Ultra in the West

by Ralph Bennett

A retired major from British military intelligence reveals how Ultra, a top secret decoding device, was used by the Allies against the Nazis in France and Germany

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, War

336 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1979

Reviews

[Timothy Rooney · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was probably the worst book I have ever read. I imagine if one wanted to torture someone who liked to read, that person would be made to read this book.

There is maybe a very small group of people that could find this writing worthwhile. First, any military commander versed in warfare might appreciate the contents. Second, those fascinated with WWII could also perhaps appreciate the contents.

But these two groups might also agree that an animated map showing troop movements would tell the story much more concisely and effectively than all the verbiage.

Next, I asked myself if there were some way to make this interesting? Maybe add characters (Eisenhower is referenced in passing but only very factually, tangentially, and not even really playing the role of a character) and details of battle to captivate the reader? Sadly this would only belabor the torture and not make the book any more interesting.

[Perry Andrus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am helping develop a board game covering WWII in NW Europe so this book provides a lot of useful information. This is the second time I have read the book.