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"""Between Silk and Cyanide

A Codemaker's War, 1941 to 1945 """

Leo Marks

$85.95   $77.73

Paperback

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English
Free Press
06 October 2000
"This true account of spycraft in the UK during World War II is ""spellbinding...a compelling insider's view to the shadow war: intrigue and treachery, double-dealing and deception, hope and despair, triumph and tragedy"" (The New York Times Book Review). In 1942, Leo Marks left his father's famous bookshop, 84 Charing Cross Road, and went off to fight the war. He was twenty-two. Soon recognized as a cryptographer of genius, he became head of communications at the Special Operations Executive (SOE), where he revolutionized the codemaking techniques of the Allies and trained some of the most famous agents dropped into occupied Europe, including ""the White Rabbit"" and Violette Szabo. As a top codemaker, Marks had a unique perspective on one of the most fascinating and, until now, little-known aspects of World War II.

Writing with the narrative flair and vivid characterization of his famous screenplays, Marks gives free rein to his keen sense of the absurd and his wry wit, resulting in a thrilling and poignant memoir that celebrates individual courage and endeavor, without losing sight of the human cost and horror of war."

By:  
Imprint:   Free Press
Country of Publication:   United States
Dimensions:   Height: 230mm,  Width: 151mm,  Spine: 45mm
Weight:   690g
ISBN:   9780684867809
ISBN 10:   068486780X
Pages:   624
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Reviews for """Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker's War, 1941 to 1945 """

Martin Scorsese A mesmerizing account of World War II as fought on the home front in Great Britain by the ingenious codemakers whose work determined the life and death of the Allied agents in occupied Europe. Leo Marks, a brilliant cryptographer, is a masterful and passionate storyteller. I was immediately swept into his secret world of codes and undecipherables, trying at times (without success) to unravel the puzzles myself, and found it difficult to put down the book until the drama had come to an end. Richard Bernstein The New York Times An enthralling book, one full of an eccentric charm as well as fascinating, previously undisclosed details of the secret war waged in the occupied countries. Ken Ringle The Washington Post A welcome and powerfully affecting chapter of World War II history, and a very human story of the most clandestine and cerebral art of making war. The New York Times Book Review [A] spellbinding real-life thriller....A compelling insider's view to the shadow war: intrigue and treachery, double-dealing and deception, hope and despair, triumph and tragedy.


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