Man Called Intrepid: The Incredible WWII Narrative Of The Hero Whose Spy Network And Secret Diplomacy Changed The Course Of History

Last page: ''Strong armies would have been useless without that deeper commitment to principles. The human race came very close to falling into a dark age. The same spirit still lives. Perhaps it survives only through struggle. It's needed now to recreate an alliance in defense of the main priorities of Westen Civilization.'' (470)Reads like a good novel. Serious but not pedantic. Explains the role of the 'secret' world of spies and assassination. However the primary focus is the role and use of ultra, the intelligence code breakers of England. Not a biography of a man, but a biography of an organization.Point of DepartureA Forward by IntrepidA Break in the SilenceA Historical Note1. In Time of peace2. Fight On3. Impeachable Offences4. Cry, ''Havoc!''5. The End of the BeginningEpilogueA View from Another IslandValedictionIn the forward - ''When the history of World War 2 is revised in the light of the secret war, this may be the most striking element: the great engines of destruction did not determine the outcome. The invincibility of free people and the ingenuity of free minds did. I believe this as I believe today that the spirit of human resistance refuses to be crushed by mere technology. . . . Perhaps a day will dawn when tyrants can no longer threaten the Liberty if any people, when the function of all nations, however varied their ideologies, will be to enhance life, not to control it.''This written in 1976. Control is still the goal. Amazing.Intrepid comments: ''It has been claimed that human progress depends on challenge, that individuals and nations need to believe in causes and struggle for them. Some theorists have extended this application of instinctual behavior to account for the periodic wholesale slaughter we call ''war''. . . . What seems poignantly evident to me is that humankind already has awesome enemies to engage - poverty, disease, and ignorance, for example - and in such common cause there is reward and glory for all.''Perhaps this assumptions he accepts in this heartfelt expression provides a clue.1) Dividing individuals into ''nations'' - accepting nationalism as fundamental.2) ''Instinctual behavior'' - implying humans are animals.3) People need a ''common cause'' - suggesting goals imposed by others.4) Also, that ''glory'' for self or group needs to be provided.These assumptions so deep rooted he can't even imagine that these could cause the problem he hates.Four men play key roles in this story - Stephenson, Donovan, Roosevelt and Churchill.Donovan went to Germany in 1920. ''His carefully documented notes on Germany dwelt upon the dangerous mood of self-pity induced by the notion that German leaders had never actually surrendered and were therefore still unbeaten.'' (20)Churchill understood this.An American poet wrote after WW1: ''The most tragic thing about the war was not that it made so many dead men, but that it destroyed the tragedy of death. Not only did the young suffer in the war, but so did every abstraction that would have sustained and given dignity to their suffering.'' (13)Enigma, the machine the Germans and Japanese used to encode radio transmissions, is highlighted throughout as the key to allied victory. Why? The British broke the code. Much detail on how this was done. When researching enigma, Baruch recalled Stephenson this way:''He was very serious, frightening even. He could think seven stages ahead of you. It was terrifying to watch. If he was absorbing information, not a muscle in his face moved, nor did his eyes shift around as you would expect from someone reflecting. . . . When he spoke, he cut clean through the matter. Never wasted a word.'' (39)Fascinating man!Years later he gave this formula for the best agents: ''Their response to danger is positive. In modern terms, they belong to the type A personality who has full control of himself although driven by great energy. The good agent starts out as a man who chose action over inaction but who learns to control his impulses and detach himself from a temporary reality in order to resume abstract thought.'' (195)Many insights into public events. The role of Philiby in destroying the ability of the British to work with the Americans after the war. This was not discovered until he went to Russia. The huge cache of gold in the indies that is the true story behind Ian Fleming's Goldfinger. In fact, numerous references to Fleming and the source of many of his stories.Rommel's african success was caused by breaking the British codes. Rommel read the daily battle plan each morning. Assassination of Heydrich. Explains Stalin's purge of 35,000 of his best officers during the war, due to forged documents created by the Nazi's. The role of Greta Garbo and the death of Leslie Howard are mentioned. The rescue of Bohr, etc., etc..Anyone with curiosity about the underlying causes of public events will enjoy this. The strain and anguish of using secret information is explained. Adds depth to superficial knowledge. Well done.Epilogue of ten pages. Thoughtful analysis of the war work. Author talking to Stephenson: ''For the first time in history, we see everywhere the means of conveying information - and everywhere we seem in greater darkness than before. Secrecy seems like a disease -''''That might destroy us?''''It seems a clear threat to the freedom we have.''''More than half the world is under dictatorship,'' said Stephenson.''Those people do not know what we call 'freedom'. Only sixty generations stretch back from you and me, here, to the dawn of Western history. Two world wars in this century remind us that 'civilized' Europe is the bat of an eye from the dark ages.'' (467)What a profound thinker! Are we in the last days of this civilization?Last page: ''Strong armies would have been useless without that deeper commitment to principles. The human race came very close to falling into a dark age. The same spirit still lives. Perhaps it survives only through struggle. It's needed now to recreate an alliance in defense of the main priorities of Westen Civilization.'' (470) So true. Nevertheless, which principles are defended makes all the difference. Robespierre, Napoleon, Hitler and Stalin had principles. So did Cromwell, Wilberforce, Lincoln and Mandela. Which principles will survive?Thirty two pages of black and white photographs. Thirteen page index.

