Description

Book Synopsis

In 1942, with a black-market chicken under his arm, Leo Marks left his father''s famous bookshop, 84 Charing Cross Road, and went to war. He was twenty-two and a cryptopgraher of genius. In Between Silk and Cyanide, his critically acclaimed account of his time in SOE, Marks tells how he revolutionised the code-making techniques of the Allies, trained some of the most famous agents dropped into France including Violette Szabo and ''the White Rabbit'', and why he wrote haunting verse including his ''The Life that I have'' poem. He reveals for the first time the disastrous dimensions of the code war between SOE and the Germans in Holland; how the Germans were fooled into thinking a Secret Army was operating in the Fatherland itself, and how and why he broke General de Gaulle''s secret code. Both thrilling and poignant, Marks''s book is truly one of the last great Second World War memoirs.

Between Silk and Cyanide

Product form

£16.19

Includes FREE delivery

RRP £17.99 – you save £1.80 (10%)

Order before 4pm tomorrow for delivery by Tue 23 Dec 2025.

A Paperback / softback by Leo Marks

15 in stock


    View other formats and editions of Between Silk and Cyanide by Leo Marks

    Publisher: The History Press Ltd
    Publication Date: 01/10/2007
    ISBN13: 9780750948357, 978-0750948357
    ISBN10: 0750948353

    Description

    Book Synopsis

    In 1942, with a black-market chicken under his arm, Leo Marks left his father''s famous bookshop, 84 Charing Cross Road, and went to war. He was twenty-two and a cryptopgraher of genius. In Between Silk and Cyanide, his critically acclaimed account of his time in SOE, Marks tells how he revolutionised the code-making techniques of the Allies, trained some of the most famous agents dropped into France including Violette Szabo and ''the White Rabbit'', and why he wrote haunting verse including his ''The Life that I have'' poem. He reveals for the first time the disastrous dimensions of the code war between SOE and the Germans in Holland; how the Germans were fooled into thinking a Secret Army was operating in the Fatherland itself, and how and why he broke General de Gaulle''s secret code. Both thrilling and poignant, Marks''s book is truly one of the last great Second World War memoirs.

    Recently viewed products

    © 2025 Book Curl

      • American Express
      • Apple Pay
      • Diners Club
      • Discover
      • Google Pay
      • Maestro
      • Mastercard
      • PayPal
      • Shop Pay
      • Union Pay
      • Visa

      Login

      Forgot your password?

      Don't have an account yet?
      Create account