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Between Silk and Cyanide
 
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Between Silk and Cyanide (Paperback)

by Marks (Author)
4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 624 pages
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1st Touchstone Ed edition (1 Sep 2000)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 068486780X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0684867809
  • Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.7 x 4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 249,496 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review
"The New York Times Book Review"

[A] spellbinding real-life thriller....A compelling insider's view to the shadow war: intrigue and treachery, double-dealing and deception, hope and despair, triumph and tragedy.



Synopsis
A World War II cryptographer chronicles his career in the Special Operations Executive, discussing his replacement of outmoded codes with one-time silk-printed codes.

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Customer Reviews

10 Reviews
5 star:
 (9)
4 star:
 (1)
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Average Customer Review
4.9 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding, gripping, hilarious book, 3 Jun 2003
By Andrew Kerr "Alabony" (Dunfermline, Scotland) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
I can honestly say this is the best book I have read - fiction or non-fiction. Marks hasn't lost any of the cheeky humour that got him into so much trouble early in his military career during the war. What's less obvious from his own accounts of his early life is how he became such an outstanding writer.

This book has everything - it's very informative, consistently gripping and sways between humour and heartache in equal measure.

Marks keeps the pace going throughout the book and deftly intertwines his owns accounts of his time in the SOE with a superb account of his contacts with Captain Forest Frederick Yeo-Thomas (better known as The White Rabbit).

As a factual account of wartime codebreaking, this book easily stands up in its own right. The fact that it's such a great read is just a bonus.

I can't recommend it highly enough. Which is why I've already bought 7 more copies as gifts!

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Coding was the least of it, 9 April 2003
I borrowed this book in Chicago and couldn't put it down. An excellent writer, witty and pertinent, humours and refined, Leo Marks brings the code breakers war to life. His self critical reflections in conjunction with his sharp mind make the commentary fascinating as the world of coding and the characters develop through the course of the war. The human account of the fate of some of the agents is harrowing, all the more so, for all the efforts by Marks et al to secure their survival. The characters Marks dealt with and learnt from were all heroes, whether agents, procurement specialists or professors with rapier sharp minds
I enjoyed it more than I could have imagined and this work revitalised my appreciation for our more recent history. It's also left me with the poem, 'a life that I have' running through my imagination
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent account of SOE and its people., 17 Sep 2000
By A Customer
This book puts a very human face to the people who carried the resistance war to the occupied territories during WWII. It left me with an appreciation for what these people did, the sacrifices made, and the lives lost. The book is written to give an insight into the personalities of the people involved, the politics of interservice rivalries, and the techniques of code-making and codebreaking. The author displays his flamboyant personality in a very honest way, and I suspect that the contents of the book are very honestly portrayed as well. Excellent and highly recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A book for all readers
This is a brilliant book. It does not matter if you are familiar with any of the themes within this book, superbly written it covers all with wit and enthusiasm. Read more
Published 21 days ago by Wandering Reader

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious, harrowing and all shades in between
Marks was with SOE during WW2. This book is a memoir of his experiences. Don't be put off by its size. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Gareth Greenwood

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just about codes
Do not be put off by the subject as this is a very human story. One of the best I have read on espionage. It has an immediacy about it. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Secret Squirrel

5.0 out of 5 stars The untold story behind the secret army
To me this didn't feel so much a book as a journey.

In interviews Leo Marks was always a charismatic man. Read more
Published 21 months ago by M. G. Talks

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, funny, humbling
It is a great pleasure to read a book by someone as clever as the author - even if I don't understand all the coding details. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Dr. H. Beentje

5.0 out of 5 stars Very interresting book about cryptography
If you like "The code book" by Simon Singh you'll like this one.
Leo Marks, a cryptology master worked at SOE constructing and
breaking codes. Read more
Published on 29 Aug 2004 by doonari

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
I received this book as a present and read it cover to cover in no more than two weeks. The portrayal of the individuals behind the operations was extremely moving, and very well... Read more
Published on 17 Dec 2002 by Aaron C Reskew

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