My Adventures as a Spy [Paperback]

Robert Baden-Powell (Author)

Book Description

Contents: Different Degrees of Spies; German Plans for Invading England; Jan Gootboom , My Native Spy; Secret Messages and How Carried; Spy Signs; Secret Plans of Fortresses; 'Butterfly Hunting" in Dalmatia; How Spies Disguise Themselves; Exploring a Foreign Dockyard; Spying on Mountain Troops; Fooling a German Sentry; A Spy is Suspicious; Hoodwinking a Turkish Sentry; Tea and a Turk; Encounter with Foreign Police; Caught at Last; The Escape; The Conclusion; Illustrated. Before Powell founded the Boy Scouts, he was an officer and a spy in several wars. Powell's quick thinking and pluck saved him from being caught and successfully completing his mission many times. Powell explains the art of disguising ones self through different clothes, walks, posture, and much more. Fascinating reading!

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Stevens Publishing (September 9, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 096320548X
• ISBN-13: 978-0963205483
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,765,879 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dated but inspiring, March 27, 2005

By 

E. M. Van Court "Van, emvc (at) lycos.com" (Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: My Adventures as a Spy (Paperback)

Lord Baden-Powell's autobiographical treatise on the basics of spy trade craft is dated, around a hundred years old at this point. The technological innovations since then have changed many aspects of the intelligence profession. On the other hand, the work is inspiring. B-P's passion for human intelligence collection is contagious. Based on this work, it is clear that he loved what he did for the thrill and challenge of it and it was a fringe benefit that it served his country (I am not questioning his patriotism, but his writing makes it clear that his work was his true passion).

There are numerous vignettes to illustrate different techniques and principle of tradecraft, mostly with some humerous aspect. My personal favorite was the incident where B-P was collecting on German fortifications in the Balkans. He walked through the German military site drawing pictures of the facility, was stopped, and was able to walk away without being detained. How did he pull this off? It was the butterfly net, book about butterflies, sketch book full of drawings of butterflies, and having the nerve to ask the German soldier if he had seen a specific butterfly. Where were the sketches of the fort? Concealed inside the drawings of the butterflies....

The book is short and aimed at 10-15 year olds, but is enjoyable to anyone with an interest in espionage or the history of espionage.

Caveat: If you are a parent and feel that a career in intelligence is not acceptable for your child, keep this book out of your child's hands!

Oh, and Baden-Powell went on to found the Boy Scouts. "Scouts" as in "soldiers specializing in tactical intelligence collection"....

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars No Pictures in Printed Version, December 10, 2010

By 

Charles Hunter - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: My Adventures as a Spy (Paperback)

On the web preview it showed sketches by Baden-Powell so I was not very happy when I received my printed copy and like the Kindle reviewer said it had no images. So my rating is not against the Author but against the company that published this version. Will return and look for a complete version elsewhere.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bits of Adventure from Someone Who Lived It, July 23, 2008

By 

William B. Dwinnell IV (King of Prussia, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: My Adventures as a Spy (Paperback)

The author, Robert Baden-Powell, was a British soldier and spy, and founder of the Boy Scouts. The author's love of adventure is evident in this book, which is a collection of 1- and 2-page essays.

After a short series of essays defending espionage as being both useful and honorable, the remainder of the book explains spycraft of the time and particular incidents in which Baden-Powell directly participated. The stories are interesting, and would certainly appeal to many young readers. Occasional use is made of the author's own illustrations, including sketches of fortifications modified for secrecy to resemble much more benign subjects (insects, stained glass windows, etc.) which were spirited back to headquarters.

On a historical note, this book is reminiscent of other adventure books by European authors in roughly the same period (Jules Verne, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle).

Titles published by Dover tend to be inexpensive, and this book is no exception. Even at full retail, this book is a steal.