Room 39

the long version

This dramatic account of what happened in Room 39 of the British Admiralty shows how Naval Intelligence really worked ; how raw facts were molded into prime orders to ships at sea, how code-breakers pitted their brains against the enemy, and how scholarship was matched against violence, with admirals taking advice from a uniformed barrister. The author, who served on the personal staff of the Director of Naval Intelligence from 1940 to 1945, offers a thorough-going discussion of the principles and philosophies of Naval Intelligence, and explains how these were applied by such brilliant characters as Rear Admiral John Godfrey, its energetic director, and Ian Fleming (later creator of James Bond), his personal assistant, esteemed as skilled trouble-shooter and impresario. Both intimate and authentic, this book beautifully expresses the qualities which made the whole operation so successful - dogged pursuit of detail, objectivity, intuition, showmanship, discretion and forensic talents. --from inside jacket.