Books like 'The Codebreakers: The Comprehensive History of Secret Communication from Ancient Times to the Internet'
Readers who enjoyed The Codebreakers: The Comprehensive History of Secret Communication from Ancient Times to the Internet by David Kahn also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical military, war & conflict action / adventure 20th century thriller technology espionage war military ww2
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After Dunkirk by Lee Jackson
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIn the tradition of grand World War II sagas Beneath a Scarlet Sky and Of Windmills and War, After Dunkirk introduces the Littlefield family, fighting valiantly in the darkest days of the German occupation. AFTER DUNKIRK heralds a stunning new voice in historical epics, a worthy heir to Wouk and Follett. "Lee Jackson embeds you in the peril of war-torn France in the aftermath of Dunkirk...Categorized as:
espionage military political-intrigue war ww2 thriller 20th-century action-adventure -
Red Winter by Marc Cameron
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn this previously untold adventure, a young Jack Ryan goes behind the Iron Curtain to seek the truth about a potential Soviet defector in the most shocking entry in Tom Clancy's #1 New York Times bestselling series. 1985A top secret F117 aircraft crashes into the Nevada desert... -
The Parisians by Marius Gabriel
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsParis, 1940. The Nazis have occupied the city—and the Ritz. The opulent old hotel, so loved by Parisians, is now full of swaggering officers, their minions and their mistresses.For American Olivia Olsen, working as a chambermaid at the hotel means denying her nationality and living a lie, every day bringing the danger of discovery closer... -
The Lieutenants by W.E.B. Griffin
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsThey were the young ones, the bright ones, the ones with the dreams. From the Nazi-prowled wastes of North Africa to the bloody corridors of Europe, they answered the call gladly. It was their duty, their job, their life. They marched off as boys, and they came back--those who made it--as soldiers and professionals forged in the heat of battle..Categorized as:
espionage military political-intrigue war ww2 thriller 20th-century action-adventure -
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The Berets by W.E.B. Griffin, Eric G. Dove
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsThey were the chosen ones—and the ones who chose to be the best. Never before had the United States given so select a group of fighting men such punishing preparation... -
The Girls from the Beach by Andie Newton
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"We'd heard stories about the nurses in tent seven. A secret mission, stolen money, and spies..."In 1944, four American nurses disappeared for five days. No one knew what happened to them. Until now.When Kit and Red set foot on French soil during the Normandy landings, they know they have to rely on each other. As they head for the battlefield, their aim is simple: save lives... -
To Wake the Giant: A Novel of Pearl Harbor by Jeff Shaara
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe New York Times bestselling master of military historical fiction tells the story of Pearl Harbor as only he can in the first novel of a gripping new series set in World War II’s Pacific theater. In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt watches uneasily as the world heads rapidly down a dangerous path... -
In Danger's Path by W.E.B. Griffin
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsDesperate to find someone to unite the warring interests of General MacArthur, Admiral Nimitz, and OSS chief Donovan, FDR puts Fleming Pickering in charge of the OSS's Pacific operations...Categorized as:
espionage military political-intrigue war ww2 thriller 20th-century action-adventure -
Under Fire by W.E.B. Griffin
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAfter the epic struggle of World War II, W.E.B... -
Charm School by Nelson DeMille
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsRead by James NaughtonSomething very strange -- and sinister -- is going on in the Russian woods at Borodino. In a place called Mrs. Ivanova's Charm School, young KGB agents are being taught by American POW's how to be model citizens of the USA. The Soviet goal -- to infiltrate the United States undetected... -
The Eagle's Claw: A Novel of the Battle of Midway by Jeff Shaara
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsNATIONAL BESTSELLER - In a "riveting" (Booklist) tale that picks up where To Wake the Giant left off, Jeff Shaara transports us to the Battle of Midway in another masterpiece of military historical fiction.Spring 1942. The United States is reeling from the blow the Japanese inflicted at Pearl Harbor. But the Americans are determined to turn the tide... -
The Prisoner by Robert Muchamore
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsOne of Henderson's best agents is being held captive in Frankfurt. A set of forged record cards could be his ticket to freedom, but might just as easily become his death warrant. A vital mission awaits him in France—if he can find a way to escape...Categorized as:
