Book Review: A Man Called Intrepid

A Man Called Intrepid: The Incredible True Story of the Master Spy Who Helped Win World War II, by William Stevenson (New York: SkyHorse Publishing, 2014), 645 pages, Kindle Edition.

“I’ll read that when I finish my doctoral studies.” I wish I had a quarter for every time I made that statement over the last 3 plus years. Well, this is one of those. I know it has been a while since I posted book reviews on this site, but I do read and I do find reviews helpful, so if you share any of those traits, here you go.

I am a fan of historical works, and of military biographies, and even enjoy a little bit of spy-novel suspense…so this book seemed tailor made for me.

This seems to be a well-researched, non-fiction, perspective on WW II from the perspective of the then “new” perspective on the world of intelligence, counter-intelligence, and guerilla warfare. As a soldier, I thought I had a good handle on the cost of war and a basic idea of warfare planning and considerations. Reading this book told me I am clueless on the big picture. In fact, many places in the book left me feeling like a little child standing in the library/study of a great leader/statesman, in awe of the surroundings and sheepishly hoping to learn something from a crouched position in the corner, too overwhelmed to speak.

The book surveys the advent of intelligence work as an emerging tactic in war. From steaming open letters, to listening in to radio traffic, to breaking the German code relied upon by Hitler and his forces during the war, the author tells the tale of how Allied forces survived and ultimately achieved victory against a determined enemy.

As a student of leadership, I found myself enthralled with the burdens of leadership that Churchill and Roosevelt bore in daily duties and was quite enthralled at the art of people intelligence employed in the shadows to facilitate ultimate victory.

I find that people with limited knowledge of facts and specifics have strong opinions of what they would and would not do in a given situation. A few days into this read is certain to challenge someone to reconsider all of that.

If this type of book is your “jam,” I highly recommend. It actually has peaked a new curiosity for me as it relates to Churchill, Roosevelt, and World War II.

Here’s a link to it for Kindle at Amazon!