Spies of the First World War: Under Cover for King and Kaiser - Hardcover

Morton, James

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1905615469 ISBN 13: 9781905615469

Publisher: The National Archives UK, 2010

Synopsis

This is the first popular history to reveal espionage activity across Europe - Germany, Britain, Holland, Belgium, France - from the early 20th century to after the First World War. It has remarkable range and depth of coverage, using original MI5 records and sources in The National Archives and elsewhere and tells the stories of international agents, their handlers and pursuers told in their own words.

In Spies of the First World War best-selling author James Morton tells the story of organized espionage in Britain from spy fever early in the 20th century to the end of the First World War and the rise of air intelligence. He introduces a world of colorful characters and dark underhand dealing in which spies, male and female, driven by love, money, patriotism or a mix of them all, struggled to survive.

The first English officer amateur spies are featured along with their frequently flamboyant French, Belgian and German counterparts - from hunchback dentist Wilhelm Klauer to the Grande (and lesser) horizontales such as Mata Hari. So too are their controllers such as authors John Buchan and Somerset Maugham and men like Richard Tinsley who oversaw a network of some 2000 spies from Holland. As professionalism grew great successes emerged – not least the deciphering of the intercepted Zimmerman telegram – along with notable failures. Morton tackles both in a meticulously researched narrative that balances the history of espionage with the human stories of individuals and tales of heroism with cowardice, incompetence and betrayal.

About this title

About the Author:

JAMES MORTON is author of The Krays in The National Archives’ Crime Archives series and has written many successful books on organized crime including Sex, Crimes and Misdemeanours (‘Writes amusingly and tells good anecdotes; his research is prodigious, but served up lightly’ Guardian), Gangland (Faithfully factual, gripping ... prescribed reading’ Evening Standard) and Lola Montez (a ‘must read’ The Times). He was previously a defence solicitor and is a regular contributor to Military Illustrated.

Review:

Spies of the First World War by James Morton For anyone interested in history of the 20th century, this book is well documented and fascinating. It sometimes reads like a novel and some of the events and stories are difficult to believe. Many people were involved in the theatrics behind the scenes which led to and drove World War I, and brave citizens put their lives at risk all over Europe to obtain secret information and pass it along to whichever side they trusted and believed in. You'll enjoy and learn from this book, so very well written and fascinating. Read of what happened a century ago and wonder if things are really much different today??

About this edition

• Publisher: The National Archives UK
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1905615469
• ISBN 13: 9781905615469
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272