Life in Secrets [Import] [Paperback]

Sarah Helm (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: ABACUS (LITT); New Ed edition (June 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0349119368
• ISBN-13: 978-0349119366
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 7.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,731,662 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Belongs in any World War II Collection, August 26, 2006

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Life in Secrets (Paperback)

I first became aware of the problems with the sending of agents into France during World War II when reading Leo Marks excellent book 'Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker's War, 1941-1945.' As a quick summary, the average time that a radio operator remained free from the Nazi's was six weeks.

This excellently researched and written book on Vera Atkins has an excellent title. Vera Atkins truly lived a Life In Secrets. Although she was a Romanian Jew, she managed to get around the Enemy Alien status that should have kept her out of the war. She started as a secretary in the SOE, and grew to be the 'heart and brains' of the organization which worked to drop agents into occupied France.

The bulk of the book though is on her work after the war as she sought down the information about what happened to the 100+ agents who never returned. She was able to track all but one (who was last seen, it is rumored, leaving a casino in Monte Carlo, with $3 million in SOE money).

This is a fascinating story and belongs on the shelf of any World War II book collection.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Honest and Intriguing, September 1, 2005

By 

L. E. Fraser (U.K.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Life in Secrets (Hardcover)

I completely agree. A very fair history of the women of the SOE, with fascinating, but not fictionalised insights into the unusual life of Vera Atkins.
Retrospectively, some of the SOE's blunders seem unbelievable, but this honest and detailed account shows how mistakes were made in the most difficult circumstances in an unbiased and very human fashion.
The book tackles many aspects of the Second World War, including its progression into Eastern Europe and the effect of the "Iron Curtain" upon the War Crimes Trials, as well as the admirable women who have earned their place in history. Special attention is paid to some of the more engaging characters, such as Noor Inayat Kahn, whose story is moving and gripping; but the central character is Vera, and as Helm follows the process of Vera's life and involvement with the SOE, Vera searches for traces of her lost girls, and the book becomes not just a historical account but also a mystery.
Excellent stuff!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delve into the Mystery with Delight..., August 13, 2005

By 

G. Simms (Norfolk, U.K.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Life in Secrets (Hardcover)

I had read extracts from this book in various newspaper supplements, prompting me to purchase this book. I did not expect to be completely enthralled! This biography, and to some extent, expose, of Vera Atkins and SOE, is a must read for anyone interested in the second world war and espionage.

Vera Atkins, part of the French Section of the Special Operations Executive was partly responsible for the insertion of over four hundred agents into Occupied France. As many did not return, Vera Atkins travelled across Europe, almost single-handedly, to personally find out what had happened to them. The trail often ended in the concentration camps of Natzweiler, Dachau and Ravensbruck.

As a newcomer to this subject, my eyes were often wide open in shock at the actions of SOE and its members - alternatively in admiration and in disbelief.

Sarah Helm's investigation into Vera Atkins peels back layer by layer, just as Atkins herself delved deeper and deeper into the whereabouts of her 'lost' agents. The discoveries are shocking and harrowing, and Sarah Helm cleverly takes the reader along the same path of investigation as Vera herself must have taken. Often the wealth of information that is provided in the course of both investigations is sometimes overwhelming. But it serves to demonstrate the extreme determination and committment of both women in discovering the truth.

Highly recommended!