’t feel I’ve learnt much about the creation of it? There’s no real introduction to the key players and their personalities (aside from a man dresses in tartan trousers), how it was formed, and actually most of it has been spent on the inventors of escape gadgets, codes (briefly), and putting maps on silk or leaves. These surely all need their own chapters, and later on in the book? None of this seems to relate to the setting up of another branch of military intelligence and how it interacts with its sister agencies.
The writing is too staccato and maps are in weird locations (why is there one of escape lines, and not say, a picture of the tissue maps?). (I am 23 pages in)
Chapter 2, how can one be trapped in Norway following the German occupation, when one is apparently still in Helsinki, which last time I looked was in Finland?
I really miss the writing styles of Ben McIntyre and Sonia Purnell. In fact, (and I’ve thought this both times before) I really wish Ben McIntyre had written this book instead, I’d have devoured it.
I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY THERE’S THE STORY OF KING-SALTER AS MI9 DON’T SEEM TO EVEN BE INVOLVED AT ALL?!? (And yes, Littlehammer not Lillehammer 🙄).
It reads on the whole like a school essay, when you are just writing statements without really embedding it into a narrative or giving it any explanation, just point after point….
As I work my way through chapter 3 I’m starting to feel this book would probably work better as a dictionary/miscellany of MI9 - it would make more sense instead of the page to 2 pages on a person or place before moving onto the next one. There’s such a lack of narrative arc. (On a positive note I’ve got further than ever before, and the extensive notes and bibliography at the back mean it’s not as long as it looks).
Jimmy Langley. Clearly very important as he’s the prologue as well, and it may be addressed later (but I doubt it); but surely his section in chapter 3, where he makes some daring escapes and a one armed man before joining MI9 warrant more than just ‘he escaped’. How, what did he do, how was he so resourceful in getting out and was this the reason why MI9 wanted him? This is surely the opportunity? I do not understand why aspects of people’s war escapes are so brief, and why this book is set out the way it is. It’s lacking…soul.
So in order to help me keep going I’m going to review as I go along; buckle up? We may all be wishing for MI9 escape aids by the time I’ve finished….
First thoughts (again) on attempt 3? I’ve just read the chapter The Creation of MI9 (yes, only one so far. This may take me all year). I don’t feel I’ve learnt much about the creation of it? There’s no real introduction to the key players and their personalities (aside from a man dresses in tartan trousers), how it was formed, and actually most of it has been spent on the inventors of escape gadgets, codes (briefly), and putting maps on silk or leaves. These surely all need their own chapters, and later on in the book? None of this seems to relate to the setting up of another branch of military intelligence and how it interacts with its sister agencies.
The writing is too staccato and maps are in weird locations (why is there one of escape lines, and not say, a picture of the tissue maps?). (I am 23 pages in)
Chapter 2, how can one be trapped in Norway following the German occupation, when one is apparently still in Helsinki, which last time I looked was in Finland?
I really miss the writing styles of Ben McIntyre and Sonia Purnell. In fact, (and I’ve thought this both times before) I really wish Ben McIntyre had written this book instead, I’d have devoured it.
I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY THERE’S THE STORY OF KING-SALTER AS MI9 DON’T SEEM TO EVEN BE INVOLVED AT ALL?!? (And yes, Littlehammer not Lillehammer 🙄).
It reads on the whole like a school essay, when you are just writing statements without really embedding it into a narrative or giving it any explanation, just point after point….
As I work my way through chapter 3 I’m starting to feel this book would probably work better as a dictionary/miscellany of MI9 - it would make more sense instead of the page to 2 pages on a person or place before moving onto the next one. There’s such a lack of narrative arc. (On a positive note I’ve got further than ever before, and the extensive notes and bibliography at the back mean it’s not as long as it looks).
Jimmy Langley. Clearly very important as he’s the prologue as well, and it may be addressed later (but I doubt it); but surely his section in chapter 3, where he makes some daring escapes and a one armed man before joining MI9 warrant more than just ‘he escaped’. How, what did he do, how was he so resourceful in getting out and was this the reason why MI9 wanted him? This is surely the opportunity? I do not understand why aspects of people’s war escapes are so brief, and why this book is set out the way it is. It’s lacking…soul.
