Spymaster: The Man Who Saved MI6
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-01-07 08:51:45
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Helen Fry
- ISBN：0300255950
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Summary
The dramatic story of a man who stood at the center of British intelligence operations， the ultimate spymaster of World War Two: Thomas Kendrick
Thomas Kendrick （1881–1972） was central to the British Secret Service from its beginnings through to the Second World War。 Under the guise of "British Passport Officer，" he ran spy networks across Europe， facilitated the escape of Austrian Jews， and later went on to set up the "M Room，" a listening operation which elicited information of the same significance and scope as Bletchley Park。 Yet the work of Kendrick， and its full significance， remains largely unknown。
Helen Fry draws on extensive original research to tell the story of this remarkable British intelligence officer。 Kendrick’s life sheds light on the development of MI6 itself—he was one of the few men to serve Britain across three wars， two of which while working for the British Secret Service。 Fry explores the private and public sides of Kendrick， revealing him to be the epitome of the "English gent"—easily able to charm those around him and scrupulously secretive。
Thomas Kendrick （1881–1972） was central to the British Secret Service from its beginnings through to the Second World War。 Under the guise of "British Passport Officer，" he ran spy networks across Europe， facilitated the escape of Austrian Jews， and later went on to set up the "M Room，" a listening operation which elicited information of the same significance and scope as Bletchley Park。 Yet the work of Kendrick， and its full significance， remains largely unknown。
Helen Fry draws on extensive original research to tell the story of this remarkable British intelligence officer。 Kendrick’s life sheds light on the development of MI6 itself—he was one of the few men to serve Britain across three wars， two of which while working for the British Secret Service。 Fry explores the private and public sides of Kendrick， revealing him to be the epitome of the "English gent"—easily able to charm those around him and scrupulously secretive。
Reviews
Lady reading365
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Wow this book was amazing。 I could not put it down， its definitely a really good page turning book full of atmosphere and so thrilling， with exciting information。 I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator was perfect for this novel and very engaging。 He really made learning about history enthralling。 This book is so well written and you can tell it has been well researched and that the author has extensive knowledge in this area of history。 The flow of the writing was perfect leading Wow this book was amazing。 I could not put it down， its definitely a really good page turning book full of atmosphere and so thrilling， with exciting information。 I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator was perfect for this novel and very engaging。 He really made learning about history enthralling。 This book is so well written and you can tell it has been well researched and that the author has extensive knowledge in this area of history。 The flow of the writing was perfect leading to a thoroughly fascinating read。 I learnt so much from reading this book。 Its easy of the reading and understanding of the information held within its pages made me take in the information more readily。 I would go as far as saying its one of the best history books I have read in a long time。 The book held a lightness about it as there was no unnecessary facts or overload of facts and information。 I really do recommend this book to every WWII reader out there。 I will definitely be looking out for more of this authors works on netgalley。So much praise goes out to the author and publishers for bringing this magnificent and fact full portrayal of spies during the second World War。 。。。more
Stew
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To be honest I initially thought the book wasn't going anywhere。 Not any fault of Helen Fry as there is very limited information available for her to work with in the early years of Kendrick's career。 However the story really takes off just before and just after Germany invades Austria and by extension Vienna where the story is set。 The story cools a little at this point but then more coal is shovelled into its furnace and the story takes off again in a completely different direction。 To be honest I initially thought the book wasn't going anywhere。 Not any fault of Helen Fry as there is very limited information available for her to work with in the early years of Kendrick's career。 However the story really takes off just before and just after Germany invades Austria and by extension Vienna where the story is set。 The story cools a little at this point but then more coal is shovelled into its furnace and the story takes off again in a completely different direction。 。。。more
Heather Perkins
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This is a fantastic book。 For anyone who knows a bit about WWII， especially Britain’s home war when it came to some of the spy work they did， they might already know about the homes that they had bugged that they kept German POWs in， but the story around the man who came up with and executed that idea is something else。Spymaster is so engrossing that it is an easy 5 star for me。 I did not want to stop reading this book。 Thomas Kendrick is fascinating when he is at his craftiest doing his spy wor This is a fantastic book。 For anyone who knows a bit about WWII， especially Britain’s home war when it came to some of the spy work they did， they might already know about the homes that they had bugged that they kept German POWs in， but the story around the man who came up with and executed that idea is something else。Spymaster is so engrossing that it is an easy 5 star for me。 I did not want to stop reading this book。 Thomas Kendrick is fascinating when he is at his craftiest doing his spy work for England， and when he is at his most human doing what he can to try to rescue every person in Vienna after the Germans occupy Austria。 I came into this book fully expecting nothing but spy master handling agent type stories， and the section where he was in Vienna working on helping Jews flee by any means necessary was one of the best parts。 Perhaps because I knew so much already about Camp Z and how they had Rudolf Hess。 For anyone with an interest in WWII history， spycraft， and even a bit of German resistance， this is an amazing look at one man’s life and what he accomplished。 It was nice to hear that he was getting recognition for the lives that he and his team saved as well。 Thank you to NetGalley and Yale University Press for the copy of this audiobook。 。。。more
