The Walls Have Ears, Helen Fry
The Walls Have Ears, Helen Fry
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The Walls Have Ears
The Greatest Intelligence Operation of World War II

Author: Helen Fry

Narrator: Jean Gilpin

Unabridged: 11 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/24/2019


Synopsis

A history of the elaborate and brilliantly sustained World War II intelligence operation by which Hitler's generals were tricked into giving away vital Nazi secrets

At the outbreak of World War II, MI6 spymaster Thomas Kendrick arrived at the Tower of London to set up a top secret operation: German prisoners' cells were to be bugged and listeners installed behind the walls to record and transcribe their private conversations. This mission proved so effective that it would go on to be set up at three further sites--and provide the Allies with crucial insight into new technology being developed by the Nazis.

In this astonishing history, Helen Fry uncovers the inner workings of the bugging operation. On arrival at stately-homes-turned-prisons like Trent Park, high-ranking German generals and commanders were given a "phony" interrogation, then treated as "guests," wined and dined at exclusive clubs, and encouraged to talk. And so it was that the Allies got access to some of Hitler's most closely guarded secrets--and from those most entrusted to protect them.

About Helen Fry

Historian and biographer Helen Fry is the author of The Walls Have Ears, Spymaster, MI9, and more than twenty books on intelligence, prisoners of war, and the social history of World War II. She appears regularly in media interviews and podcasts and has been involved in numerous documentaries.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Athan on December 28, 2019

Greek TV in the seventies was not exactly flush with cash, so I grew up watching re-runs of TV series about WWII, black and white movies about WWII and sometimes even the occasional feature movie about WWII; from there, I progressed to the oeuvre of one Ian Fleming and even took the odd history elec......more

Goodreads review by Jeff on September 12, 2021

Easily one of the better modern history books I've read in a long time. It's rare these days to still be learning completely new information when it comes to World War II, but that's exactly what you get here. I've read my fair share of books on spying and espionage during the war, but had only ever......more

Goodreads review by Jack on January 09, 2025

Rather repetitive to start with, but i’m glad I continued. the subject is a fascinating piece of lesser-known spy history, but it probably could have been a pamphlet......more

Goodreads review by Ellen on April 02, 2022

Interesting 🧐 but a little dry. And for some reason the fake gothic font for the chapter titles and sub-titles annoyed me immensely! 😤......more

Goodreads review by Mythlee on March 16, 2024

A fascinating slice of history: painstakingly collected intelligence, taken covertly from German POWs who thought the British were too stupid or inept to bug them, and only partially unveiled 60 years after the war. Very interesting to see where the secret listeners were able to make a difference (c......more