'Briggs is an engaging and amiable guide though the mysteries of wartime
cryptography . . . a fascinating account of an outstanding young man and
his time at a quite remarkable institution.'
Roger Moorhouse in BBC History magazine
Lord Briggs has long been regarded as one of Britain's most important
historians. However, until the publication of this remarkable book, he
had never written about his time at Bletchley Park. Briggs himself did
not tell his wife about his wartime career until the 1970s and his
parents died without ever knowing about their son's contribution to the
war effort.
In this meticulously researched account he finally reveals the details
of his life in Hut Six working as a code breaker alongside Alan Turing
and Gordon Welchman. In addition to discussing the progress of the
Allies' code breaking efforts and its impact on the war, Lord Briggs
considers what the Germans knew about Bletchley and how they reacted to
revelatory memoirs about the Enigma machine, which were not published
until the 1970s.
Packed with fascinating anecdotes, this is the gripping, revelatory
story of an extraordinary young man in an extraordinary place.