J。A。 Ironside
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Audio ARC provided via NetGalleyGood narrator， engaging and able to bring sense to slightly jumpy text。This book focuses mostly on the career of Thomas Kendrick， who served British intelligence through three wars and likely revitalised MI6。 It was an interesting narrative but due to the paucity in some areas of information （a lot is still classified） there is a fair bit of necessary fudging and vagueness going on。 Fry also drops a lot of names without very much explanation。 I didn’t find this a Audio ARC provided via NetGalleyGood narrator， engaging and able to bring sense to slightly jumpy text。This book focuses mostly on the career of Thomas Kendrick， who served British intelligence through three wars and likely revitalised MI6。 It was an interesting narrative but due to the paucity in some areas of information （a lot is still classified） there is a fair bit of necessary fudging and vagueness going on。 Fry also drops a lot of names without very much explanation。 I didn’t find this a hinderance because I’ve read a lot of spy non fic but I imagine it would be very off putting to someone who didn’t have that baseline of knowledge。 It’s very noticeable that she seems to be far more interested on male intelligence officers too， and sort of skips over just how much of the structural set up of MI5 and MI6 was due to female intelligence officers。 Basically during WW2 we were failing at intelligence work which had become an old boys club for the wealthy and privileged。 SOE and other projects meant a radical shift in spy work and we know that it was intelligence where we bested the axis powers。 I don’t doubt Kendrick was a key figure， but it was bizarre that people like Virginia Hall was never mentioned， for example。 Yes I know it was a different department but you would have thought some comparison with how things were being changed would have made sense。 Anyway， an interesting if slightly incomplete read。 。。。more
Poptart19 （the name’s ren）
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3。5 stars， RTC！
Mike Kennedy
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The audiobook tells the story of Thomas Kendrick following him from his early years in South Africa through his efforts in World War I and World War II。 Kendrick was under appreciated during his time and for years after。 The reason was two fold。 First， most things he did were top secret and not released to the public until recently。 Second， he was not a boastful man， and many who knew him in later life knew very little about this spy days。 This book was excellently researched by Helen Fry。 The i The audiobook tells the story of Thomas Kendrick following him from his early years in South Africa through his efforts in World War I and World War II。 Kendrick was under appreciated during his time and for years after。 The reason was two fold。 First， most things he did were top secret and not released to the public until recently。 Second， he was not a boastful man， and many who knew him in later life knew very little about this spy days。 This book was excellently researched by Helen Fry。 The information provided was insightful and through。 My only negative would be the amount of information sometimes bogged you down as you were listening and was a lot to keep track of。 While that was a slight negative， It didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book。 Thomas Kendrick was an interesting man， who was at the heart of Britain’s spy craft versus German forces in World War II。 He did a number of ingenious things such as bugging the window sills of German POWS， so that they could hear them talking when they thought they were safe。 Overall this is a very good book that covers the life of one the great British spies with a heavy emphasis on World War II。 It would appeal to history buffs who are interested in the World Wars specifically or spy craft in general。 Thank you to @Netgalley， @yalepress， and @DrHelenFry for an advance copy for an honest review。 。。。more
C。 S。
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Interesting subject matter， but the narrative didn't quite gel into a cohesive story for me; I felt distanced from the main subjects and that there were a lot of names and places that dropped in and out unpredictably。 I had a hard time keeping everything straight， and wasn't motivated to keep trying， even though the writing style was readable and the narrator had a pleasant voice。If 20th century history and the origins of major institutions that helped shape the modern world are your jam， give i Interesting subject matter， but the narrative didn't quite gel into a cohesive story for me; I felt distanced from the main subjects and that there were a lot of names and places that dropped in and out unpredictably。 I had a hard time keeping everything straight， and wasn't motivated to keep trying， even though the writing style was readable and the narrator had a pleasant voice。If 20th century history and the origins of major institutions that helped shape the modern world are your jam， give it a shot！ 。。。more
Courtney ~ books_and_bulldogs
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