Spies Who Changed History

Spies Who Changed History written by Nigel West and published by Frontline

Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 256

Spies have made an extraordinary impact on the history of the 20th Century, but fourteen

in particular can be said to have been demonstrably important. As one might expect, few

are household names, and it is only with the benefit of recently declassified files that we

can now fully appreciate the nature of their contribution.

The criteria for selection have been the degree to which each can now be seen to have had a very definite influence on a specific course of events, either directly, by passing vital classified material, or indirectly, by organizing or managing a group of spies. Those selected were active in the First World War, the inter-war period, the Second World War, the Cold War and even the post-Cold War era.

These include Walther Dewé who formed a spy ring in German-occupied Belgium during the First World War. This train-watching network, known as ‘White Lady’, reported on German troop deployments and possible weaknesses in the German defences. Extending its operations into northern France, the ring provided 75 per cent of the information received by GHQ, British Expeditionary Force. By the time of the Armistice in 1918, Dewé’s group had a staggering 1,300 members.

Olga Gray, the 27-year-old daughter of a Daily Mail journalist, was employed as a secretary by the Communist Party of Great Britain. In 1931 she undertook a mission for MI5 to penetrate the organization and discover its secret channel of communication with Moscow. Gray learned that the Party’s cipher was based on Treasure Island and this breakthrough enabled the Party’s messages to be read by Whitehall cryptographers.

These, and other surprising stories, are revealed in this fascinating insight into a secret world inhabited by mysterious and shadowy characters, all of whom, though larger than life, really did exist.

This book Spies Who Changed History, basically tells the stories of 24 spies from around the world in each chapter, these range from the Great War up to the end of the Cold War. These are all well-written and go into good detail about the spying missions, the cause and the outcome. I quite enjoyed this book as the stories were more factual rather than the added-on fiction or adjectively based. So I think those who want more detail in their reading will enjoy this book. I have also read a couple of Nigel West books previously and his book is always of a detailed kind and are comprehensively informed. A good book for the spy lover.

Screams of the Drowning - From the Eastern Front to the SInking of the Wilhelm Gustloff

Screams of the Drowning - From the Eastern Front to the SInking of the Wilhelm

Gustloff written by Klaus Willmann and published by Greenhill Books - £19.99 -

Hardback - Pages 224

This is the true story of how one soldier experienced the horrors and bloodshed of

World War II — and lived to tell the tale.

Hans Fackler, like many boys his age, was conscripted into the Wehrmacht at the age of seventeen and sent to the Eastern Front. A pioneer in the infantry, he barely survived the carnage of the front lines and lost comrades to the Russian forces.

Eventually, Hans suffered a grievous injury from a grenade explosion. No longer able to fight, he found himself drugged on morphine and on board the controversial Wilhelm Gustloff, an armed military transport ship for SS, Gestapo and Wehrmacht personnel, which operated under the guise of transporting civilians.

The Gustloff was attacked and sunk by Russian torpedoes, drowning more than 9,000 passengers. Rescued by a German freighter, Hans recuperated in a military hospital near Erfurt in the Harz, which subsequently fell into the Russian zone. He escaped and undertook the arduous task of walking almost 200 miles back home to Bavaria.

The extraordinary first-person account of one of the few soldier-survivors of the sinking of the Gustloff, it also includes Hans’ experiences of taking part in the Kiev and the Vercors mountains massacres in 1941 and 1944 respectively.

Based upon a true story, this book follows the life of Hans Fackler, the only survivor of the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff. Gustloff had barely survived fighting on the Eastern Front, but having been incapacitated he was put upon the Gustloff, which was then sadly torpedoed with a great loss of life, but Fackler survived. This book is written from written first-hand accounts of Hans Fackler, who eventually managed to find his way through a long walk back to Germany. The book follows the highs and lows of getting back even just finding food was high point. An interesting book and a good read, although and I learnt about the sinking of the Gustloff, which I probably wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for reading this book. (My apologies, I wrote this review a good year ago I think but it never got put online.)

On the Trail of Jack the Ripper

On the Trail of Jack the Ripper written by Richard Charles Cobb & Mark Davis

published by Pen & Sword Books - £14.99 - Softcover - Pages 160

For 132 years, the ghastly and horrific murders committed in London’s East End by the

infamous ‘Jack the Ripper’ have gripped and baffled the world. The Ripper commenced

his series of atrocities at the end of August and continued freely until the beginning of

November 1888 when inexplicably the murders stopped…In all, five women were brutally

murdered and savagely mutilated in the most unimaginable way. The killing spree centred

in and around the impoverished rabbit warren of alleys and rookeries of Whitechapel. The

invisible killer was never caught despite the very best intentions of the police and

thousands of would-be detectives following the grim proceedings.

