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The Secret War: Spies, Codes and Guerrillas 1939 - 1945
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 30 hrs and 39 mins
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The Secret War: Spies, Codes and Guerrillas 1939 - 1945
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Summary
‘As gripping as any spy thriller, Hastings’s achievement is especially impressive, for he has produced the best single volume yet written on the subject’ Sunday Times
‘Authoritative, exciting and notably well written’ Daily Telegraph
‘A serious work of rigourous and comprehensive history … royally entertaining and readable’ Mail on Sunday
In ‘The Secret War’, Max Hastings examines the espionage and intelligence machines of all sides in World War II, and the impact of spies, code-breakers and partisan operations on events. Written on a global scale, the book brings together accounts from British, American, German, Russian and Japanese sources to tell the story of a secret war waged unceasingly by men and women often far from the battlefields but whose actions profoundly influenced the outcome.
Returning to the Second World War for the first time since his best-selling ‘All Hell Let Loose’, Hastings weaves into a ‘big picture’ framework, the human stories of spies and intelligence officers who served their respective masters. Told through a series of snapshots of key moments, the book looks closely at Soviet espionage operations which dwarfed those of every other belligerent in scale, as well as the code-breaking operation at Bletchley Park – the greatest intelligence achievement of the conflict – with many more surprising and unfamiliar tales of treachery, deception, betrayal and incompetence by spies of Axis, Allied or indeterminate loyalty.
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Critic reviews
‘As gripping as any spy thriller. Hastings understands, better than any previous historian, that this is as much a story about human nature as it is about the mechanics of code-breaking or spycraft … he has the novelist’s eye for the telling detail … this book works because Hastings is simply a very fine writer who is not afraid of making judgements … Hastings’s achievement is especially impressive, for he has produced the best single volume yet written on the subject’ Lawrence Rees, Sunday Times
‘This is his war and he writes with an easy assurance, scatter-gunning opinions … Hastings is on form. He has set out to provide thought and discussion and, with his familiar robustness, shotgun at side, he has succeeded’ The Times
‘Authoritative, exciting and notably well written’ Daily Telegraph
‘A serious work of rigorous and comprehensive history … royally entertaining and readable’ Mail on Sunday
‘Vintage Hastings: a vivid cast of characters, social observation and opinions forcefully expressed … Given the national fixation with spies and special forces, Hastings’s book is a very necessary corrective’ Evening Standard
‘Lively and entertaining … a rich gallery of rogues, eccentrics and brainstorming professors which … Hastings can manipulate with wonderful deftness’ Observer
‘A compendious, crisply argued and witty assessment of the intelligence operations of the major powers’ Financial Times
‘A magisterial account … his great strength is to use his formidable journalistic talents to bring alive a cast of characters who operated in the shadows and it is the mark of an author at the top of his game that he is able to keep a multiplicity of narratives running without causing confusion … a worthy addition’ Country Life
What listeners say about The Secret War: Spies, Codes and Guerrillas 1939 - 1945
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Franpa2
- 03-10-17
Very comprehensive , well researched.
A lot to take in but for those interested in the subject, very interesting and holds your attention.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 06-06-18
Disappointing - Returned
Having been gripped by All Hell Let Loose and having the hard copy of this thought I would get it on audible to get through it quicker. Couldn't get into it so returned it. Dull and boring narration and rambling story. Might have been different read by Cameron Stewart but I think possibly a book that needs to be read not listened to.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Paul
- 10-08-18
Excellent
Brilliant and very knowledgeable.
Entertainingly read.
I have the book which I have read a couple of times but to have it read to you is magical.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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- Steve_Morris
- 07-11-16
Better to read the book
This book is both exhaustive and exhausting. At times it sounds like a catalogue of events. But it is lightened by Max Hastings' opinionated comments on other's work and some humorous incidents. But the narration is very strange with odd inflections, some passages rendered insensible and some dreadful mispronunciation. Ben McIntyre may not be historically spot on, but his books are much better to listen to.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Heather Law
- 01-12-19
Hastings at his best
A complex subject handled with deftness, as well as humour and empathy. Steven Crossley gives an admirable performance, as always.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Harry Jones
- 20-09-23
Well worth a listen
As always Max Hastings has done an excellent job. Interesting and well written. The narrator is good and keeps the listener engaged.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Ian
- 09-03-16
Well worth a listen
Max Hastings has produced a master piece. The information is a great insight in to "The Secret War" that went on. Having visited Bletchley Park, it makes what we saw, having listened, more understanding to the debt we owe to all those who worked there.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Phil Morgan
- 14-10-18
Another excellent war history
Not many history books make you afraid to miss what happens next. It looks a long listen but its well worth finding the time to keep up.
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- Alex Andrew
- 19-04-24
Superb Book, well written
Excellent book again by a very knowledgeable historian. A overall extensive history of int throughout ww2.
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- Dan Rose
- 06-10-17
Very informative
The Secret War by Sir Max Hastings, is an excellent book. Many books that deal with war-time espionage or the so called secret war concentrate on a particular operations, but Hasting's book takes a look at all of the players attempts at the secret war. Whilst it can not claim, and it doesn't to be comprehensive, it is detailed enough to be very interesting. I have read about the work at Bletchley Park or Operation Mincemeat, but I knew virtually nothing about the wartime operations of the Soviet NKVD or the German's Abwehr or the Japanese, this book fills in some of the gaps. The book flows freely and the book keeps you (well me anyway) interested. I would highly recommend this book
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