Familiar to anyone versed in the history of World War II or interested in the study of modern intelligence work, Bletchley Park was arguably the most successful intelligence operation in world history, the top secret workplace of the remarkable people who cracked Germany's vaunted Enigma Code. Almost to the end of the war, the Germans had firm faith in the Enigma ciphering machine, but in fact the codebreakers were deciphering nearly 4,000 German transmissions daily by 1942, reaping a wealth of information on such important matters as the effort to resupply Rommel's army in North Africa and the effect of Allied attempts to mislead the Germans about the location of D-Day landings. Indeed, Winston Churchill hailed the work of Bletchley Park as the "secret weapon" that won the war.
Only now, nearly half a century since the end of the Second World War, have any of the men and women in this group come forward to tell this remarkable story in their own words--a story that an oath of secrecy long prevented them from revealing. In Codebreakers, F.H. Hinsley and Alan Stripp have gathered together twenty-seven first-hand accounts of one of the most amazing feats in intelligence history. These engaging memoirs, each written by a different member of the codebreakers team, recount the long hours working in total secrecy and the feelings of camaraderie, tension, excitement, and frustration as these men and women, both British and American, did some of the most important work of the war. These talented people share not only their technical knowledge of cryptography and military logistics, but also poignant personal recollections as well. Walter Eytan, one of a handful of Jews at Betchley Park, recalls intercepting a message from a German vessel which reported that it
carried Jews "en route for Piraeus zur Endlosung (for the final solution)." Eytan writes "I had never heard this expression before, but instinctively, I knew what it must mean, and I have never forgotten that moment." Vivienne Alford tells of her chilling memory of hearing that the atomic bomb had been dropped on Hiroshima, and the stillness that came over her and her co-workers in Naval Section VI. And William Millward confides that he is still haunted by the work he did in Hut 3 nearly fifty years ago. "I sometimes wonder, especially during the night, how many sailors I drowned."
Few readers will finish this book without feeling that the codebreakers were essential to the outcome of the war--and thereby of major importance in helping to shape the world we live in today.
Industry Reviews
`it is an exciting story they have to tell.'
Tom Greenwell, Yorkshire Post
`... because of its intense secrecy, the work of the men and women at Bletchley received no public recognition for many years after the war, and many of those who made important contributions are no longer alive.This volume of personal recollections by some 30 of the survivors is ... especially welcome. Conditions of life and work at Bletchley, and its principal achievements, are faithfully sampled in Codebreakers, which is worth reading both for its
historical interest and for the sidelights it throws on the problems encountered in the rapid assembly and organization of one of the greatest collections of talent that has ever occurred in Western
civilization.'
Nature
`This unique volume will be of great interest to cryptologists in particular, and intelligence buffs in general.'
Surveillant
`While some of the chapters are so technical that Stella Rimmington would struggle to unscramble them, one still gets a strong sense of the excitement and frustrations of a war fought on the airwaves.'
Daily Telegraph
`the anecdotal material is fascinating in the insight it gives into everyday life at the institution.'
Sunday Times
`Hinsley and Stripp have assembled 30 reminiscers - most geniuses, a few slaves, all highly informative.'
Robin Blake, Independent on Sunday
`it is a remarkable tribute to the men and women who worked to crack the Germans' Enigma code.'
David Hall,Oxford Times
`The most interesting thing about this collection of essays is the light it throws on the personalities concerned.'
Times Higher Education Supplement
`These essays on the diverse activities at Bletchley Park (which remained secret until the 1970s) are enthralling.'
The Observer
`What makes Codebreakers so absorbing is that it has been written by the men and women who worked at Bletchley Park, all of whom were forbidden to talk about their work at the time. Codebreakers gives a fascinating insight into their daily lives.'
Madeleine Burton, Hitchin Gazette
`... one gets a strong sense of the excitement and frustrations of a war fought on the airwaves.'
Daily Telegraph
`Interesting stuff.'
The Marine Society
`This book has been put together from the personal memories of people none of whom would now be under 65. That they are so readable attests to the skill of the editors, who were themselves part of the Bletchley operation. Above all, it highlights the painstaking effort that intelligence work demands; but, as this volume shows, intelligence is useless there is force and a willingness to take advantage of it.'
John Farquharson, Canberra Times
`This new book is the first full account of Bletchley written by those who worked there. The book is superbly edited by F.H. Hinsley and Alan Stripp, Expositions are lucid and understandable to the layman - a considerable achievement. There are good photographs including those of Enigma cipher machines. Altogether, this is a splendid book for military historians, operational planners and especially intelligence officers.'
Howard, Industrial College of the Armed Forces. Air Power History
`This is a fascinating saga.'
M. G. Bond, Army Quarterly and Defence Journal
`editors and contributors have made Codebreakers an essential work ... It must be read by anyone and everyone concerned with intelligence during the Second World war .... It will be fundamental to anyone concerned with the techniques used during the Second World War to attack ciphers, super-enciphered codebooks or machine ciphers.'
John Ferris, University of Calgary, Intelligence and National Secuirty
`... a very intimate, anecdotal history. Despite the grim and far-reaching nature of their work, the reader goets a sense of a world bounded by four walls and shared with a few close associates whose common work made for very close relationships. The work of the codebreakers ... is fascinating, if sometimes barely comprehensible. ... a dramatic insight into just how remarkable the codebreakers' accomplishments were.'
British Heritage
`It comes with impeccable references in the shape of its editors' background and reputation, and does not disappoint.'
The British Army Review
`fascinating insiders' account of wartime code-cracking... and absorbing read.'
Niall Fergusson
`a highly revealing, even exciting book... that lays fascinating former secrets bare... It is a delight to have so crucial a subject so clearly and entertainingly described, by some thirty people who really understand what they are discussing and can set the record quite straight.'
M. R. D. Foot, The Times
`Anyone interested in the Second World War will sit up all night, and chess players and puzzle-solvers will be captivated by the later chapters.'
Noel Annan, Independent on Sunday