Since those dark days of murder committed by gaslight, the mystery of Jack the Ripper has

become the ultimate cold case amongst crime historians and armchair researchers

worldwide, with a multitude of books, plays and dramas all hoping to solve what London’s

finest Victorian detectives failed to do.

True crime and social historian Richard C Cobb returns to the Whitechapel of 1888 to see

what remains from this dark time in London’s history and to take the reader on a step-by-step

tour of the modern world of Jack the Ripper, giving a detailed history of the victims, the

crimes and the police investigation. We also look at other victims (outside the accepted five)

which may have been killed by the same man.

Using the original police reports, state of the art photographs, unseen images and diagrams,

he presents the truth about what actually happened in the autumn of 1888 and what remains

of Jack the Ripper’s London today. He also focuses on the ever-changing face of London’s

End End, giving the reader a real sense of how the past meets the present in arguably

London’s most vibrant and cultural quarter…where the shadow of the Ripper is never too far

away.

On the Trail of Jack the Ripper does exactly that in that the book takes the reader on a journey

around the Whitechapel area of London, or prominent places and explains the story of the Jack

the Ripper crimes, with present-day photos of the various areas. This is in my opinion very

good in that not only does it explain the tragedy in real terms, but it also gives an updated

feel to the crimes as it feels more like a documentary-style presentation. It felt really good to me

and made it feel a bit like a modern crime rather than a Victorian crime, I think this will entice

younger true crime fans to the story with this updated style.

Although I have read a good number of Jack the Ripper books, I found this one to be clear,

interesting and still very informative even though it is about an old crime, ideal especially for

a younger market.

IRA Terror on Britain’s Streets 1939–1940

IRA Terror on Britain’s Streets 1939–1940 written by Dick Kirby written by

Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Softcover - Pages 240

It is little known today that, in January 1939, the IRA launched a bombing campaign,

codenamed The S - or Sabotage - Plan on mainland England. With cynical self-

justification, they announced that it was not their intention to harm human life but in

just over a year, 265 explosive devices resulted in the deaths of seven innocent

people, with 117 injuries and widespread devastation. London, Birmingham,

Manchester, Liverpool and many other towns and cities were targeted.

On 25 August 1939, detectives in London defused three devices set to detonate that afternoon at 2.30 and arrested four terrorists. At the same time an identical bomb exploded in Coventry city centre killing five civilians and injuring 72, the highest body count of the campaign.

Numerous arrests were made nationwide but ill-trained personnel and additional national security resulting from the threat of Nazi invasion caused the campaign to falter and fade away in early 1940. The author, a former detective, is well qualified to write this book, having spent 18 months in Northern Ireland combatting terrorism, for which he was commended by the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Lord Imbert, for displaying ‘courage, dedication and detective ability’.

I think this is the second Dick Kirby book that I have reviewed, and I’ve had further confirmation that he is a really good writer, very informative, descriptive and actually quite often to the point. Dick Kirby. Kirby concentrates of real criminal cases mostly British but not exclusively, being a former policeman gives him a background and experience in what people want to know and how to tell that story. This book focuses in particular on the the IRA campaigns on the mainland but in the early days of the 30/40’s, and in a way it’s a kind of a book that looks at the early days of criminal behaviour by the IRA in Britian, where the UK police are having to work at a national level in order to defeat what we call today the terrorists. The book focuses on mainly the London trials but also a number of attacks in the north of England. This book is fascinating in that it looks closely at the early skills and tactics used by the police to detect and solve these kinds of crimes. Overall a thoroughly good book and very comprehensive, certainly a good book for anyone who love true crime.

Churchill’s Arctic Convoys - Strength Triumphs Over Adversity

Churchill’s Arctic Convoys - Strength Triumphs Over Adversity written by

William Smith and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 272

The threat of Operation Barbarossa, Hitler’s surprise invasion of Russia in June 1941, succeeding

prompted Churchill to decide to send vital military supplies to Britain’s new ally.

The early sailings to Northern Russia via the Arctic Ocean between August 1941 and February 1942 were largely unopposed. But this changed dramatically during the course of 1942 when German naval and air operations inflicted heavy losses on both merchantmen and their escorts. Problems were exacerbated by the need to divert Royal Navy warships to support the North African landing.

Strained Anglo-Soviet relations coupled with mounting losses and atrocious weather and sea conditions led to the near termination of the programme in early 1943. Again, competing operational priorities, namely the invasion of Sicily and preparations for D-Day, affected the convoy schedules. In the event, despite often crippling losses of lives, ships and supplies, the convoys continued until shortly before VE-Day.

