Between Silk And Cyanide

Leo Marks

Editions

Review

Leo Marks wrote the screenplay of 'Peeping Tom', the cult Sixties film, and his father was the founder and owner of 84, Charing Cross Road.  Although the bookshop is a reassuring (and, of course, to us booksellers, fascinating) presence throughout this memoir, it is the gripping story of Marks' struggles within SOE which make this extraordinary book so rewarding.

Rejected by Bletchley as a maverick, the brilliant young cryptographer was employed by SOE to work on the poem codes which agents in the field used to communicate with London.  His unorthodox behaviour immediately brought him into conflict with the Powers That Be, but eventually led to major improvements in security for all of SOE's signals branch. This is a wonderful and unusual account of the Second World War, told with great skill and humour - a fascinating insight into the Secret War waged by so many Europeans. - review by Dan Fenton