December 9, 2021
An incredible amount of new research must have gone into this book as much new information is revealed. Sadly it seems that the author ran out of steam when it came to putting it all together in an interesting readable format.
The scope is there to make an unputdownable story of the incredible work done by the intelligence services in assisting escaped POWs and service personnel trapped behind enemy lines return to home shores whilst at the same time collecting valuable intelligence about the enemy.
Unfortunately this story is not well told. The book contains information repeated several times, often just a few paragraphs apart, and makes no attempt to weave a truly readable story that the information contained so richly deserves.
The scope is there to make an unputdownable story of the incredible work done by the intelligence services in assisting escaped POWs and service personnel trapped behind enemy lines return to home shores whilst at the same time collecting valuable intelligence about the enemy.
Unfortunately this story is not well told. The book contains information repeated several times, often just a few paragraphs apart, and makes no attempt to weave a truly readable story that the information contained so richly deserves.
February 27, 2022
No doubt based on amazing research, the book has been done a great disservice by the editor. The structure is uneven, each successive small chapter can repeat the same information and the end is rushed. All in all, this had the potential to be a great read — but failed.
I'm still happy to have read it, but when the blurp calls this a "page-turner", I refuse to believe that we are talking about the same book.
I'm still happy to have read it, but when the blurp calls this a "page-turner", I refuse to believe that we are talking about the same book.
May 15, 2021
What should have been an inspiring and interesting subject was spoilt by such uninspired writing. It seems the author gathered up the rough notes and stuck them together in a book without any thought of how it read. Very bitty and all over the place.
August 11, 2022
Great narration and a very intriguing story
February 4, 2025
I approached this book - MI9: A History of the Secret Service for Escape and Evasion in World War Two – with keen anticipation. How could a book about clandestine escapes from Nazi occupied Europe fail to be a thrilling and informative read. Perhaps the author Helen Fry would adopt a slightly dramatized approach in the mould of a Damien Lewis (see, for example, his true page-turner SAS Shadow Raiders). Or perhaps the author will go the route of an Anne Applebaum history, delivering a more systematic but still riveting read as that author did in her masterful history of the Gulag. Yet another option would be to tell the story of MI9 through the eyes of those who were there in the manner of the Forgotten Voices series (such as this one on the Great War).
Unfortunately, Fry failed to find a clear and consistent approach as these other books did. Ostensibly, it is a history; this is in the title. Yet it is in this regard that the book is at its worst as it fails to introduce the reader to the topic. By page 7, we are immersed into the minutiae of miniature compasses hidden in pencils and tissue maps inserted into dice for smuggling into camps. By page 17 we have a map of ‘escape lines’ before we know what these are. Then we are off, into the detail of these without ever building a clear understanding of how these incredible networks for escape and evasion came into being. The author also spends too long engaging with what are clearly nuanced academic concerns (such as the question of whether or not MI9 was an intelligence gathering organisation) for a book billed, presumably to a general audience, as a “masterful page-turner you won’t be able to put down”.
The book is at its best when it is relating stories about those involved via written and verbal testimonies. The author picks out some really interesting examples with a valuable focus on the unsung heroes, often women and children, who risked far more than simple re-capture by helping allied escapees. We hear about enigmatic, larger-than-life characters:
Yet these gems are mixed into often hard to follow descriptions of the evolution of various escape lines and the myriad changes these underwent. This should all be engaging, as these are stories of betrayal and human sacrifice, but the endless litany of names and pseudonyms renders much of the book draining to read.
The book needed a structuring device. Focussing on specific individuals for longer would have helped. We hear, for example, about the captivating figure of Andrée de Jongh (Dedée), a woman in her early twenties who oversaw an escape line and personally escorted dozens of allied airmen to safety across the Pyrenees but she drifts in and out of the book amidst a sea of names and superfluous details. Her story could have provided a stabilising backbone for a far more engaging read as well as a better history of MI9.
As it is, the book is a turgid read. Full of interesting information, yes, but it has not been appropriately filtered and structured for a wider audience than the academics who I imagine could be interested in this book’s endless detail and focus on arcane questions of the precise nature of the titular organisation.
