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  • The Secret War: Spies, Codes and Guerrillas 1939 - 1945

  • By: Max Hastings
  • Narrated by: Steven Crossley
  • Length: 30 hrs and 39 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (261 ratings)
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The Secret War: Spies, Codes and Guerrillas 1939 - 1945 cover art

The Secret War: Spies, Codes and Guerrillas 1939 - 1945

By: Max Hastings
Narrated by: Steven Crossley
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Summary

Examining the espionage and intelligence stories in World War II on a global basis, bringing together the British, American, German, Russian and Japanese histories.

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.

©2015 Max Hastings (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic reviews

"A work of staggering scope and erudition, narrated with supreme fluency and insight, it is unquestionably the best single-volume history of the war ever written...he writes with a wonderfully clear, unsentimental eye...and has a terrific grasp of the grand sweep and military strategy.... But what makes his book a compelling read are the human stories...at the end of this gruesome, chilling but quite magnificent book, you never doubt that the war was worth fighting." ( Sunday Times)
"No other general history of the war amalgamates so successfully the gut-wrenching personal details and the essential strategic arguments. Melding the worm's eye view and the big picture is a difficult trick to pull of - but Hastings has triumphed." ( The Times)
"Majestic...it is impossible to emerge without a sense of the sheer scale of human tragedy.... To gather all these anecdotes together is a task in itself, but to assemble them in a way that makes sense is something entirely different.... Hastings shapes all these stories, almost miraculously, into a single coherent narrative." ( Daily Telegraph)
"In this massive work, the crowning volume of the 10 impressive books he has written about the Second World War, Sir Max Hastings spares us nothing in portraying the sheer bloody savagery of the worst war that the world has yet seen...this magnificent book...is hypnotically readable from the first page to the last." ( Sunday Telegraph)
"A fast-moving, highly readable survey of the entire war.... Hastings combines a mastery of the military events with invariably sound judgment and a sharp eye for unusual telling detail...this is military history at its most gripping. Of all Max Hastings's valuable books, this is possibly his best - a veritable tour de force." ( Evening Standard)

What listeners say about The Secret War: Spies, Codes and Guerrillas 1939 - 1945

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Lacking in excitement

It feels a bit unfair to criticise this book for making the topic of espionage and special operations during the Second World War for being a bit dry and lacking in action. Max Hastings is pretty explicit in his approach to the subject that he wants to emphasise the much greater importance of the less exciting elements of the secret war over the higher profile drama of special operations etc. I still cannot help but reflect that it is just not as much fun to listen to as I might have expected while at the same time it doesn't hang together as a comprehensive account of the subject in the way that other Hastings works do.

I guess it is largely my own fault for expecting a take similar to those of Ben Macintyre rather than a more scholarly discussion of the impact and spying and spies on the outcome of the War.

None of this is to say that it is a bad book, it isn't. It gives a very good account of an interesting subject but lacked that level of engagement that I have had with others of Hastings' books.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Bored me to death

What disappointed you about The Secret War: Spies, Codes and Guerrillas 1939 - 1945?

Having listened to Max Hastings all hell let loose I gave this a try. The content is bland, dull, boring and I was finding I was switching off with this dull tale playing in the background. Very little structure to the book that I could follow. Only a couple of interesting points before I gave up. I got to 14 or so hours and that was more than enough.

Has The Secret War: Spies, Codes and Guerrillas 1939 - 1945 put you off other books in this genre?

No

Have you listened to any of Steven Crossley’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I had no issue with the narrator, I feel sorry that he had to read the whole book.

What character would you cut from The Secret War: Spies, Codes and Guerrillas 1939 - 1945?

I couldn't tell you the names of any.

Any additional comments?

Long winded, boring.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent writing, poor audiobook narration

Any additional comments?

As to be expected, extremely well-researched and written by Max Hastings. I wish I had bought the paper copy instead of an audiobook, though, as the narrator seems to be reciting the words without paying much attention to the material he is reading. Consequently, there are multiple mispronunciations and incorrect emphases - I had to re-listen in several places to make sense of what was being said.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Too samey

I feel this book could be condensed in to half the time got very boring and I only got half way through it. Sorry.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Balanced history

A very balanced view of all sides in the war. What you would expect from Mr Hastings.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Impossible to follow

This covers such a broad canvas that it needed very careful structuring. It is impossible to follow the huge cast of characters or to get involved in the minutiae of their tradecraft

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Poorly structured. Chaotic. Painful narrator

Lots of hopping around and anecdotes but not really sure where we are going next. Almost as though Max hasn't worked out the audience is.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A great breakdown on Spying and Intellegence

I own the physical copy of this book, it is an amazing read, the audio book is just as good. The detail about each country's various spy networks and intelligence agencies is great. Not so much that your overwhelmed but enough that if you really wanted to know more you could buy a book just on them. The stories of the different missions and events that where either a success or a waste of time was great. Again some stories are so crazy and insane you can get books on them itself i.e operation ZigZag. If you have any interest in Spies and Intelligence and Code breaking its worth a listen.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

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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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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