Sign-In
Cart
Top Secret Ultra: Breaking Luftwaffe Ciphers at Bletchley Park
Paperback
Publisher Price: $24.95
Please select the version of book you would like to purchase.
ISBN10: 1805001256
ISBN13: 9781805001256
Publisher: Greenhill Books
Published: Jun 12 2025
Pages: 256
Weight: 0.75
Height: 0.70 Width: 6.10 Depth: 9.20
Language: English
ISBN13: 9781805001256
Publisher: Greenhill Books
Published: Jun 12 2025
Pages: 256
Weight: 0.75
Height: 0.70 Width: 6.10 Depth: 9.20
Language: English
Peter Calvocoressi's journey from Ministry of Economic Warfare to head of RAF intelligence at Bletchley Park is detailed in his memoir.
Shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War, a young Peter Calvocoressi was serving in the Ministry of Economic Warfare, his role largely consisting of reviewing shipping manifests day in day out. In 1940, he decided to volunteer for the War Office but was turned away on account of a recently-sustained head injury. The note on his file? No good for anything - not even intelligence. In spite of this, Calvocoressi was able to apply to the Air Ministry, was commissioned in RAF intelligence and, by early 1941, found himself at Bletchley Park.
Calvocoressi was assigned to a section of Bletchley dealing with Luftwaffe Ultra intelligence where - as deputy head and, from 1944, as head - he spent the rest of the war translating and interpreting decrypted Enigma signals.
The codebreaking operations at Bletchley Park came to an end in 1946, however all information about this wartime enterprise was classified and remained a secret until the mid-1970s, after which Calvocoressi recounted his experiences at Bletchley in Top Secret Ultra, published in 1980. This comprehensive new edition of Calvocoressi's book features exciting new material from his son David and from renowned historian and author (specialising in signals intelligence) Dr Joel Greenberg. This is required reading for anybody with an interest in this utterly and indisputably fascinating aspect of the Allied war effort during World War II.
Shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War, a young Peter Calvocoressi was serving in the Ministry of Economic Warfare, his role largely consisting of reviewing shipping manifests day in day out. In 1940, he decided to volunteer for the War Office but was turned away on account of a recently-sustained head injury. The note on his file? No good for anything - not even intelligence. In spite of this, Calvocoressi was able to apply to the Air Ministry, was commissioned in RAF intelligence and, by early 1941, found himself at Bletchley Park.
Calvocoressi was assigned to a section of Bletchley dealing with Luftwaffe Ultra intelligence where - as deputy head and, from 1944, as head - he spent the rest of the war translating and interpreting decrypted Enigma signals.
The codebreaking operations at Bletchley Park came to an end in 1946, however all information about this wartime enterprise was classified and remained a secret until the mid-1970s, after which Calvocoressi recounted his experiences at Bletchley in Top Secret Ultra, published in 1980. This comprehensive new edition of Calvocoressi's book features exciting new material from his son David and from renowned historian and author (specialising in signals intelligence) Dr Joel Greenberg. This is required reading for anybody with an interest in this utterly and indisputably fascinating aspect of the Allied war effort during World War II.
Also from
Calvocoressi, Peter
Also in
International Relations
Nonstate Warfare: The Military Methods of Guerillas, Warlords, and Militias
Biddle, Stephen
Hardcover
$67.50
Turning the Tide: U.S. Intervention in Central America and the Struggle for Peace
Chomsky, Noam
Paperback
From $11.99
Wronged by Empire: Post-Imperial Ideology and Foreign Policy in India and China
Miller, Manjari Chatterjee
Paperback
$36.25
Dawn of the Code War: America's Battle Against Russia, China, and the Rising Global Cyber Threat
Carlin, John P.
Graff, Garrett M.
Paperback
From $10.99
Hostage on the Yangtze: Britain, China, and the Amethyst Crisis of 1949
Murfett, Malcolm H.
