- Paperback: 96 pages
- Publisher: Dover Publications Inc.; Reprint edition (28 Oct 2011)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0486482081
- ISBN-13: 978-0486482088
- Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 13.5 x 1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,502,676 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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› Visit Amazon's Baron Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell Baden-Powell of Gilwell Page
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Product Description
Product Description
An older book for a younger audience, this charming volume was written by a British military hero during the first years of World War I. Baden-Powell, who founded the Boy Scouts, relates such espionage basics as disguise, hiding messages in innocuous objects, creating diversions, escaping capture, and other maneuvers. Reprint of the C. Arthur Pearson, Ltd., London, 1915 edition
About the Author
Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, Baron Baden-Powell of Gilwell (1857-1941), was a British General in the first decades of the 20th century and later the founder of the Boy Scouts.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
To anyone interested in the world of the Edwardian spy, or the era of the Great Game or Anglo-German rivalry prior to WW1 then this is for you. Michael Cochrane always gives good value for money with his fabulous establishment voice but it is important to set the text into context. This is effectively the 'project report', almost a debrief from an Edwardian gentleman spy and Cochrane's register reflects this. It is easy to see a direct cline or continuum with the Scout movement in the narrative. There are small musical motifs too-just a few bars here and there- on piano which are very Edwardian in tone. It would've been nice perhaps to have certain anecdotes acted out in set piece dramatised segments-as when he was evading goat herders in the Balkans-but it still works in monologic form. Interesting to anyone drawn to the early beginnings of MI6 in what was a truly tumultuous period but at an hour and a quarter it could have done with one or two dramatised segments to break it up a bit .
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5 reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Dated but inspiring
27 Mar 2005
Format:Paperback
Lord Baden-Powell's autobiographical treatise on the basics of spy trade craft is dated, around a hundred years old at this point. The technological innovations since then have changed many aspects of the intelligence profession. On the other hand, the work is inspiring. B-P's passion for human intelligence collection is contagious. Based on this work, it is clear that he loved what he did for the thrill and challenge of it and it was a fringe benefit that it served his country (I am not questioning his patriotism, but his writing makes it clear that his work was his true passion).
There are numerous vignettes to illustrate different techniques and principle of tradecraft, mostly with some humerous aspect. My personal favorite was the incident where B-P was collecting on German fortifications in the Balkans. He walked through the German military site drawing pictures of the facility, was stopped, and was able to walk away without being detained. How did he pull this off? It was the butterfly net, book about butterflies, sketch book full of drawings of butterflies, and having the nerve to ask the German soldier if he had seen a specific butterfly. Where were the sketches of the fort? Concealed inside the drawings of the butterflies....
The book is short and aimed at 10-15 year olds, but is enjoyable to anyone with an interest in espionage or the history of espionage.
Caveat: If you are a parent and feel that a career in intelligence is not acceptable for your child, keep this book out of your child's hands!
Oh, and Baden-Powell went on to found the Boy Scouts. "Scouts" as in "soldiers specializing in tactical intelligence collection"....
There are numerous vignettes to illustrate different techniques and principle of tradecraft, mostly with some humerous aspect. My personal favorite was the incident where B-P was collecting on German fortifications in the Balkans. He walked through the German military site drawing pictures of the facility, was stopped, and was able to walk away without being detained. How did he pull this off? It was the butterfly net, book about butterflies, sketch book full of drawings of butterflies, and having the nerve to ask the German soldier if he had seen a specific butterfly. Where were the sketches of the fort? Concealed inside the drawings of the butterflies....
The book is short and aimed at 10-15 year olds, but is enjoyable to anyone with an interest in espionage or the history of espionage.
Caveat: If you are a parent and feel that a career in intelligence is not acceptable for your child, keep this book out of your child's hands!
Oh, and Baden-Powell went on to found the Boy Scouts. "Scouts" as in "soldiers specializing in tactical intelligence collection"....
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Bits of Adventure from Someone Who Lived It
23 July 2008
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The author, Robert Baden-Powell, was a British soldier and spy, and founder of the Boy Scouts. The author's love of adventure is evident in this book, which is a collection of 1- and 2-page essays.
After a short series of essays defending espionage as being both useful and honorable, the remainder of the book explains spycraft of the time and particular incidents in which Baden-Powell directly participated. The stories are interesting, and would certainly appeal to many young readers. Occasional use is made of the author's own illustrations, including sketches of fortifications modified for secrecy to resemble much more benign subjects (insects, stained glass windows, etc.) which were spirited back to headquarters.
On a historical note, this book is reminiscent of other adventure books by European authors in roughly the same period (Jules Verne, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle).
Titles published by Dover tend to be inexpensive, and this book is no exception. Even at full retail, this book is a steal.
After a short series of essays defending espionage as being both useful and honorable, the remainder of the book explains spycraft of the time and particular incidents in which Baden-Powell directly participated. The stories are interesting, and would certainly appeal to many young readers. Occasional use is made of the author's own illustrations, including sketches of fortifications modified for secrecy to resemble much more benign subjects (insects, stained glass windows, etc.) which were spirited back to headquarters.
On a historical note, this book is reminiscent of other adventure books by European authors in roughly the same period (Jules Verne, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle).
Titles published by Dover tend to be inexpensive, and this book is no exception. Even at full retail, this book is a steal.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
No Pictures in Printed Version
10 Dec 2010
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
On the web preview it showed sketches by Baden-Powell so I was not very happy when I received my printed copy and like the Kindle reviewer said it had no images. So my rating is not against the Author but against the company that published this version. Will return and look for a complete version elsewhere.
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