Unfortunately, Fry failed to find a clear and consistent approach as these other books did. Ostensibly, it is a history; this is in the title. Yet it is in this regard that the book is at its worst as it fails to introduce the reader to the topic. By page 7, we are immersed into the minutiae of miniature compasses hidden in pencils and tissue maps inserted into dice for smuggling into camps. By page 17 we have a map of ‘escape lines’ before we know what these are. Then we are off, into the detail of these without ever building a clear understanding of how these incredible networks for escape and evasion came into being. The author also spends too long engaging with what are clearly nuanced academic concerns (such as the question of whether or not MI9 was an intelligence gathering organisation) for a book billed, presumably to a general audience, as a “masterful page-turner you won’t be able to put down”.
The book is at its best when it is relating stories about those involved via written and verbal testimonies. The author picks out some really interesting examples with a valuable focus on the unsung heroes, often women and children, who risked far more than simple re-capture by helping allied escapees. We hear about enigmatic, larger-than-life characters:
Françoise would never have been suspected by the Gestapo because she was a grey-haired Frenchwoman aged sixty and somewhat eccentric: 'She smoked all day long with a black holder permanently in her mouth. She seemed never to go to bed and attired in a black petticoat lived entirely on black coffee. She escorted some servicemen to the Swiss border with great ingenuity and indomitable spirit'.
Yet these gems are mixed into often hard to follow descriptions of the evolution of various escape lines and the myriad changes these underwent. This should all be engaging, as these are stories of betrayal and human sacrifice, but the endless litany of names and pseudonyms renders much of the book draining to read.
The book needed a structuring device. Focussing on specific individuals for longer would have helped. We hear, for example, about the captivating figure of Andrée de Jongh (Dedée), a woman in her early twenties who oversaw an escape line and personally escorted dozens of allied airmen to safety across the Pyrenees but she drifts in and out of the book amidst a sea of names and superfluous details. Her story could have provided a stabilising backbone for a far more engaging read as well as a better history of MI9.
As it is, the book is a turgid read. Full of interesting information, yes, but it has not been appropriately filtered and structured for a wider audience than the academics who I imagine could be interested in this book’s endless detail and focus on arcane questions of the precise nature of the titular organisation.
November 15, 2020
Heard this author on a podcast so thought I would read this book. The book is all over the place from the start some interesting facts though.
November 5, 2024
Interesting. Loses a star for saying Japan invaded Australia 🤦♂️
March 18, 2024
I’m not sure how I feel about this book. On the one hand, it is undoubtedly well researched, so I have to give the author credit for that.
However, it is very poorly written. It seems to me there was a distinct lack of editing in getting this book to print. The writing is at times incoherent and very hard to follow, with the history bouncing around between time periods, geographical location and character. The chapters only seem to be loosely grouped around a theme. It was really hard to keep track, and dare I say it, at times just boring to read. It would have benefited greatly from significantly better editing - because this is a hugely fascinating part of the Second World War and has not been done justice here. It would have read better as a piece of narrative history.
That said, I really enjoyed the emphasis on the women of MI9 and the escape lines, as historically they have not been given the same attention. The author did well to tell their stories.
However, it is very poorly written. It seems to me there was a distinct lack of editing in getting this book to print. The writing is at times incoherent and very hard to follow, with the history bouncing around between time periods, geographical location and character. The chapters only seem to be loosely grouped around a theme. It was really hard to keep track, and dare I say it, at times just boring to read. It would have benefited greatly from significantly better editing - because this is a hugely fascinating part of the Second World War and has not been done justice here. It would have read better as a piece of narrative history.
That said, I really enjoyed the emphasis on the women of MI9 and the escape lines, as historically they have not been given the same attention. The author did well to tell their stories.
May 18, 2023
Having just finished this, I'm not entirely sure what to think of it. Its structure is extremely loose for a subject area that would have benefited greatly from clear structure. As a result events get tangled and lost in some kind of general miasma you're meant to take in through osmosis. It's written in the style of a popular history - ie Fry has clearly tried to weave in exciting narrative - but feels as dry as a numbers and graphs exploration of the uses of cow feed in 18th Century County Durham. This is a great shame as there's plenty of interest here - some of the events would make great books on their own!
There are better explorations of WWII intelligence work so if your interest is casual, go elsewhere. If you're deeply interested in MI9 and evaders more specifically, then you'll find plenty here but you'll have to work for it.
There are better explorations of WWII intelligence work so if your interest is casual, go elsewhere. If you're deeply interested in MI9 and evaders more specifically, then you'll find plenty here but you'll have to work for it.