Hardcover
$9.99
Family of Spies: A World War II Story of Nazi Espionage, Betrayal, and the Secret History Behind Pearl Harbor
Kuehn, Christine
Hardcover
$26.99
100 Deadly Skills: The Seal Operative's Guide to Eluding Pursuers, Evading Capture, and Surviving Any Dangerous Situation
Emerson, Clint
Paperback
From $11.99
The Kennedys and the Windsors: The Story of Two Dynasties, One Born, One Made
Hallemann, Caroline
Hardcover
$33.25
The American School of Spies: The Archaeologists Who Fought the Nazis and Saved the Treasures of Ancient Greece
Talty, Stephan
Hardcover
$31.50
Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II
Graham, Elyse
Paperback
From $11.99
A Brief History of the World in 47 Borders: Surprising Stories Behind the Lines on Our Maps
Elledge, Jonn
Paperback
$17.06
The Nord Stream Conspiracy: The Inside Story of the Explosions That Shook the World
Pancevski, Bojan
Hardcover
$26.99
Kennedy's Coup: A White House Plot, a Saigon Murder, and America's Descent Into Vietnam
Cheevers, Jack
Hardcover
$33.25
Polar War: Submarines, Spies, and the Struggle for Power in a Melting Arctic
Rosen, Kenneth R.
Hardcover
$27.55
Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, America, and the New Global Disorder
McFaul, Michael
Hardcover
$31.50
Killed to Order: China's Organ Harvesting Industry and the True Nature of America's Biggest Adversary
Jekielek, Jan
Hardcover
$31.34
Going to Tehran: Why America Must Accept the Islamic Republic of Iran
Leverett, Flynt
Leverett, Hillary Mann
Paperback
$31.34
The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the Cia, and the Rise of America's Secret Government
Talbot, David
Paperback
$21.84
How to Win a Trade War: An Optimistic Guide to an Anxious Global Economy
Bown, Chad P.
Keynes, Soumaya
Hardcover
$28.50
100 Deadly Skills: A Navy SEAL's Guide to Crushing Your Enemy, Fighting for Your Life, and Embracing Your Inner Badass
Emerson, Clint
Paperback
$23.74
Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States
Parsi, Trita
Paperback
$23.94
The Havana Syndrome: Secret Weapons, a Government Cover-Up, and the Greatest Spy Mystery of Our Time
Zill de Granados, Oriana
Rey, Michael
Hardcover
$31.35
The Best Kind of American: A True Story of Murder, War, and America's Undoing in the Middle East
Ghattas, Kim
Hardcover
$31.34
The Visionaries: Bretton Woods, the Marshall Plan, and the Making of the Post-World War II Order
Holland, James
Hardcover
$26.60
The World for Sale: Money, Power, and the Traders Who Barter the Earth's Resources
Farchy, Jack
Blas, Javier
Paperback
$17.98
Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin's Secret War
Wiswesser, Sean Michael
Hardcover
$35.10
The Great Heist: China's Epic Campaign to Steal America's Secrets
Badger, Andrew
Shedd, David R.
Hardcover
$30.88
Bytes and Bullets: Global Rivalries, Big Tech, and the New Shape of Modern Warfare
Feldstein, Steve
Hardcover
$28.50
Axis of Aggressors: Countering the Cooperation of China, Russia, Iran & North Korea
Dezenski, Elaine K.
Bowman, Bradley L.
Montgomery, Rear Admiral (Ret) Mark
Paperback
$28.95
Shadow Cell: An Insider Account of America's New Spy War
Bustamante, Jihi
Bustamante, Andrew
Hardcover
$30.40
Race Against Terror: Chasing an Al Qaeda Killer at the Dawn of the Forever War
Tapper, Jake
Hardcover
$28.50
The Twilight War: The Secret History of America's Thirty-Year Conflict with Iran
Crist, David
Paperback
$32.00
A Moon Will Rise from the Darkness: Reports on Israel's Genocide in Palestine
Albanese, Francesca
Paperback
$18.95
We Are The Bad Guys: How The U.S. Wages War, Controls Economies, and Calls It Freedom
Lester, Michael
Paperback
$18.04
Those Angry Days: Roosevelt, Lindbergh, and America's Fight Over World War II, 1939-1941
Olson, Lynne
Paperback
From $10.99
Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory
MacIntyre, Ben
Paperback
$19.00
While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East
Katz, Yaakov
Bohbot, Amir
Hardcover
$29.45
Days of Rage: America's Radical Underground, the Fbi, and the Forgotten Age of Revolutionary Violence
Burrough, Bryan
Paperback
From $12.99
Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict
Chenoweth, Erica
Stephan, Maria
Paperback
$42.00
Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II
Mundy, Liza
Paperback
$20.89
Kicking the Hornet's Nest: U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East from Truman to Trump
Zoughbie, Daniel E.
