Knowing I enjoy espionage novels, my neighbour lent me this classic true story. It became the first five-star read of the year.

When searching for a man to help bring the Americans into the war Churchill said that man must be not just fearless, or dauntless, but intrepid! William Stephenson was that man. Among other unfamiliar topics, I learned about Camp X, the fascinating top secret spy training centre in Canada. Stephenson developed a talent for recruiting agents, Sir Noel Coward among others, and asked diplomat Lester B. Pearson (future prime minister of Canada) to become a “King’s messenger” conveying secret documents across the Atlantic. A quote from Pearson’s autobiography relates the danger and unexpected risks involved. Ian Fleming worked closely with Stephenson and trained at Camp X. He later admitted that many of the devices portrayed in his James Bond series were derived from Intrepid’s operations. This is a terrific book, well written and interesting throughout: one of the best non-fiction books I’ve read about WWII. ( )

This is one of the most intriguing books I have ever read. Probably most interesting is how the book itself becomes part of the story, which can only be understood reading it completely from beginning to end =) ( )

In-depth history lesson combined with in-depth thriller. Never a dull moment. ( )

6/22/18 CONCLUSIONS STILL VALID TODAY ( )

During World War II there was a shooting war that was well publicized, yet behind the scenes there was a war of intelligence and espionage, detailed here, that surfaced only many years later. Readers of this book will look at current events with a healthy skepticism, pausing to consider if the news stories we read in our own time are manipulative creations of intelligence officials. In any case this is a treasure of fascinating stories of how the secret wars were conducted, won, and lost. ( )