Ralph Erskine

British Intelligence in the Second World War: Its Influence on Strategy and Operations, by F. H. Hinsley, E. E. Thomas, C. F. G. Ransom and R. C. Knight. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1981. 15.95. New York: Cambridge University Press. $39.50. Volume Two. 850 pp. 8(2): 173-180.

This volume starts in mid-1941, where Volume I, reviewed in Cryptologia (January, 1982), ^[1] left off. It continues the story until mid-1943, covering all areas except the Far East, which was excluded because it was so much within the United States' sphere of influence and inadequately included in British records. The war at sea and in the air are dealt with comprehensively. On land, the North African campaign naturally falls for the most attention.

For those who were disappointed by the style or even by some of the content of Volume I, this volume comes as a pleasant surprise. That volume made rather heavy reading. Overall, Volume II ranks among the better written of the British series, even if it still cannot be said to be lively or anecdotal. Official histories, being works of record, have to set out a multitude of facts, which does not lend itself to a light style.

When reviewing Volume I, William P. Bundy complained of the lack of references to individuals and of the fact that there was no bibliography ^[1]. The latter will, we are assured, be remedied in Volume III. The former...