Churchill's Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: The Mavericks Who Plotted Hitler's Defeat

Former British prime minister Winston Churchill (1874–1965) was an early advocate of unconventional warfare as an adjunct to standard military units. He supported, often against stiff resistance by conventional military leaders, a Special Operations Executive unofficially referred to as the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. The ministry generated a variety of measures to spy on Germany and raise occupied populaces. Some attempts were spectacular successes; others were less productive. Using mostly secondary sources, Milton (When Hitler Took Cocaine and Lenin Lost His Brain) documents the six-year effort that resulted in numerous instruments of sabotage, specialized weapons, and several high-profile missions with significant consequences. The well-footnoted book concentrates on six men who spearheaded Churchill's pet projects and navigated bureaucratic, scientific, and manpower snags throughout World War II. Included are lengthy sections on the Norwegian heavy water sabotage in the 1940s; the St. Nazaire Raid and the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, both in 1942; with thinner material on events such as Operation Jedburgh.