An amazing journey! This is my internet go to. I want to pick it up everyday but read other books and this book is so well written and full of so much incredible detail regarding pure WW2 through the 1970’s with such an incredible story. I put it down and come back to it often. It’s like a docu-series 8 part mini series streaming. Vividly described, real story that few know. It will not disappoint!

Read a number of times but bought it as a gift for someone who did not know the secrets of WWII, the OSS, & CIA.

Great book, long read. If you thought the James Bond books were "out there", well they are. But Ian Fleming worked in this organization and real life is more interesting than Flemings novels, which were inspired by his work with Intrepid. There were people licensed to kill and they operated around the world including the U.S. the main goal of Churchills organization was to work with Roosevelt to convince the U.S. to enter the war against Hitler. The thing that's interesting is Hitler solved these problems by declaring war on the U.S. he took Roosevelt off the hook. Anyway the Intrepid story is real life cloak and dagger and will be discouraging to people who actually believe that what they get from govt in their day to day lives is not a manipulated reality. Fascinating book about Britain doing what it had to do to survive and how they helped the U.S. into a war that Roosevelt, who while he wanted to help Britain was also concerned about being impeached by a congress that wanted nothing to do with war and believed as many Americans did with the fall of France, that Germany had already won and any support of Britain was wasted time and money.

I read this book on my Kindle and it is such an important part of the history of WWII, I had to have a hard copy to keep....and re-read. Everyone interested in WWII should read this book. Everyone who cares about the future of America should read this book. If you like Ian Fleming's James Bond, you will like this book.

I am still reading this book and it shares so much information about WWII, the advent of special forces, and the link between Britain and the United States. Great source for World War II buffs.

fascinating stuff! There are things that you just don't think about in covert warfare, and this book is full of the most interesting of them. For example, on a military raid on Nazi territory, one scientist goes along to view the German radar setup installed and to judge how far along the Germans are in radar technology. Along with him go two British soldiers, whose job it is to kill the scientist if it appears he might be captured. That is JUST the sort of thing that you say "of course, they would have to do that", but it just never occurred to you until you read it.A really well written story and very enjoyable- my favorite anecdote I will not spoil by telling you- just look for the story of OSS sending a letter to a Chech Nazi puppet official from an alleged "girlfriend" in South America, said letter detailing her knitting Karl a sweater.This book is so well written that it does not come across as "dated", a major achievement for a book about WW II. It is a paen of praise for William Stephenson, but done so well you end up thinking he heartily and thoroughly deserves it.

Good read.

What an outstanding and brilliantly written non fiction book. It explains how the Allied and particularly British Intel services were designed and built to fight the Second World War ruthlessly and effectively. Every interconnection and relationship between personalities at ultra high levels to boots on the ground are explored and analysed in depth. A great testimony to our wartime intelligence services, which should be hailed as a masterpiece.

主に欧州側と米国内の話だけど、当時の日本にとっても無関係ではない。日本人も読むべき内容。ただし、読めば分かるように、各国はあらゆる情報操作をしている。本書の内容をそのまま事実として受け取ってはならないことも意味している。

There are so many staggering stories of heroism in this book, I could barely put it down from beginning to finish. I have read a lot of books about WWII but this book has expanded my knowledge and deepened my understanding of the sacrifices made by so many unknown people more than any other book I have read. I highly recommend this incredible historic masterpiece.

One of my top 10 books. Very relevant in today's highly charged political world. There is always more than meets the eye. A must read!