June 18, 2023
I was excited to read this, but boy was it hard to read. The author knows her stuff it seems, but writing is not her gift. The book jumps back and forth all over the place, resulting in sections basically being repeated as a character pops up in different contexts at different times.
This would have been so much clearer as a historical timeline rather than a series of stories seemingly without coherency from chapter to chapter.
This would have been so much clearer as a historical timeline rather than a series of stories seemingly without coherency from chapter to chapter.
April 28, 2021
It’s ok. A lot of interesting information but I felt it didn’t flow well and it jumped around a lot, with inconsistent style, especially in names and ranks of people. Some key events were covered in passing where minor events were repeated. I’m not a military historian but even I could spot some errors in unit names. Clearly a researched book but let down in the edit.
March 17, 2024
Absolutely fascinating
An excellent book! So much new information is revealed about the efforts to extract people from occupied Europe, it brings whole new insights into WWII history. I knew about safe houses and those who aided by providing cover and papers, but the fact that there were established lines that people moved along was a revelation to me. So many lives saved! Highly recommended.
An excellent book! So much new information is revealed about the efforts to extract people from occupied Europe, it brings whole new insights into WWII history. I knew about safe houses and those who aided by providing cover and papers, but the fact that there were established lines that people moved along was a revelation to me. So many lives saved! Highly recommended.
November 1, 2022
Fascinating subject and great detail in this book, however this felt a bit incoherent at times. There were looks of different stories in here, but at times it felt a bit disconnected and lacking in coordination- a bunch of stories patched together without a common thread or narrative.
February 20, 2022
Highly detailed work, describing astonishingly brave women and men. I found, however, the narrative very desultory.
April 25, 2023
With such a fascinating remit, I was thoroughly looking forward to this book on the contributions of MI9 and it's personnel during World War 2. For practical purposes the author limits the focus to the western sphere of the conflict and in particular on the escape and evasion part of the remit ( it was also responsible for interrogating captured German POWs). The book encompasses a broad cast list of escapees and helpers and provides great testimony to the astonishing bravery in particular of civilians, in France, Belgium. the Netherlands and Italy who risked, and often lost, their lives to help the return of soldiers and airmen back to safer havens.
The book introduces us to the officers in charge of this intelligence offshoot, Crockatt, Neave, Langley and co, with the shadowy figure of Claude Dansey lurking in the background. Many files are evidently still classified, so establishing ultimate truths are quite difficult, but it is clear that MI9 more than plays its part in intelligence gathering in its own right. The salient details of the escape routes, the Pat Line, the Comet Line, Sherbourne Line, as well as routes out of Italy and the key local heroes on the ground are laid out, along with, as mentioned the extensive cast list of characters. It is this breadth of people involved that, whilst remarkable, perhaps doesn't easily aid the reading of the book at times. It is not like, for example, a Ben Mcintyre book, or other authors who might approach the story through the eyes of a select few characters.
Here we are given details, and impressive tales no doubt, of the characters bravery, of the soldiers they saved, of the family members who don't make it, but this book definitely is towards the more scholarly, perhaps, but even then it lacks coherence and style. And that is perhaps fair enough one might argue, the details alone ought to tell their story, the sheer quantity of escape devices produced to help escapees for example is noteworthy, the heroism and ingenuity is incredible.
Yet, it still feels like a lick of paint could have added some colour to the proceedings, and the structure of the book could have been edited properly to assist the reader. At least for me anyway, perhaps coming hot on the heels of reading Mcintyre's 'Colditz' book I was primed for more of the same. Nevertheless, the research is meticulate and as extensive as is possible given various restrictions on other files, and due credit and acknowledgment is handed out as deserved, and that is certainly to the author's credit.
The book introduces us to the officers in charge of this intelligence offshoot, Crockatt, Neave, Langley and co, with the shadowy figure of Claude Dansey lurking in the background. Many files are evidently still classified, so establishing ultimate truths are quite difficult, but it is clear that MI9 more than plays its part in intelligence gathering in its own right. The salient details of the escape routes, the Pat Line, the Comet Line, Sherbourne Line, as well as routes out of Italy and the key local heroes on the ground are laid out, along with, as mentioned the extensive cast list of characters. It is this breadth of people involved that, whilst remarkable, perhaps doesn't easily aid the reading of the book at times. It is not like, for example, a Ben Mcintyre book, or other authors who might approach the story through the eyes of a select few characters.
