Customer Reviews

The Wizard War: British Scientific Intelligence, 1939-1945

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Wizard War distills and communicates the experiences of an experienced and widely-respected intelligence analyst. Dr. Jones' recounting of the intelligence challenges presented him and how they were overcome stands out as an absolute requirement in the gathering of intelligence lore by students of the profession. Writing style is personable and entertaining. Intelligence professionals of all ranks and stations should read this book.

This is a great book, because the writer was at the centre of what he writes about, he has humour, he presents enough scientific detail of the work to make it interesting and not tedious. For me the books principal charm is in the depiction of how intelligence officers in those days would get smudged phtographs, or one line radio intercepts from state of the art equipment that to us seems like something from a child's hobby kit, and would try to guess what was up on the other side.

An excellent book. Jones covers the subject matter in a very agreeable way. Easy to read with the kind of insight that only an insider has.

The Wizard War is a very readable personal account of the scientific war of the boffins that went behind the scenes and away from the battlefields between the top minds of the Germans and British (then later the Americans). Dr. Jones had a unique perspective in his newly minted, and largely self-created, position as scientific advisor to the air staff. At times his ego shows through, perhaps justifiably, when he speaks of the various triumphs of his tiny staff of physicists and engineers in the intelligence battle primarily against the German Luftwaffe and Heer (army). His first inroad into the German's electronic warfare offensive was when he deduced the existance of a radio beam guidance system used to guide German bombers. Fortunately for Britain, early on Jones managed to catch the attention of Churchill, who then took a personal stake in Jones's theories against numerous detractors. Many of the detractors worked on the basis that "if we don't have this thing then the Germans don't either". Jones offers a summation of rules near the end of the book which would make a good wall poster for anyone currently in the business of technical intelligence today (perhaps these are hanging on the walls in Langley as I write?). Jones was on the front line of many of the technical battles that took place during the war, notably the "beam war", German radar, the use of chaff (Window), the V-1 buzz bomb, and last but not least, the V-2 rocket. Possibly the only single individual who was more important on the technical warfront was Alan Turing, who with the code breakers at Bletchley Park were providing Jones with much of the German technical code traffic, the bits and pieces from which Jones and others were gleaning the shape of German technology, and just as importantly, their methods and operational procedures. An excellent book for anyone interested in either intelligence or the history of WWII.

A must read for military history buffs. This is the birth of electronic warfare written by Churchill's chief scientist. The Discovery channel has a program on the battle of the beams, but the book goes into much more detail. This will be my third time through in the last 20 years. I previously had borrowed a copy from our organizations' spook. Take the time to also research (Google) R.V. Jones and the Stockholm letter. This is later material that will add depth to some of the books chapters. Enjoy.

Fantastic! One of the best books on the topic from one of the innovators and principal figures in history of RADAR. This book has enough technical background to provide familiarity with the wisdom of a writer who knows how to avoid losing his reader in jargon. The copy I received arrived in condition equal to what was advertised and arrived within a week. Great purchasing experience overall.

THe Wizard War provides a useful and interesting insight into the decision making processes, and how personalities influence decisions. Dr. Jones is an excellent story teller and manages to capture the sense of urgency that was felt during the times described, and how it was necessary to overcome the nay sayers and decision deferrers to overcome the opponent. A very good book that I have read many times.