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Istanbul Intrigues
Draws on interviews and newly opened archives to reveal the intrigues, conspiracies, and betrayals that made Istanbul the espionage center of World War II.
300 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
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81 people want to read
About the author
Barry Rubin
87 books21 followersBarry Rubin is an American-born Israeli expert on terrorism and Middle Eastern affairs.
Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA), and a professor at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya, Israel. He is also editor of the journal 'Turkish Studies'.
Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA), and a professor at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya, Israel. He is also editor of the journal 'Turkish Studies'.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 10, 2016
Who gave me this book? I might have heard it from Hakan maybe. I completely forget what it was about but I guess it was about the spy games in Istanbul during WWII. I remember dreaming about a movie based on this book now so it must have been a pleasant and fast reading. Addition: I guess this was a gift by Boğaziçi University I.E. Department for having taught at their summer school.
October 20, 2016
O, jā, šī grāmata nelika vilties. Man solīja spiegu stāstus, retus faktus no IIPK aizkulisēm, ieskatus dažādu dienestu un vēstniecību darba aizkulisēs. Dabūju to visu un vēl - ļoti skaistu un burvīgi plūstošu valodu, kas ļauj lasīt ļoti ilgi un aizrautīgi.
varu ieteikt šo grāmatu visiem, kuri grib lasīt aizraujošu stāstu par vēstures notikumiem.
varu ieteikt šo grāmatu visiem, kuri grib lasīt aizraujošu stāstu par vēstures notikumiem.
June 15, 2015
If you like historical books about spies, this is good, if not brilliant. I actually learnt a lot, as I knew very little of Turkey's involvement during WW2. Some good research went into it, and at times, I'd have to read on more than I had time for, just to see what happens. You'll enjoy it, even if it feels a little lighter than others of this genre.
May 14, 2012
Spys, diplomats, and assassins all dining together in one of the most fascinating cities on the planet.
August 16, 2018
Boo Boo Baby, I'm A Spy
I'm involved in a dangerous game,
Every other day I change my name,
The face is different but the body's the same,
Boo, boo baby, I'm a spy!
Ankara and Istanbul in World War II. In 1938 Ataturk dies at age 56 leaving his less flamboyant friend Ismet Inönü as natural successor. Turkey's first modern ruler chose an inopportune time to die. Still recovering from the collapse of its Ottoman Empire, an army 30 years out of date, the wooden ramshackle homes of Istanbul an easy target for a German air force to set alight by firestorm and with the imperial Soviets still having designs on the Bosporus as their gateway to the Mediterranean. Turkey strives to maintain it's neutrality. Nation by nation the buffer states of the Balkans fall to Hitler`s army.
You have heard of Mata Hari,
We did business cash and carry,
Poppa caught us and we had to marry,
Boo, boo baby, I'm a spy!
Ankara, Ataturk`s newly established and rough hewn capitol is embassy row. Rubin's approach is like an ensemble Robert Altman movie. There is no single main character. In Istanbul spies from every nation rub shoulders at swank hotels and at the German backed Taksim Casino . The song "Boo, Boo, Baby", written by a US intelligence agent affiliated with the OWI is played at the Park hotel to announce known agents. Double, triple even quadruple agents abound. Keeping track of who's who or what their current affiliation is difficult and even today is open to interpretation. Turkey willfully ignored Allied activities and more actively curtailed the Germans and Russians without publicly declaring themselves for any side. Their goal was to preserve nation.
In addition to the focus on Turkey the book also shifts to events in the Balkans and operations in support of the Resistance in the Aegean. Most of the material is from the POV of US intelligence operations which are energetic but undergoing a steep learning curve. We also learn about the Russian NKVD (the book starts with an assassination attempt on German ambassador Van Pappen) and the rivalry between the German SD and the Abwehr. There is an interesting perspective on US attempts to woo Axis allies, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania and Bulgaria, to change sides, playing on the fear that should they delay Nazi Germany might be replaced by Soviet totalitarianism. Yet even when it is generally believed that Germany will lose the war they dither - premature declarations can prove to be deadly. The book is extremely well researched and should be a useful and informative read to those interested in WW II and Allied military operations in the southern theatre of the war. Rubin, now a political expert on the MidEast and on Turkey relies heavily on archived intelligence documents and personal interviews with some of the principle characters or people who knew them.
My own interest in the book came about after reading Dadrian's Warrant for Genocide and MacMillan's Paris 1919 as I'm trying to understand the evolution of modern Turkey after WWI and Turkish attitudes towards minorities. Chapter 13 "Rescue From Hell" was very useful in this regard. In 1942, in need of funds, Turkey heavily taxed the merchant class consisting mostly of Greeks, Armenians and Jews, confiscating much of their property and sending them to labour camps when they couldn't pay, yet threats of bad news articles from US journalists and protests from America did turn the situation around a few months later. Turkey did take in a large number of Greek and Balkan refugees, but refused to admit Jewish refugees unless they had a transit visa to Palestine which was nearly impossible to obtain. However, due to their British affiliation, Haganah operatives were able to establish a base of operations and did manage to rescue some 55,000 Jews.
My actual rating wavers between 4 and 5. The large cast gets a bit confusing in the middle though I liked how the author tied things together in the end and followed up with what happened to these people after and a nice summary of the start of the cold war. For example I was unaware that Stalin had asked for Turkish territorial concessions which scared the hell out of the Turks and pushed them into the arms of the Americans. However the major story here is about politics and spies.
Now as a lad, I'm not so bad,
In fact I`m a darn good lover,
But look my sweet, let`s be discreet
And do this under cover
I`m so cocky I could swagger
The things I know would make you stagger
I`m ten percent cloak and ninety percent dagger,
Boo, boo, baby I'm a spy!
