The Secret War cover art

The Secret War

Spies, Codes and Guerrillas 1939–1945

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 Months Free + £10 Audible voucher

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Get this deal
Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST.
More purchase options

The Secret War

By: Max Hastings
Narrated by: Steven Crossley
Get this deal

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £31.42

Buy Now for £31.42

‘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.

 Freedom & Security Military Politics & Government World Espionage War Russia Imperialism Soviet Union Submarine Royalty Interwar Period
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

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
All stars
Most relevant
as usual Max Hastings brings a complicated story into a fluid and engaging form.
I didn't know a lot of this tale but what amazed me was the pure ineptitude and stupidity of the various organisations involved in the secret war. I hope that it isn't like this in the present day otherwise we are dead in the water !

ineptitude rules

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
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.

Excellent

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

If you could sum up The Secret War: Spies, Codes and Guerrillas 1939 - 1945 in three words, what would they be?

A new survey history of the use and misuse of intelligence, codes and spies in WW II

What other book might you compare The Secret War: Spies, Codes and Guerrillas 1939 - 1945 to, and why?

Keegan's Intelligence in War

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

Yes and he's a very good narrator

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Not relevant

Any additional comments?

Sir Max Hastings hopefully has a few more classics left in him. Read and enjoy one of the best living military historians. For an academic review, there's plenty on Amazon.co.uk.

Great new book by the master of military history

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I've listened to a number of max Hastings this one was hard work. I listen to my books on the way to work etc and found that I just couldn't follow the book as it jump back and forth from the allies to axis. Very interesting but the first book I've listened too where actually I'd probably be better of reading the actual book.

Hard work

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
There is no doubt that is a colossal piece of work, the sources and opinions are widespread. If you're interested in looking under the covers of the second world war and indeed learning of some the approach to and effects of it, then this is for you.
Being so long it's an intense listen and often got me thinking and googling things I'd heard, leading me to pause the book. It's difficult to dip in and out of it, i found it better to dedicate a free afternoon to it say.
There is a lot to take in and to be honest i found it hard to keep up with all the names of the key protagonists. The other aspect that made my listening slightly challenging is that the book tackles different sections and areas as opposed to following a chronological order. I can see why this is the best way to present the work, but i meant my mind became like a time machine going between Pearl Harbour, Normandy, The Blitz, Philippines, Leningrad, postwar, prewar etc etc. But this will probably be easier on a second listen and may have to do more with my learning style. But overall recommend!

A mountain of intelligence

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews