Codebreakers: The Inside Story of Bletchley Park - Tapa dura

`this splendid book, which is divided into four sections, tells of one of the most amazing feats in cryptologic history ... This is a remarkable book, undoubtedly the definitive work on Bletchley Park, with livley anecdotes and detailed stories giving a colourful account of BP's daily life and work, which made a major contribution to shortening the war, as Hinsley demonstrates in an astute analysis.'Cryptologia, January 1994

`Together, the editors and their wartime colleagues have made a real contribution to the history of the Second World War.'The Naval Review

`it makes fascinating reading.'Bulletin of the Early Historical Society, Nov 1993

`The value of this book is that it is the first - and probably the last given that nobody who worked at Bletchley is now under 65 - authentic account written by the men and women who broke the coded signals of Germany, Italy and Japan between 1939 and 1945. ... fascinating book ... A remarkable story, excellently illustrated.'Legion, Nov/Dec 1993

`The editors of Code-Breakers were both distinguished cryptographers and their contributions are outstanding.'The Tablet, 6 November 1993

`a wonderful picture of what life was like at Bletchley Park in those heady days'World War II Review

`what it offers is the human side of an operation more secret than and just a critical to Allied victory as anything in the war except the Manhattan Project. For the most part, the men and women involved herin tell their stories with simple eloquence'Booklist

`a highly revealing, even exciting book, written with inside knowledge, that lays fascinating former secrets bare ... It is a delight to have so crucial a subject so clearly and so entertainingly described, by some thirty people who really understand what they are discussing, and can set the record quite straight.'The Times

`This immensely enjoyable and readable book therefore represents a real service to history ... engrossing, important and scrupulously edited.'Robert Harris, Sunday Times

`Anyone interested in the Second World War will sit up all night, and chess players and puzzle-solvers will be captivated by later chapters.' Noël Annan, Independent on Sunday

This is a colourful and authentic account of daily life and work at Government Communications Headquarters, Bletchley Park, the most successful intelligence agency in history.
By 1942 the codebreakers of Bletchley Park and its out-stations were breaking some 4,000 German signals a day, and almost as many from Italy and Japan, eavesdropping on enemy communications up to the highest levels of command. Their colleagues used these decrypts to produce Ultra intelligence which gave a detailed, accurate, and up-to-date picture of enemy strengths, weaknesses, and intentions. The codebreakers' contribution to the war effort was invaluable: Churchill described them as the `secret weapon' that `won the war'.

For the first time a group of the men and women who worked on this top-secret enterprise have combined to write their story in full. Here, they vividly describe their recruitment and training, their feelings and activities, and recall in detail their successes and failures.