"C": The Secret Life of Sir Stewart Graham Menzies, Spymaster to Winston Churchill

New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987. First Printing. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. [14], 830, [2] pages. Illustrations. Appendices. Sources. Notes. Bibliography. Index. Front flyleaf creased, front DJ flap price clipped. Anthony Cave Brown (March 21, 1929 in Bath - July 14, 2006) was an English-American journalist, espionage non-fiction writer, and historian. Cave Brown's first major work to attract widespread attention was Bodyguard of Lies, which examined the strategical elements of World War II, including codebreaking and its effect on the war's outcome. He followed up on this theme with a book, The Last Hero: Wild Bill Donovan, about the director of the American Office of Strategic Services during World War II; the Office of Strategic Services later evolved into the Central Intelligence Agency. Another espionage-related effort was a 1987 biography of the head of British MI6 (Secret Intelligence Service) during World War II. The book was titled C: The Secret Life of Sir Stewart Graham Menzies, Spymaster to Winston Churchill. His book Treason in the Blood: H. St. John Philby, Kim Philby, and the Spy Case of the Century, examined the interconnected lives of the famous British spies. Major General Sir Stewart Graham Menzies, KCB, KCMG, DSO, MC (30 January 1890 - 29 May 1968) was Chief of MI6 (Secret Intelligence Service) from 1939 to 1952, during and after the Second World War. Menzies insisted on wartime control of codebreaking, and this gave him immense power and influence, which he used judiciously. Menzies kept Prime Minister Winston Churchill supplied daily with important Ultra decrypts, and the two worked together to ensure that financial resources were devoted towards research and upgrading technology at Bletchley Park, as well as directing talented workers to the massive effort, which employed nearly 10,000 workers by 1945. Bletchley's efforts were decisive in the battle against Nazi submarine warfare. The access to Ultra was also vitally important in the battle for Normandy, leading up to D-Day in June 1944, and afterwards. Menzies, who was promoted to major-general in January 1944, also supported efforts to contact anti-Nazi resistance, including Wilhelm Canaris, the head of Abwehr, in Germany. Prime Minister Winston Churchill was kept informed of these efforts throughout the war. Menzies coordinated his operations with Special Operations Executive (SOE), British Security Coordination (BSC), Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and the Free French Forces.