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Product Description
Ultra - the code word for the greatest secret of World War II - was the method by which the Allies intercepted German radio transmissions and broke their coded contents. But how was this information transmitted to the battlefield? Author Ronald Lewin was the first historian to utilize actual Ultra intercepts to show how this information was used in combat. He is also the first historian to have interviewed the men, both British and American, who produced and used Ultra intercepts in the key positions of leadership throughout the war.In documenting these incredible events, author Ronald Lewin tells the story of Ultra from 1920 through 1945. He utilized more than 70,000 previously secret Ultra intercepts. He has interviewed the Head of the Polish secret service who provided the Allies with the first Ultra code-breaking equipment before WWII started. He shows how the German radio signals were intercepted, how the codes were broken, how the information was evaluated, how Allied reactions were planned, and what impact this Ultra material had on the field of battle.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is a "must read" for people who have an interest in the codebreaking operations that took place at Bletchley Park during World War II. The author is well researched, and sets the historical background to operation Ultra in a precise manner, thus aiding the reader's understanding of the crucial task undertaken by the codebreakers at such a crucial stage of the conflict in Europe. The creation of the vast network of evaluation and dissemination of military information that Ultra produced is also explained, and good reference is made to landmark events, such as the British warnings given to Stalin on the imminent German invasion (which he readily ignored) as well as the myth of the British sacrificing the city of Coventry for the sake of Ultra in the Luftwaffe's operation "Moonlight Sonata".
Unlike any other history book, the storytelling in this book unfolds in such an exciting manner, that it guarantees to keep you reading well into the early morning hours.
Unlike any other history book, the storytelling in this book unfolds in such an exciting manner, that it guarantees to keep you reading well into the early morning hours.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Venerable classic
24 Jun 2009
Format:Paperback
This review was based on the out-of-print hard-cover version. It is nice to see that it has been reissued as a paperback.
This book was originally published thirty years ago, just a few years after the information concerning the breaking of the German Enigma cipher machine was made public. It was one of the first books to look at the impact of this breakthrough on the Western European aspects of WWII. It does not describe any of the actual code breaking per se, only the important influence that this had on the war.
Given that the book is thirty years old and that newer books covering the Enigma cipher and the Ultra secret have been published, one can reasonably ask why they should invest time on this book. I think that this book is useful because:
1. It is the classic source that many other books reference
2. Being written 25 years after the end of the war, the author had a very important perspective and was allowed to interview many of the participants. Twenty five to forty years is, in my opinion, the best time frame to write a history of any event. Twenty-five years gives some time for emotions to cool and allow for a more dispassionate look at events (a little longer is even better). Unfortunately, after 40 years many of the senior participants are dead, making interviews impossible. Thus, this book was written at the beginning of this critical period. Books written today must rely on previously published books (like this one) and on dairies, manuscripts and archives.
3. I have read a number of the more recent books concerning the Ultra secret but I have still learned new things from this book. For instance, I learned that the Colossus computer was developed not to break the Enigma code, but to break a sophisticated radio-teletype code. The book makes it clear the B-Dienst (a German code breaking group) broke the British convoy code but not the British Naval cipher (some books make it seem as if B-Dienst broke all of the British codes). There is a very nice chapter on the Special Liaison Units and the process by which Enigma decrypts were disseminated, while still keeping secret he fact that the Enigma code was broken.
I recommend this book for those interested in the history of WWII, but this is not the book for you if you are primarily interested in how the Enigma cipher was broken. If that is you primary interest, I recommend Budiansky's "Battle of Wits" and "Enigma" by Hugh Sebag-Montefiore (which focuses on the capture of code machines and code books, but also has information about the code breaking process, but not quite as much as Budiansky's book). I give the book 4 stars instead of five because it is a bit dated and because of the lack of this code breaking information.
This book was originally published thirty years ago, just a few years after the information concerning the breaking of the German Enigma cipher machine was made public. It was one of the first books to look at the impact of this breakthrough on the Western European aspects of WWII. It does not describe any of the actual code breaking per se, only the important influence that this had on the war.
Given that the book is thirty years old and that newer books covering the Enigma cipher and the Ultra secret have been published, one can reasonably ask why they should invest time on this book. I think that this book is useful because:
1. It is the classic source that many other books reference
2. Being written 25 years after the end of the war, the author had a very important perspective and was allowed to interview many of the participants. Twenty five to forty years is, in my opinion, the best time frame to write a history of any event. Twenty-five years gives some time for emotions to cool and allow for a more dispassionate look at events (a little longer is even better). Unfortunately, after 40 years many of the senior participants are dead, making interviews impossible. Thus, this book was written at the beginning of this critical period. Books written today must rely on previously published books (like this one) and on dairies, manuscripts and archives.
3. I have read a number of the more recent books concerning the Ultra secret but I have still learned new things from this book. For instance, I learned that the Colossus computer was developed not to break the Enigma code, but to break a sophisticated radio-teletype code. The book makes it clear the B-Dienst (a German code breaking group) broke the British convoy code but not the British Naval cipher (some books make it seem as if B-Dienst broke all of the British codes). There is a very nice chapter on the Special Liaison Units and the process by which Enigma decrypts were disseminated, while still keeping secret he fact that the Enigma code was broken.
I recommend this book for those interested in the history of WWII, but this is not the book for you if you are primarily interested in how the Enigma cipher was broken. If that is you primary interest, I recommend Budiansky's "Battle of Wits" and "Enigma" by Hugh Sebag-Montefiore (which focuses on the capture of code machines and code books, but also has information about the code breaking process, but not quite as much as Budiansky's book). I give the book 4 stars instead of five because it is a bit dated and because of the lack of this code breaking information.
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