espionage military political-intrigue war ww2 thriller 20th-century action-adventure -
Retreat, Hell! by W.E.B. Griffin
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIt is the fall of 1950. The Marines have made a pivotal breakthrough at Inchon, but a roller coaster awaits them. While Douglas MacArthur chomps at the bit, intent on surging across the 38th parallel, Brigadier General Fleming Pickering works desperately to mediate the escalating battle between MacArthur and President Harry Truman... -
No Less Than Victory: A Novel of World War II by Jeff Shaara
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAfter the success at Normandy, the Allied commanders are confident that the war in Europe will soon be over. But in December 1944, in the Ardennes Forest, the Germans launch a ruthless counteroffensive that begins the Battle of the Bulge. The Führer will spare nothing to preserve his twisted vision of a “Thousand Year Reich,” but stout American resistance defeats the German thrust... -
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Prussian Blue by Philip Kerr
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom New York Times–bestselling author Philip Kerr, the much-anticipated return of Bernie Gunther, our compromised former Berlin bull and unwilling SS officer. With his cover blown, he is waiting for the next move in the cat-and-mouse game that, even a decade after Germany’s defeat, continues to shadow his life... -
Counterattack by W.E.B. Griffin
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor to America's first bold counterstrike against the Japanese on the beaches of Guadalcanal, this compelling novel takes readers to the front lines of victory and defeat...Categorized as:
espionage military political-intrigue war ww2 thriller 20th-century action-adventure -
Night Falls on Norway by C.W. Browning
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn the spring of 1940, all of Europe knows the war is about to explode. The only question is where.When MI6 sends Evelyn Ainsworth back to Oslo, no one expects any complications, least of all Evelyn. With her identity locked down and her section classified, both her location and her mission are secure.Or so they thought...Categorized as:
espionage military political-intrigue war ww2 thriller 20th-century action-adventure -
Operation Long Jump by William Peter Grasso
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe Allied invasion of Papua New Guinea begins. Badly.Alternative history takes center stage as Operation Long Jump, the second book in the Jock Miles World War 2 adventure series, plunges us into the horrors of combat in the rainforests of Papua New Guinea. As a prelude to the Allied invasion, Jock Miles and his men seize the Japanese observation post on the mountain overlooking Port Moresby... -
End of Spies by Alex Gerlis, Rupert Bush
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsEurope, 1945: no longer at war but not yet at peace. The gripping finale to the bestselling Richard Prince espionage thrillers.British agent Richard Prince and the Danish spy Hanne Jakobsen come together for a vital mission: to find a Nazi war criminal responsible for the murder of fellow British agents... -
Black Cross by Greg Iles
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIt is January 1944 — and as Allied troops prepare for D-day, Nazi scientists develop a toxic nerve gas that will repel and wipe out any invasion force. To salvage the planned assault, two vastly different but equally determined men are sent to infiltrate the secret concentration camp where the poison gas is being perfected on human subjects...Categorized as:
espionage military political-intrigue war ww2 thriller 20th-century action-adventure -
The Unlikely Spy by Daniel Silva
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 26 ratings"In wartime," Winston Churchill wrote, "truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies."For Britain's counterintelligence operations, this meant finding the unlikeliest agent imaginable-a history professor named Alfred Vicary, handpicked by Churchill himself to expose a highly dangerous, but unknown, traitor... -
Snow Wolf by Glenn Meade
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn the heart of the Cold War, they sent him to plot the ultimate assassination. Now they want him dead...It is 1953. Joseph Stalin, the world's most tyrannical dictator, is teetering on the edge of insanity, and about to plunge the world into nuclear chaos. Only one man and one woman can penetrate the Iron Curtain and stop this madman, before it's too late.But someone inside the Kremlin knows...Categorized as:
espionage cold-war thriller military war political-intrigue fiction historical-fiction -
Courtney's War by Wilbur Smith
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe brand new Courtney Series novel, and the much-anticipated sequel to the global bestseller WAR CRY Torn apart by war, Saffron Courtney and Gerhard von Meerbach are thousands of miles apart, both struggling for their lives. Gerhard - despite his objections to the Nazi regime - is fighting for the Fatherland, hoping to one day have the opportunity to rid Germany of Hitler and his cronies...Categorized as:
espionage military political-intrigue war ww2 thriller 20th-century action-adventure -
The Company by Robert Littell
