Secret Warriors

Starred review from February 9, 2015
Downing (Spies in the Sky), a British TV producer and writer, offers an ingenious history that sets aside WWI’s immense slaughter in order to concentrate on those who labored behind the scenes (primarily in Britain). Though he fails to provide a unifying theme (an introductory chapter attempts to do so by describing the world-changing 19th-century advancements that defined the pre-WWI era), few readers will complain as they proceed through five unrelated but completely engrossing sections on aviation, intelligence, weapons, medicine, and communication. Even readers familiar with Bletchley Park’s dazzling feats in WWII will marvel at how Britain was able to decipher Germany’s military and diplomatic codes nearly from the start of WWI. Downing’s fine history of the war’s most notable weapons—machine guns, tanks, poison gas—precedes chapters giving even finer histories of vast advances in surgery (90% of wounded soldiers in WWI survived, versus 60% during the American Civil War) and sanitation (10% of deaths stemmed from disease in WWI, versus 70% in the Civil War). He also outlines how Hitler and Goebbels admired and emulated Britain’s surprisingly effective journalism and propaganda operations during WWI, which have been adopted by countries at war ever since. For better or worse, these military developments remain with us, and Downing delivers a riveting account of how they happened. B&w photos.

February 15, 2015

Downing (Churchill's War Lab; Spies in the Sky) discusses the role of scientific advancement in the unfolding of World War I and divides his narrative into five sections: aviators such as John Moore-Brabazon, code breakers such as Alexander Denniston; engineers and chemists such as Chaim Weizmann, the first president of Israel; doctors and surgeons such as Harold Gillies, who later pioneered sexual reassignment surgery; and propagandists such as newspaper baron Lord Beaverbrook, a member of Winston Churchill's cabinet. A helpful appendix, "Who's Who of Secret Warriors," contains brief biographical sketches of the more than 20 major players, many of whom were affiliated with Churchill in some aspect. In general, the content is engaging, providing an in-depth look at a subject that doesn't get its fair share of discussion within the military history genre. While history buffs will feel right at home, general readers of nonfiction may be put off by the frequent topic changes and nonlinear story thread, which at times makes this account read a bit like an exciting textbook. However, this is a very successful work. Downing's voice is clear and highly readable. VERDICT This volume should be of interest to most readers, especially those interested in military history.--John Helling, Bloomfield-Eastern Greene Cty. P.L., IN

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2015
TV producer and writer Downing (Night Raid: The True Story of the First Victorious British Para Raid of WWII, 2013, etc.) recounts the complete transformation of warfare during World War I, the first industrialized war.The author tracks innovations in aviation, code-breaking, the chemistry and engineering of weapons, medical breakthroughs and the birth of the art of propaganda. Gone was the idea of a gentleman's war; spying and even chemical warfare were fair game. Those who felt things were "just not done" were overruled by the endless stalemate of trench warfare and brutality of chemical attacks. England's scientific community successfully overcame pure science's prejudice against applied science. With help from civilian inventors, they created airplanes that were capable of reconnaissance over the trenches. Within six hours of the declaration of war, the British cut five German cables in the North Sea and English Channel, forcing Germany to rely on wireless communication. Pure luck had handed British codebreakers three code books-one found by the Russians, one by an Australian and a third picked up by a fishing trawler. Each new invention led to another: Grenades demonstrated the need for steel helmets; chemical warfare required gas masks; planes flying recon needed aerial photography. With so many casualties, doctors needed to perfect quick fixes to return soldiers to the front, and there were vast improvements in blood transfusions, plastic surgery for horrific facial wounds, and psychology for shell shock. The greatest difficulty was convincing the Army officials; they obstructed, rejected and denied innovations that could have shortened the war. Tanks, the single most important tool in breaking the stalemate, weren't used successfully until November 1917. A meticulously detailed, welcome addition to the literature of World War I, the "first 'total' war in which all the resources of the state were involved."

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