Hardcover
$29.45
When America First Met China: An Exotic History of Tea, Drugs, and Money in the Age of Sail
Dolin, Eric Jay
Paperback
$31.99
The Globalist Plan to Collapse Everything: To Usher in a New World Order
Roberts, Allan Paul
Paperback
$21.24
Redwood: The Untold Story of the Cold War's Most Extraordinary Spy (Large Print Edition)
MacIntyre, Ben
Paperback
$35.15
Atlas of Borders: Walls, Migrations, and Conflict in 70 Maps
Papin, Delphine
Tertrais, Bruno
Hardcover
$35.96
The Siege: A Six-Day Hostage Crisis and the Daring Special-Forces Operation That Shocked the World
MacIntyre, Ben
Paperback
From $12.99
Two World Wars and Hitler: Who Was Responsible?: Anglo-American Money, Foreign Agents and Geopolitics
O'Dowd, John
MacGregor, Jim
Paperback
$28.45
The World for Sale: Money, Power, and the Traders Who Barter the Earth's Resources
Farchy, Jack
Blas, Javier
Hardcover
$34.19
The Great Global Transformation: The United States, China, and the Remaking of the World Economic Order
Milanovic, Branko
Hardcover
$28.50
Against Our Better Judgment: The hidden history of how the United States was used to create Israel
Weir, Alison
Paperback
$12.36
The Architect of Espionage: The Man Who Built Israel's Mossad Into the World's Boldest Intelligence Force
Katz, Samuel M.
Hardcover
$29.45
The Myth of American Idealism: How U.S. Foreign Policy Endangers the World
Chomsky, Noam
Robinson, Nathan J.
Paperback
$18.00
Israel on the Brink: And the Eight Revolutions That Could Lead to Decolonization and Coexistence
Pappé, Ilan
Hardcover
$26.55
A Shadow Over the World: Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Rise of Fascism, and the Making of America's World War II
Hitchcock, William I.
Hardcover
$33.25
Simple Sabotage Field Manual: A Declassified CIA Guide to Subverting Fascism Through Weaponized Incompetence
Of Strategic Services, United States Office
Paperback
$12.30
G-Man (Pulitzer Prize Winner): J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century
Gage, Beverly
Paperback
From $14.99
Shared Prosperity in a Fractured World: A New Economics for the Middle Class, the Global Poor, and Our Climate
Rodrik, Dani
Hardcover
$26.55
Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II
Graham, Elyse
Hardcover
$28.50
Strategic Influence: Public Diplomacy, Counterpropaganda, and Political Warfare
Waller, J. Michael
Paperback
$23.94
Targeted: Beirut: The 1983 Marine Barracks Bombing and the Untold Origin Story of the War on Terror
Carr, Jack
Scott, James M.
Paperback
$19.95
The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives
Brzezinski, Zbigniew
Paperback
$27.54
More Than a Shirt: How Football Shirts Explain Global Politics, Money and Power
D'Urso, Joey
Paperback
$18.04
The Shortest History of War: From Hunter-Gatherers to Nuclear Superpowers - A Retelling for Our Times
Dyer, Gwynne
Paperback
$15.15
Surprise, Kill, Vanish: The Secret History of CIA Paramilitary Armies, Operators, and Assassins
Jacobsen, Annie
Paperback
$22.79
The Hundred-Year Marathon: China's Secret Strategy to Replace America as the Global Superpower
Pillsbury, Michael
Paperback
$18.99
The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America
Grandin, Greg
Paperback
From $10.99
Great Power Diplomacy: The Skill of Statecraft from Attila the Hun to Kissinger
Mitchell, A. Wess
Hardcover
$52.50
Three Days at the Brink: Fdr's Daring Gamble to Win World War II
Whitney, Catherine
Baier, Bret
Paperback
$19.99
Dark Alliance: Movie Tie-In Edition: The Cia, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion
Webb, Gary
Paperback
$25.60
Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage
Sontag, Sherry
Drew, Christopher
Paperback
From $10.99