Secret War Heroes

Description

Founded by Churchill, Special Operations Executive (SOE) was the forerunner of the SAS, and during WWII they sent many hundreds of specially-trained agents deep undercover in Nazi-occupied Europe. Here Marcus Binney explores the extraordinary stories and daring exploits of some of the male agents who made up these little-known war heroes, and who helped change the course of the twentieth century with their bravery and sacrifice. The author has undertaken ground-breaking research in previously classified Foreign Office files in order to write this book.

Marcus Binney went to Cambridge, and has lectured extensively to historical societies in New York, Boston, Rhode Island, and Virginia on architectural preservation and history. He has fronted a 39-part series - Mansions: The Great Houses of Europe" - broadcast in the US between 1993 and 1997.

'The acts of courage portrayed in this enthralling book are of a kind so rare in our culture as to be virtually non-existent. His (Binney's) purpose- one that he pulls of superbly- is to pay tribute to the SOE... by recounting their wartime careers in a bouncy, Boy's Own Paper style that gives his account the pace of a page-turning thriller.' -- Nigel Jones, Literary Review 'I like to think myself quite familiar with SOE's wartime history, but Binney's book told me a host of new things about a host of remarkable people. He has done a fine job of culling hitherto unexplored files, to produce a splendid set of adventure stories for any devotee of the genre.' -- Max Hastings, Sunday Telegraph 'It is full of wonderful stories that really make one pause about the curious practicalities of war. A wonderful story and one which Binney tells well.' -- Toby Clements, Telegraph