Here we are given details, and impressive tales no doubt, of the characters bravery, of the soldiers they saved, of the family members who don't make it, but this book definitely is towards the more scholarly, perhaps, but even then it lacks coherence and style. And that is perhaps fair enough one might argue, the details alone ought to tell their story, the sheer quantity of escape devices produced to help escapees for example is noteworthy, the heroism and ingenuity is incredible.
Yet, it still feels like a lick of paint could have added some colour to the proceedings, and the structure of the book could have been edited properly to assist the reader. At least for me anyway, perhaps coming hot on the heels of reading Mcintyre's 'Colditz' book I was primed for more of the same. Nevertheless, the research is meticulate and as extensive as is possible given various restrictions on other files, and due credit and acknowledgment is handed out as deserved, and that is certainly to the author's credit.
February 26, 2024
You often hear that people never talked about the heroic work they did in the war, and this is particularly true of those in the intelligence services. The work of the SOE has become a mainstay of wartime dramas, yet I knew next to nothing about MI9 before reading this book.
Drawing from thousands of recently declassified records, memoirs, and personal testimonies, Helen Fry gathered enough to fill several volumes. This book is therefore packed with fascinating details and stories of this secretive branch of British military intelligence, responsible for assisting Allied airmen and soldiers trapped behind enemy lines in their dangerous journeys back to safety.
I particularly liked the personal accounts of the bravery of the men and women navigating the perilous landscape of wartime Europe. There are harrowing tales of captured personnel, the ingenuity and dedication of MI9 operatives, and the courage of civilians who risked their lives to hide escapees.
The book includes previously untold aspects of MI9's operations, the challenges faced in establishing escape lines in Italy due to communication difficulties and the surprising level of vigilance in Italian POW camps. This nuanced perspective adds depth and complexity to our understanding of the organisation's efforts.
Helen Fry shines a light on this hidden world, and the people who faced impossible odds. "MI9" has a unique blend of historical detail and thrilling human drama. Her engaging writing style and meticulous research make this book a valuable tribute to the unsung heroes who operated in the shadows, tipping the scales in favor of the Allied cause. Highly recommended.
Drawing from thousands of recently declassified records, memoirs, and personal testimonies, Helen Fry gathered enough to fill several volumes. This book is therefore packed with fascinating details and stories of this secretive branch of British military intelligence, responsible for assisting Allied airmen and soldiers trapped behind enemy lines in their dangerous journeys back to safety.
I particularly liked the personal accounts of the bravery of the men and women navigating the perilous landscape of wartime Europe. There are harrowing tales of captured personnel, the ingenuity and dedication of MI9 operatives, and the courage of civilians who risked their lives to hide escapees.
The book includes previously untold aspects of MI9's operations, the challenges faced in establishing escape lines in Italy due to communication difficulties and the surprising level of vigilance in Italian POW camps. This nuanced perspective adds depth and complexity to our understanding of the organisation's efforts.
Helen Fry shines a light on this hidden world, and the people who faced impossible odds. "MI9" has a unique blend of historical detail and thrilling human drama. Her engaging writing style and meticulous research make this book a valuable tribute to the unsung heroes who operated in the shadows, tipping the scales in favor of the Allied cause. Highly recommended.
October 17, 2020
Everyone knows about SOE, MI5 and MI6 but not MI9 the most secret of them all until now. It was established before war was declared based on the experience of escaped officers during WW1. The book is an historical account of its formation, evolution, and work. Agents were trained to be inserted in occupied countries to organise escape routes with the help of locals to enable service men that had escaped or were trapped in enemy territory to return home. Materials to aid escape was smuggled into POW camps. Training was provided on how to avoid capture; to RAF air crew if shot down, and other service personnel trapped behind enemy lines. The work encompassed all areas of operation from Europe to the far east and extended beyond the end of the war to include the repatriation of POWs and the honouring and paying compensation to officers, agents, and helpers as appropriate. The names of the leading agents and helpers are given of those betrayed, who manage to escape. Others who were arrested. tortured. and executed. A story of incredible courage, self-sacrifice, and devotion to duty in the face of betrayal and the ruthless pursuit of the German Gestapo in the destruction of all escape routes and it’s organisation. For those interested, a story of the experiences of a betrayed SOE agent escaping down an escape route to safety is given in a book; City of Spies by Mara Timon.
