Customer Reviews

A Man Called Intrepid

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book was given to my husband to read, and I picked it up and could not put it down. I would highly reccommend this book to anyone. Its a fascinating story of one man's influence in developing espionage during World War II - a network that ultimately prevented Hitler from developing the atomic bomb. It details how spies were trained and deployed and the incredible bravery and sacrifice of spies who parachuted into occupied Europe- even women. One of the most fascinating accounts in the book is the detailed story of the rescue (right under the noses of the Nazis) and transport to England by "moon plane" of a Norweignan physiscist who held the key to the development of the bomb. I am buying this as a gift for several friends and my father.

this is one of the most important books on world war II history i have ever seen. my father was a super bookworm, and a veteran of China-Burma-India Theatre in world war II. served as a pharmacist for a field hospital in india.
he always was reading anything he could find on world war II. and i had a chance to read these books after he did.
A Man Called Intrepid is one of the top 10 books on world war II as it explains so very many things that happened during the war that were mysteries. other histories can tell you what happened: this one tells you why it happened and how it happened. for instance, Rommel was the desert fox due to the Signal Intelligence outfit he had, until the allies pounced on it and eliminated it. after that, he could only react to the allies, not anticipate them.
this book is a MUST READ for anyone interested in world war II and post war history, along with the books on cryptography and code breaking, which is mentioned in this book. it also explains a lot of the post world war II and beginning of the cold war.
this is the only book that covers the intelligence effort so thoroughly. other intelligence type books cover very small segments of the intelligence effort:this one covers it in much more detail from a broader perspective.
any effort to study the history of world war II will be totally incomplete unless you read this book. it explains so very much of the until now unexplainable.

Beautifully researched history of the events leading to WWII and the Secret Service. Without the vision of Lord Stephenson (no relation to the author), as well as Churchill, Roosevelt and others, this review would probably be in German, and would not have been written by me. From the initial thought of Stephenson's rejection of the concept that "Gentlemen don't read others mail" to the decisions to allow Coventry to be bombed, the theft of "enigma" and the political infighting during the isolationship period of the "30s in America, it is a riveting view of the events that shaped our history. It should be required reading for all, especially those that don't think voting is important.

The contents of this book is amazing... The book is designed and written in the way it is for the reader to think. To go into detail of any of the many operations mentioned would cost the author more than a life time, also much of the information is still protected by the secrecy act or simply not available. The reader should notice the intention of the information not written, he is called to read between the lines. High concentration is needed to try understand the politics and intricate relationships displayed in this book. I have read this book 16 times and will read it even more. Each time I finish this book I find a little more of a deep message, not from the author but from the man called intrepid, buried within the not so detailed written operations and information. My thoughts and feelings on information and our free world become more unyielding and clear. I can highly recommend this book to people, not looking for entertainment, but education on important matters that have especially been thrown in the light since the 11 September 2001.

I have no ties to the author, this book was recommended to me by a late war vertreran.

Five stars if it was true. One star if it's not true. So I give three stars because no one knows if it's true or not. The history is fabulous and amazing. But this fellow doesn't back up anything. Shouldn't there be some government documents or something to prove at least a few of the fantastic statements regarding Intrepids role in WWII history? Intrepid seems more like a literary tool, used to link together stories from history in a readable way. Kind of like Forrest Gump. Again, I liked the book, if it were true. I'm just not sure I believe it.

I first read the book in 1984 and have read it again recently. It sheds new light on many aspects of WWII inteligence and our role in the survival of England prior to entrance formally into the war. The roles that William Stephenson & Bill Donovan (OSS) played in the war is most interesting reading. British Intelligence's activity in the U.S. prior to our entrance did violate the Neutrality Act however the outcome of the war could have been dramaticly different if Roosevelt had takena isolationist approach.

Until very recently, my knowlege about WWII was what I had learned in history class in high school. Reshelving books one day at the library, a book caught my attention and I have been reading about this war ever since. Stevenson brought to life for me the desperate struggle the English people went thru to save their country. My history class never mentioned the infiltration of nazi spies and cohorts in America, and until I read this book I never knew of this. Desperate times called for desperate measures, but to fullfill those measures required many heroes. The men and women who willing went behind enemy lines to do their duty for the greater good of mankind, knowing that the chances of coming out alive were slim to none is simply breathtaking. Stevenson's book is full of these heroes. This is what this book is about.

This gripping narrative describes the British (and Allied) secret service and its activities during World War primarily in the days before Pearl Harbor. Canadian-born William Stephenson (1897-1989) was INTREPID, one of the great spy-masters of all time. Stephenson shows readers how British agents engaged in many vital fronts, including attempts to influence U.S. policy and public opinion prior to Pearl Harbor. Readers see that Nazi agents were also at work in the USA and elsewhere at similar activities. Stephenson describes the doings of appeasers like Joe Kennedy (father of JFK) and Charles Lindbergh, and claims that President Roosevelt knew about Pearl Harbor in advance - a debatable claim, although most historians agree that by December 1941 Roosevelt expected Japan to attack U.S. (plus British and Dutch) interests in the Far East.

This compelling 1976 book left me wondering about some of the author's claims and if Stephenson might occasionally have mixed fact with opinion. For these reason I rated the book at just four stars. Still, Stephenson reportedly advised Roosevelt on the OSS (fore-runner of the CIA), and he was a trusted confidant of Winston Churchill - upon recommending Stephenson for knighthood the Old Lion wrote, "This one is dear to my heart."

Battlefield and sea wars cannot be won without decisive intelligence and covert action within enemy territory. Some of the greatest danger is from within. This true history centers on William Stephenson (INTREPID)who established a cooperative British/US world wide intelligence network to fight the Axis Powers of World War II. Secret by necessity and thus little known, the average citizen is unaware of this massive and successful effort. Our future should be guided by knowledge of this history. Very well written.

A Man Called Intrepid tells the amazing true story of William Stephenson. There is also a lot of information about the cracking of the German Enigma code and about the plight of Britain in WWII. Altogether a great book, especially if you can get it used.