...the book embodies a herculean research effort down to the minutest detail. Fear not. In spite of its heft, this tome is a real page turner. Screenwriters might cull a few thrillers from the text — and populate them with real-life heroes, fools and traitors ... For all its focus on the Anglo-American brotherhood, The Secret War also covers the whole front from the French and Dutch resistance to the German Abwehr and the Soviet NKVD. Like the rest, these chapters blend first-rate reportage, finely chiseled portraits and in-depth research. They brim with true tales of sacrifice and petty-mindedness, miraculous breakthroughs and cynical betrayal.
...we badly needed a reliable reassessment to put the secret war in perspective, and this Max Hastings accomplishes with fine judgment in his new book ... Hastings also reminds us forcefully that however accurate the intelligence obtained, it is worthless if sufficient forces are not available to make use of it ... Nobody can accuse Max Hastings of patriotic bias. He is well known for his scathing criticism of the British Army’s inadequacies. In The Secret War Hastings gives short shrift to the myths. He brilliantly depicts the byzantine world of intelligence agencies, with dry humor and perception.
Hastings has written an authoritative and engaging book that will stand as the definitive single volume analysis of 'The Secret War' for years to come ... This is a marvelous book – smart, carefully and exhaustively researched and highly informative. Even those exceptionally knowledgeable about World War II will find it extremely valuable. It is compelling and fascinating reading.
The Secret War covers much familiar ground, but the decision to combine what are in fact only tangentially related subjects in one narrative may have been a mistake. There is little that connects codebreaking, spies, sabotage, resistance movements and deception operations in World War II other than the fact that they were all secret. As a result the book reads more like a ramble than a purposeful journey. But there are certainly interesting byways, especially on those excursions where the author is a reliable guide.
...[a] magisterial work ... The book is a treasure trove of anecdotes, including comic misadventures, epic fights within intelligence communities, and staggering blunders, much of it presented with Hastings' droll British understatement.
The true value-added of the book is that it provides warnings about the ambiguous role of clandestine activities that remain relevant today ... Despite its many virtues, the book is long — more than 550 pages of text — and jumps rapidly among different theaters, missions and personalities. At times, Hastings focuses disproportionately on the European theater and British contributions. Nonetheless, in its nuanced and complex portrait of dysfunction, mistrust and waste, The Secret War sets a new benchmark for books on intelligence and covert action in World War II.
