“…what Pike reports in the book remains intriguing and suspenseful… an excellent, eye-opening book.” Read the full review [link=https://vvabooks.wordpress.com/2024/08/11/vietnam-and-the-cold-war1945-1954-by-john-pike/]here.[/link]
The VVA Veteran

As featured on [link=https://historywithjackson.co.uk/blog/f/book-review-brixmis-and-the-secret-cold-war] History with Jackson [/link]
History With Jackson

If you have read the excellent books by Dr Helen Fry on Britain's intelligence gathering & the bugging of German POWs during the second world war, then this is the story of how the Americans created an almost identical system, for both Japanese & German prisoners. Between 1943-46 almost 3500 Germans lived only twelve miles from the Pentagon at a POW camp called Fort Hunt. Elsewhere in the US, a once luxurious Californian hotel where stars such as Clark Gable & Charlie Chaplin once frequented, Japanese POWs now occupied those same rooms. Unbeknown to them was the fact that all their rooms were bugged by hidden microphones in the previously lowered ceilings. Both of these facilities were based on British sites like Trent Park which had proved to be very successful. Like Britain, the US had also taken in Jewish refugees from Germany before the war. Some of these men were trained in how to question & interrogate German POWs, others would translate what the many microphones recorded. In the.. Read more
History Book Chat

‘Anthony Tucker-Jones’ latest book is very much like The Godfather: Part III in its grand narrative of scale, irony, and tragedy. … it is a tremendous read.' Read the full review [link=https://winstonchurchill.org/publications/churchill-bulletin/bulletin-194-jul-2024/out-in-the-cold/]here[/link]
Alastair Stewart, International Churchill Society

Introducing the author. James had an incredible 35 years serving with both the US Army Special Forces & the CIA. His own first-hand experiences & knowledge clearly shine through in the telling of this true story. The phrases 'Counter Terrorism' & 'Unconventional Warfare' seem like more modern methods to be used against an enemy. Yet this book goes back to a Berlin at the centre of the Cold War. Here the author provides a fascinating brief history of the Special Forces team known as 'Detachment A', which was based in Berlin. We learn that quickly after the second world war ended, new methods were being trained for & tested incase of war with the Soviets. This also included training teams from other countries, including Germany. Being on constant readiness, six seperate teams had to speak the language & blend into everyday Berlin life. Should the Cold War escalate these teams would enter East Germany within two hours to "wreak havoc behind enemy lines". From gathering intelligence, sabotaging.. Read more
History Book Chat