how things have been hidden

brilliant story we'll sourced and written by guy and shows how friends in high places can save you

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Gt research leads to engrossing revelations

The author deserves public thanks for creating a gripping network of stories based on thorough research. What in the hands of a less gifted writer mighty have been a dull conglomeration of facts, has instead become an engrossing narrative which also raises weighty issues: e.g. entrapment as an arguably dubious means being justified -- or not -- by the ends.

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Excellent and accessible history!

Tim Tate's book was an impulse buy for me, but I am very pleased that I acquired it. It's a sometimes shocking, always entertaining, expose of the ineptitude and laxity which characterised the British response to fifth columnist supporters of Hitler's regime. Unsurprisingly, the 'establishment' doesn't come out of this story at all well. Known traitors in its ranks were either allowed to continue operating, or were dealt with leniently. Not so 'rank and file' fascists, who - once the war started - often felt the full weight of the law, up to and including the death penalty. Two things struck me most forcibly in listening to this book. Firstly, the sickening double standard applied to domestic fascists, depending on their social class. Secondly, the astounding ineptitude and amateurishness of MI5 in its early years - think Dad's Army crossed with 'Allo 'Allo!

This is, overall, a cracking historical account of the issue - scrupulously balanced and meticulously researched. The audio performance by the author is excellent. Best of all, it's an immensely absorbing and enlightening audio book that will appeal to anyone with an interest in history, espionage or warfare.

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1 person found this helpful

Interesting but a bit repetitious

Worth a listen but could have been shorter : with some of the narrative quite repetitious.

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Britain's 5th Columnists

A really enjoyable read exploring an area not normally covered by historians of the 2nd World War. The story of how our secret services worked to stop home grown men and women spying for the enemy. Potential spies from the lowest strata of society to the aristocracy, what they did, how they were stopped and how the class system protected the rich and famous from real punishment for their efforts at treason, whilst ordinary folk suffered much stiffer punishment. Fascinating stuff

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6 people found this helpful

Fascinating insight

After a bit of a slow start, I found myself immersed in this fascinating insight into how normal people have managed to get themselves caught up in espionage, sometimes motivated solely by ideology with no involvement from foreign intelligence agencies. Parallels can be drawn with modern day where people take to twitter and social media to promote their loyalties to various regimes such as Putin, Trump, IS etc.

The knowledge and experience of the research comes across in the narration. Tim Tate also sounds a bit like Harry Hill which gives the audiobook a very period feel.

Highly recommended.

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5 people found this helpful

astonishing and comes with receipts

truly amazed by the level of treacherous activity in UK during ww2, mostly very lightly punished if at all, cast of hundreds, comes with receipts, with great detail about the documentation and surveillance activity. Many Lords and some MPs, most of the citizen traitors were women and many very open about it. Govt did a good job in not broadcasting it. Early in the war offenders usually imprisoned, later a system of canalisation adopted where large numbers of sources reported intelligence but into a dead end. Very well read by a thoroughly involved performer too

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1 person found this helpful

A salutory lesson from history

Tim Tate in a very well researched book exposes the incompetant and arbitrary way that Britain dealt with perceived enemies of the state in the first half of the 20th C. Sadly, being a member of the aristocracy seems to have conferred a degree of immunity against prosecution irrespective of unsavoury behaviour. The redaction of the archives tells its own story. The final chapter adds further food for thought.

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6 people found this helpful

Excellent read

Having a healthy interest in the Second World War and espionage, I found this book well researched and well written I already knew some of the stories but was massively informed having listened to it in its entirety, it also confirmed what I already knew and is self evident today as it was 70 years ago ….. class and patronage will always trump justice and the rule of law compared to those who don’t come from the former or have any of the latter to fall back on.

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Fascinating.

A worrying, well researched, work of history. Provides a another key to understanding British society.

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3 people found this helpful