This thoroughly researched and comprehensive account examines both the political, maritime and logistic aspects of the Arctic convoy campaign. Controversially it reveals that the losses of merchant vessels were significantly greater than hitherto understood.

While Churchill may not have described the convoys as ‘the worst journey in the world’, for the brave men who undertook he mission often at the cost of their lives, it most definitely was.

I’ve been reading about the Arctic Convoys for probably the last 5 years since reading a book on the convoy PQ-17, I just find it absolutely fascinating with so much information, yet it gets very little publicity when learning about the Second World War. This book Churchill’s Arctic Convoys is another good addition to the collection, whilst it doesn’t go specifically into one convoy it does a wide collection of them. But this is good because even I have been learning a lot from this book and picking up new information. In my opinion, the men who served on these convoys deserve a lot of respect for their bravery as they weren’t just fighting the enemy in the German Luftwaffe, they were also fighting the conditions such extreme cold, freezing sea water, equipment that didn’t always work correctly in such cold conditions, politics rain, snow and ice. The book goes into detail of the events, conditions the supplies they were carrying, events and everything the Germans could throw at them. This is a very well-written book, informative and I loved the statistical information and charts at the back of the book. A thoroughly good read on the subject, one I would happily recommend.

Jumping For Joy - The History of Platform Video Games

Jumping For Joy - The History of Platform Video Games written by Chris Scullion

and published by White Owl Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 168

The platformer is one of the most well-loved video game genres ever, having

entertained players for over 40 years. Jumping For Joy is a celebration of everything

platform games have to offer, spanning their entire history. The first part of the book

is a complete guide to every platform game starring Mario, Nintendo’s mascot and the

most popular video game character of all time. With nearly 80 games featured in this

section, it’s the definitive history of a true gaming hero. There are always two sides to

every story, though, so the second part of the book focuses on every one of the 50+

platformers starring Sonic the Hedgehog, Mario’s former rival. After this it’s the book’s

main course: a huge 100-page section detailing 50 other iconic and notable platform

games covering the entire history of gaming, from the days of the Atari 2600 and ZX

Spectrum all the way up to the Nintendo Switch, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Whether

you’re a long-time veteran of platform gaming or a newcomer who wants to learn more

about one of the most entertaining genres in video games, this is the perfect book for

you. And there are some bad jokes in there too, if that’s your thing.

A really good book to read, but then I did spend endless years as a teenager playing

many online platform games on various computers. This book as I said was like trawling

back through those teenage years. Some I remember quite clearly, others I had

completely forgotten about. Now Sonic the Hedgehog and the Super Mario Bros were

the two main big hitters in the platform world, and I would like to make a special mention

to Donkey Kong. Half of the book does reveal all the games I played, and the second

half then reveals the games I know much less well and probably when I had to grow up

and be sensible and get a job. The book is very comprehensive and I didn’t realise how

many games were related to such few characters. The book is full of info and I loved all

the facts throughout.

Roman Legends Bought to Life

Roman Legends Bought to Life written by Robert Garland and published by

Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 232

The legends of early Rome are among the most memorable of any in the world. They are also

highly instructive. They taught generations of Romans about duty and obedience. Duty and

obedience might not seem to amount to much these days, but it was precisely these virtues

that made Rome great. The legends are not, however, merely self-congratulatory and they are

rarely simple exercises in nationalist propaganda. On the contrary, many reveal their ancestors’

dark side, which they expose unflinchingly.

As in the case of Greek mythology, there is no authorised version of any Roman legend. The legends survived because they reminded the Romans who they were, what modest beginnings they came from, how on many occasions their city nearly imploded, and what type of men and women shaped their story.

Defeat, loss, failure. That’s where this story – the story of the boldest, most enduring, and most successful political experiment in human history – begins. It’s the story of how a band of refugees escaped from the ruins of a burning city and came to establish themselves hundreds of miles to the west in the land of Hesperia, the Western Land, the land where the sun declines, aka Italia. It’s the story of a people who by intermingling, compromise and sheer doggedness came to dominate first their region, then the whole of peninsula Italy, and finally the entire Mediterranean and beyond.

This book explores the world of Roman Legends, all those great roman gods and leaders we all learn about at school or through life. You have all the great gods and stories from the Trojan Horse right through to the Ides of March and everything in between. What was really good about this book was the comprehensive number of stories, but also the way they were written, it seemed to me they were written in layman’s terms. This not only made them far easier to understand, but with the excellent writing, it was a breeze to read. The only negative I could come up with was that I was not so keen on the childlike drawings throughout the book, which I felt didn’t really add anything. But overall it was a really good read and one I certainly enjoyed and I really enjoyed the cover design and it stands out nicely on my bookcase.