I'm involved in a dangerous game,
Every other day I change my name,
The face is different but the body's the same,
Boo, boo baby, I'm a spy!
Ankara and Istanbul in World War II. In 1938 Ataturk dies at age 56 leaving his less flamboyant friend Ismet Inönü as natural successor. Turkey's first modern ruler chose an inopportune time to die. Still recovering from the collapse of its Ottoman Empire, an army 30 years out of date, the wooden ramshackle homes of Istanbul an easy target for a German air force to set alight by firestorm and with the imperial Soviets still having designs on the Bosporus as their gateway to the Mediterranean. Turkey strives to maintain it's neutrality. Nation by nation the buffer states of the Balkans fall to Hitler`s army.
You have heard of Mata Hari,
We did business cash and carry,
Poppa caught us and we had to marry,
Boo, boo baby, I'm a spy!
Ankara, Ataturk`s newly established and rough hewn capitol is embassy row. Rubin's approach is like an ensemble Robert Altman movie. There is no single main character. In Istanbul spies from every nation rub shoulders at swank hotels and at the German backed Taksim Casino . The song "Boo, Boo, Baby", written by a US intelligence agent affiliated with the OWI is played at the Park hotel to announce known agents. Double, triple even quadruple agents abound. Keeping track of who's who or what their current affiliation is difficult and even today is open to interpretation. Turkey willfully ignored Allied activities and more actively curtailed the Germans and Russians without publicly declaring themselves for any side. Their goal was to preserve nation.
In addition to the focus on Turkey the book also shifts to events in the Balkans and operations in support of the Resistance in the Aegean. Most of the material is from the POV of US intelligence operations which are energetic but undergoing a steep learning curve. We also learn about the Russian NKVD (the book starts with an assassination attempt on German ambassador Van Pappen) and the rivalry between the German SD and the Abwehr. There is an interesting perspective on US attempts to woo Axis allies, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania and Bulgaria, to change sides, playing on the fear that should they delay Nazi Germany might be replaced by Soviet totalitarianism. Yet even when it is generally believed that Germany will lose the war they dither - premature declarations can prove to be deadly. The book is extremely well researched and should be a useful and informative read to those interested in WW II and Allied military operations in the southern theatre of the war. Rubin, now a political expert on the MidEast and on Turkey relies heavily on archived intelligence documents and personal interviews with some of the principle characters or people who knew them.
My own interest in the book came about after reading Dadrian's Warrant for Genocide and MacMillan's Paris 1919 as I'm trying to understand the evolution of modern Turkey after WWI and Turkish attitudes towards minorities. Chapter 13 "Rescue From Hell" was very useful in this regard. In 1942, in need of funds, Turkey heavily taxed the merchant class consisting mostly of Greeks, Armenians and Jews, confiscating much of their property and sending them to labour camps when they couldn't pay, yet threats of bad news articles from US journalists and protests from America did turn the situation around a few months later. Turkey did take in a large number of Greek and Balkan refugees, but refused to admit Jewish refugees unless they had a transit visa to Palestine which was nearly impossible to obtain. However, due to their British affiliation, Haganah operatives were able to establish a base of operations and did manage to rescue some 55,000 Jews.
My actual rating wavers between 4 and 5. The large cast gets a bit confusing in the middle though I liked how the author tied things together in the end and followed up with what happened to these people after and a nice summary of the start of the cold war. For example I was unaware that Stalin had asked for Turkish territorial concessions which scared the hell out of the Turks and pushed them into the arms of the Americans. However the major story here is about politics and spies.
Now as a lad, I'm not so bad,
In fact I`m a darn good lover,
But look my sweet, let`s be discreet
And do this under cover
I`m so cocky I could swagger
The things I know would make you stagger
I`m ten percent cloak and ninety percent dagger,
Boo, boo, baby I'm a spy!
May 24, 2022
World War Two Istanbul is a hotbed of spycraft from every side. Nazi, British, Americans as well as Soviets, were all trying to influence Turkey and move it from neutral to belligerent. Turkey is surrounded on all sides by stronger nations wanting to control the Bosporus Straights. How do they thread that needle while still maintaining neutrality?
May 29, 2019
Great read. Very entertaining. Lots of great anecdotes. I missed sources for further reading, however,
November 12, 2023
It was interesting, educational, and informative, and it gave me a much better understanding of the global powers and their intelligence assets at play in Istanbul/Ankara.
January 12, 2015
This book would be a good choice for those interested in World War II, particularly the intelligence side of it, Turkey, or the history of espionage. Rubin clearly has done his research and gives the reader an overview of the situation in Istanbul and surrounding areas as the war was breaking out. Istanbul at that time - perhaps still - was the crossroads of East, West, and Islamic worlds, and as the capital of a country trying desperately to not get involved in a war that looked likely to destroy it, was the locus of a lot of spying. There are some good tales, such as the one about American ambassador George Earle getting involved in a drunken brawl with some Germans at a fancy nightclub. The story is written in a journalistic manner, and unfortunately it is lacking in the areas of atmosphere and interesting characterization.
January 25, 2015
Spies in Istanbul during WW2! Where do you go wrong with a premise like that? Unfortunately, this detailed and convincing study of the war in the Eastern European theatre, while informative, was also dry, lacklustre, and hard to get through. Matters pick up slightly in the second half and I was intrigued by some of the real-life spy stories, along with details like the Allied reluctance to help Jewish refugees and the strongly pro-Nazi element in the Arab world, but over all the information was presented in a disjointed and unappealing manner. Recommended only if you have a serious interest in WW2 espionage.
May 5, 2016
some good parts but pedantic.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews