The Secret Life of Bletchley Park: The History of the Wartime Codebreaking Centre by the Men and Women Who Were There

This is a fascinating book. The author brings alive the experiences of those who worked at Bletchley Park and the conditions they worked under. As well as the deeper side of the work conducted, the lighter side of activities is covered and peppered full of reminisces of those exceptional people who worked at Bletchley Park. A totally absorbing read.

I recently watched a documentary on BBC2 about the WW2 codebreakers, and my reaction to the fascinating subject was to immediately go to Amazon.co.uk and find book that would tell me more. This was the book I bought, and I am glad that I did. This really is a fascinating book, that lifts the veil on an extraordinary place and the dedicated men and women who spent the war years undertaking such crucial work. One of the things which both amazed and impressed me the most, was the level of secrecy that was needed, for Bletchley park to be able to exist at all. The thousands of people who worked there - kept silent - with each other, and with their families after the war - right up untill the 1980's. Additionally the people of the surrounding areas who provided "billets" for these hordes of Bletchley workers, not only kept quiet - but didn't even ask their boarders what it was they were doing up at the park. In the world we are living in now, such secracy is unimaginable. I must admit - some of the mathematical, engineery, code descriptions and details - went a tiny bit over my befuddled head - however this is a very accessible book, and certainly not academic or dry. Even the sections I found hardest to understand - and there were only a couple - were still strangely fascinating to read - and I know I have come away from the book with a much better understanding of code breaking than I would otherwise have ever had. The majority of the book however, and what makes it so readable, is about the people who worked there, the society girls, the brilliant ox-bridge minds, the factory workers, the romances, the dances and plays, the miserably cold huts and the revolting food.

This is a perceptive and most interesting exposé of those many people who worked at Bletchley Park during World War II. Recommended.

I love anything to do with code-breaking and Enigma and this book really fit the bill. The very fact that I'm typing this review on a computer is testament to the work and development that occurred at Bletchley Park in the war.This isn't a book about the code-breaking itself but rather the social history of life at the park and the extraordinary work that went on behind the scenes of the Second World War I had no idea just how large the operation was, approximately 9000 people were working there when it was at its height. It was the little details that were most interesting, such as the billets they lived in and the different personalities of the men in charge. There was also a good deal of perspective from the many women who worked there, from the code-breakers to the WRENs who managed the bombes to the messenger girl.It was very good at explaining the pressures the people were under, the difficult shifts they had to work and the mental stress this would cause. Lots of fascinating stories such as the romances and cultural side as well. It was also very interesting to read how the secret was kept for so long, which was a minor miracle in itself.What I found most moving was the story of Alan Turing and his tragic end. What a waste, imagine what would have happened if he had lived to his natural age and the developments he could have created.Fascinating stuff and if you are interested in the part of history, then a must buy.

The whole code-breaking, history of computing, history of Bletchley Park needs to be remembered. I've followed the technical stuff for some time and was pleased to see something that looked like a social history.The content came through: how different social strata came together, worked together, played together along with how the relationship of the work and the workers fitted to the war effort and society at large.Which is just as well, because while it seems that the author has undertaken a deal of research, the preparation of the material was lazy, e.g., you will read a lot about Mimi Gallilee, who seems to have joined up when she was 13 or was it 14, and later on we read "as 16 yr old Mimi Gallilee said..." perhaps we got to read too much about her age. Suddenly Sarah Baring became the Hon Sarah Baring which contrasts with her being the primary source for suggesting that the occupants were not particularly status conscious (p172). The narrative is disorganised and repetitive. It is over written: "diamond sharp minds" "waves of anger" "German marauders" as a sample. On top the author brings his own point of view intrudes with unsupported assertions on sexual attitudes according to class (the working classes and upper classes put it about, the middle classes had reputations to protect, those in the countryside were more likely to be at it; all that space) and opinions about international relations - apparently "a close relationship between UK/USA forged during WWII has become one of the "abiding assumptions of our political landscape". We had a "pluck that earned the admiration of Uncle Sam", (did I mention over writing?). And apparently the war "it is believed" shifted the relationship irrevocably to mutual respect...For all that and the constant quoting of the aforesaid Mimi it's well worth the read.