October 25, 2021
A good book. An important part of the World War Two story which is often not told. of particular interest are chapters on the role of the Vatican and the brief section at the end on the war in the Far East. This could have done with expanding.
Unfortunately the book never quite satisfies its claim that MI9 was an intelligence agency in the mould of SIS. That it interviewed and passed along intelligence from those evacuated from the European Mainland hardly makes it an intelligence agency.
However, this failing does not really detract from an enjoyable history of the organisation. A bigger problem however is errors which crop up alarmingly often. There is not, and has never been, a British embassy in Barcelona and that the Japanese invaded Northern Australia in January 1942 is certainly news to me and, I suspect, many Australians.
Also annoying is continual repetition. The meaning or acronyms is continually repeated (completely defeating their purpose) and subjects are introduced as though they are new despite their having already featured prominently. I only need to be told once, by way of example, that the Office of Strategic Services is the forerunner of the CIA.
But on the whole I enjoyed it. Anything which tells stories of Tommies walking out of POW camps dressed as German Generals with pistols made of chocolate is fine by me.
Unfortunately the book never quite satisfies its claim that MI9 was an intelligence agency in the mould of SIS. That it interviewed and passed along intelligence from those evacuated from the European Mainland hardly makes it an intelligence agency.
However, this failing does not really detract from an enjoyable history of the organisation. A bigger problem however is errors which crop up alarmingly often. There is not, and has never been, a British embassy in Barcelona and that the Japanese invaded Northern Australia in January 1942 is certainly news to me and, I suspect, many Australians.
Also annoying is continual repetition. The meaning or acronyms is continually repeated (completely defeating their purpose) and subjects are introduced as though they are new despite their having already featured prominently. I only need to be told once, by way of example, that the Office of Strategic Services is the forerunner of the CIA.
But on the whole I enjoyed it. Anything which tells stories of Tommies walking out of POW camps dressed as German Generals with pistols made of chocolate is fine by me.
September 29, 2020
Turgid treatment of inspirational material, the author appears to have access to previously secret material, which should be endlessly fascinating, it feels like she wrote this whilst also compiling a shopping list. Ms. Fry, given the rich resource you so obviously had access to you responsible have tried harder to write an entertaining and informative book. For instance, how do you make a such an unsung giant of recent history in the name of Airey Neave appear so boring and one dimensional? Write this book again and try harder next time to do justice to the characters and outstanding people it contains. A D- for a first attempt.
Turgid treatment of inspirational material, the author appears to have access to previously secret material, which should be endlessly fascinating, it feels like she wrote this whilst also compiling a shopping list. Ms. Fry, given the rich resource you so obviously had access to you responsible have tried harder to write an entertaining and informative book. For instance, how do you make a such an unsung giant of recent history in the name of Airey Neave appear so boring and one dimensional? Write this book again and try harder next time to do justice to the characters and outstanding people it contains. A D- for a first attempt.
Turgid treatment of inspirational material, the author appears to have access to previously secret material, which should be endlessly fascinating, it feels like she wrote this whilst also compiling a shopping list. Ms. Fry, given the rich resource you so obviously had access to you responsible have tried harder to write an entertaining and informative book. For instance, how do you make a such an unsung giant of recent history in the name of Airey Neave appear so boring and one dimensional? Write this book again and try harder next time to do justice to the characters and outstanding people it contains. A D- for a first attempt.
December 23, 2020
Helen Fry writes that 'it is only when one has lost freedom that one realises it is the most precious thing'. This book certainly shows just what heavy sacrifices brave Resistance fighters and veterans made so that we could have these freedoms, and how we shouldn't easily give them away without extremely good and justified reasons.
MI9 was set up to facilitate the escape of British POW's from enemy territory and the return of those who evaded capture behind enemy lines. This book is a comprehensive look at its history and the important role which it played in World War Two. Although it is a factual and detailed account, there are many exciting stories here, such as the story of many people who worked on the Comet line of the French Resistance and the tale of the beautiful and shy Renata della Torre who helped British troops who had been captured by Italian Fascists and escaped. There is also a lot about the famous American Varian Fry and his Resistance network.
This is well-worth reading for anyone interested in World War Two and the Resistance. I am definitely interested in reading more books by Helen Fry.
I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
MI9 was set up to facilitate the escape of British POW's from enemy territory and the return of those who evaded capture behind enemy lines. This book is a comprehensive look at its history and the important role which it played in World War Two. Although it is a factual and detailed account, there are many exciting stories here, such as the story of many people who worked on the Comet line of the French Resistance and the tale of the beautiful and shy Renata della Torre who helped British troops who had been captured by Italian Fascists and escaped. There is also a lot about the famous American Varian Fry and his Resistance network.
This is well-worth reading for anyone interested in World War Two and the Resistance. I am definitely interested in reading more books by Helen Fry.
I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
November 13, 2020
We are all familiar with MI5 & MI6 but MI9 is less well known, the most secretive of all the intelligence sections, yet was absolutely key in the successful escape/return home of many POWs & crashed airmen during WW2. MI9 & the SOE were responsible for getting escape materials into POW camps to aid escape and for training officers on what to do if trapped behind enemy lines.
The book is an historical account of MI9’s formation, its evolution, its operations and its people. It also includes the work it did after the war was over to repatriate POWs and to trace those who helped in order to thank them & recompense them as needed.
This is an absolutely fascinating book that doesn’t sensationalise the stories, it focusses on the people & techniques used and includes quite a lot of new material not previously seen.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book free from the publisher via NetGalley. Whilst thanks go to the author/publisher for the opportunity to read it, all opinions are my own.
#MI9 #NetGalley
The book is an historical account of MI9’s formation, its evolution, its operations and its people. It also includes the work it did after the war was over to repatriate POWs and to trace those who helped in order to thank them & recompense them as needed.
This is an absolutely fascinating book that doesn’t sensationalise the stories, it focusses on the people & techniques used and includes quite a lot of new material not previously seen.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book free from the publisher via NetGalley. Whilst thanks go to the author/publisher for the opportunity to read it, all opinions are my own.
#MI9 #NetGalley
July 9, 2022
I loved reading this book!
It contained the right level of detail for me, moving on in the ‘plot’ enough to retain my interest.
You can tell that the author has done their own research, but they never lost sight of the main theme of the book and don’t fall into the trap of using lots of technical language. Furthermore, they weren’t afraid to weave in knowledge of organisations where relevant, providing the reader with a wider, more well rounded idea of the role of MI9 during WW2.
I really enjoyed the representation of different locations within the Ally, Axis and neutral divisions and the description of what had to be adjusted. Often I’ve found that books on the subject adopt the us vs them mentality and as a result broad generalisation happens, this title contained detail in the subject.
It contained the right level of detail for me, moving on in the ‘plot’ enough to retain my interest.
You can tell that the author has done their own research, but they never lost sight of the main theme of the book and don’t fall into the trap of using lots of technical language. Furthermore, they weren’t afraid to weave in knowledge of organisations where relevant, providing the reader with a wider, more well rounded idea of the role of MI9 during WW2.
I really enjoyed the representation of different locations within the Ally, Axis and neutral divisions and the description of what had to be adjusted. Often I’ve found that books on the subject adopt the us vs them mentality and as a result broad generalisation happens, this title contained detail in the subject.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 29, 2020
This has been something of a mammoth read, taking me over 6 weeks (albeit interspersed with a couple of lighter reads in between).
There is a wealth of detailed information in this tome, and I have certainly learned a lot from reading it. The flow of the book could be improved however, as it does tend to jump around somewhat, so that bits of the information are repeated (necessarily due to the order of the writing). A good copy editor could soon sort that out.
Notwithstanding the above mentioned niggle, I thoroughly enjoyed this, and would still recommend it to anyone with an interest in the rather less known details of WWII. I am no expert on WWII, but learned a lot from reading this.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.
There is a wealth of detailed information in this tome, and I have certainly learned a lot from reading it. The flow of the book could be improved however, as it does tend to jump around somewhat, so that bits of the information are repeated (necessarily due to the order of the writing). A good copy editor could soon sort that out.
Notwithstanding the above mentioned niggle, I thoroughly enjoyed this, and would still recommend it to anyone with an interest in the rather less known details of WWII. I am no expert on WWII, but learned a lot from reading this.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews