Secret Agent's Handbook: The Wwii Spy Manual of Devices, Disguises, Gadgets and Concealed Weapons

by Mark Seaman

Here is the catalog from which real spies once ordered their explosives, gadgets, and equipement! Have you ever fantasized about what it would be like to be a secret agent? A super-spy? To have at your disposal the wild gadgets seen in movies like Mission Impossible and the James Bond series? Cloak-and-dagger escapades have been a mainstay on the screen and in literature, but the stuff of these movies and spy novels was based on fact. And the clandestine duties required of covert operators entailed employing every possible advantage. Secret Agent's Handbook is the original catalog used by the actual British S.O.E. agents to select weapons, gadgets, and disguises for their secret missions during World War II. The S.O.E. was the secret wartime organization set up to promote sabotage in enemy-occupied countries, with active and often highly personal encouragement from Winston Churchill. Following Winston Churchill's directive to "set Europe ablaze," the Special Operations Executive set about organizing resistance in Europe and beyond as best they could. To aid in these harrowing activities, government scientists and inventors produced a remarkable and vast array of devices designed specifically for covert sabotage missions. This intriguing collection includes the equipment that secret agents used-such wild devices as exploding rats and Chianti bottles, shoes that leave barefoot prints, incendiary briefcases and cigarettes-as well as the deadliest of weapons. Each item is featured with a photograph or illustration and is described in detail. Also included are full instructions for use and information as to how they were utilized on real-life spy missions.

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[A.L. Sowards · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a reproduction of several WWII 'catalogs' available for SOE agents and operatives. It is well worth looking through if you have any interest in spy gadgets or WWII special ops. I had read about many of the devices in other sources, but this was much more comprehensive and it included pictures of nearly everything. A fun book to browse. 4.5 stars.

[J Manuel]

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[Christine]

heard about this in the Powell's newletter, it sounds amusing!