How I Discovered World War II's Greatest Spy and Other Stories of Intelligence and Code

by David Kahn

Spies, secret messages, and military intelligence have fascinated readers for centuries but never more than today, when terrorists threaten America and society depends so heavily on communications. Much of what was known about communications intelligence came first from David Kahn's pathbreaking book, The Codebreakers . Kahn, considered the dean of intelligence historians, is also the author of Hitler’s German Military Intelligence in World War II and Seizing the The Race to Break the German U-Boat Codes, 1939-1943, among other books and articles.

Kahn’s latest book, How I Discovered World War II's Greatest Spy and Other Stories of Intelligence and Code , provides insights into the dark realm of intelligence and code that will fascinate cryptologists, intelligence personnel, and the millions interested in military history, espionage, and global affairs. It opens with Kahn telling how he discovered the identity of the man who sold key information about Germany’s Enigma machine during World War II that enabled Polish and then British codebreakers to read secret messages.

Next Kahn addresses the question often asked about Pearl since we were breaking Japan’s codes, did President Roosevelt know that Japan was going to attack and let it happen to bring a reluctant nation into the war? Kahn looks into why Nazi Germany’s totalitarian intelligence was so poor, offers a theory of intelligence, explicates what Clausewitz said about intelligence, tells―on the basis of an interview with a head of Soviet codebreaking―something about Soviet Comint in the Cold War, and reveals how the Allies suppressed the second greatest secret of WWII.

Providing an inside look into the efforts to gather and exploit intelligence during the past century, this book presents powerful ideas that can help guide present and future intelligence efforts. Though stories of WWII spying and codebreaking may seem worlds apart from social media security, computer viruses, and Internet surveillance, this book offers timeless lessons that may help today’s leaders avoid making the same mistakes that have helped bring at least one global power to its knees. The book includes a Foreword written by Bruce Schneier.

Genres: World War II, History

489 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2013

About the author

A specialist on the history of cryptography and military intelligence, David Kahn worked as a reporter and op-ed editor for Newsday until his retirement in 1998, and was selected in 1995 as scholar-in-residence at the National Security Agency. Kahn earned a D.Phil in modern German history from Oxford University in 1974 under the supervision of the then-Regius professor of modern history, Hugh Trevor-Roper.

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Reviews

[Matt Heavner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of articles (and a talk) over ~10 years by David Kahn. Fantastic crypto-perspective and history. A few of the articles had some redundancy, but a great collection and read. If you like cryptography and especially the history of cryptography (all ages, but especially PURPLE, ULTRA, and enigma), you should read this.

[Theresa Kulenkamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not for everyone and not a fast read. More suited for folks who are really focused on specifics of World War 2 history. Well cited and structured.