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe Barnes & Noble ReviewSince the publication of his 1973 debut thriller, The Defection of A. J. Lewinter, Robert Littell has evolved into one of the most credible, consistently interesting espionage novelists of the modern era... -
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The Last Lieutenant by John J. Gobbell
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsOUTNUMBEREDUnder an unstoppable barrage of artillery, brilliant U.S. cryptographers crack the Japanese top-secret code, revealing their chilling plans for a doomsday attack on Midway Island.OUTGUNNEDThe Navy's high command responds quickly, mobilizing all they have to counter-attack the massive Japanese firepower...Categorized as:
espionage military political-intrigue war ww2 thriller 20th-century action-adventure -
The Eagle Has Landed by Jack Higgins, Maria Luisa Bocchino
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsIn November of 1943, an elite team of Nazi paratroopers descends on British soil with a diabolical goal: to abduct Winston Churchill and cripple the Allied war effort. The mission, ordered by Hitler himself and planned by Heinrich Himmler, is led by ace agent Kurt Steiner and aided on the ground by IRA gunman Liam Devlin... -
The Odessa File by Frederick Forsyth
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsThe suicide of an elderly German Jew explodes into revelation after revelation: a Mafia-like organization called Odessa, a real-life fugitive known at the "Butcher of Riga", a young German journalist turned obsessed avenger...and ultimately, of a brilliant, ruthless plot to reestablish the worldwide power of SS mass murders and to carry out Hitler's chilling "Final Solution... -
Victory and Honor by W.E.B. Griffin, William E. Butterworth IV
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe spectacular new book in New York Times-bestselling author W.E.B. Griffin's Honor Bound saga of World War II espionage. Wars come to an end. But then new ones begin. Just weeks after Hitler's suicide, Cletus Frade and his colleagues in the OSS find themselves up to their necks in battles every bit as fierce as the ones just ended...Categorized as:
espionage military political-intrigue war ww2 thriller 20th-century action-adventure -
Empire and Honor by W.E.B. Griffin, William E. Butterworth IV
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsOctober 1945: The Germans and Japanese have surrendered. For Cletus Frade and his colleagues in the OSS, it should be time to pack up—but they have far more important things to do.Chief among them is the protection of their assets, especially the human ones. In the closing months of the war, the United States made a secret deal with the head of German intelligence’s Soviet section...Categorized as:
espionage military political-intrigue war ww2 thriller 20th-century action-adventure -
Blood and Honor by W.E.B. Griffin
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIf you enjoyed W. E. B. Griffin's Honor Bound, you should segue with pleasure into this involving sequel. Set in Buenos Aires in 1943, it follows the adventures of three American soldiers as they think and fight their way through a complex story about Nazi sympathizers, dedicated supporters of the Allied cause, and other people just trying to stay alive...Categorized as:
espionage military political-intrigue war ww2 thriller 20th-century action-adventure -
Secret Honor by W.E.B. Griffin
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe crackling new novel in the bestselling Honor Bound series, by the master of the military thriller. As with his other enormously popular series, the first two novels in W. E .B. Griffin’s saga of World War II espionage in Germany and Argentina – Honor Bound and Blood and Honor – became immediate bestsellers and were hailed as “immensely entertaining adventures” (Kirkus Reviews)...Categorized as:
espionage military political-intrigue war ww2 thriller 20th-century action-adventure -
Grey Wolves by Robert Muchamore
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAPRIL 1941With no European allies, Britain has to ship fuel, weapons and more than half of its food across the Atlantic from Canada and the United States. But slow moving cargo vessels make easy prey for packs of German submarines.Henderson and a team of young agents must go undercover to sabotage German U-Boat operations. If they dont succeed, the British people face starvation...Categorized as:
espionage military political-intrigue war ww2 thriller 20th-century action-adventure -
Secret Army by Robert Muchamore
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsBritain, 1941. The government is building a secret army of intelligence agents to work undercover, gathering information and planning sabotage operations. Henderson's boys are part of that network: kids cut adrift by the war, training for the fight of their lives. They'll have to parachute into unknown territory, travel cross-country and outsmart a bunch of adults in a daredevil exercise...Categorized as:
espionage military political-intrigue war ww2 thriller 20th-century action-adventure -
Field Gray by Philip Kerr
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsPhilip Kerr delivers a novel with the noir sensibility of Raymond Chandler, the realpolitik of vintage John le Carré, and the dark moral vision of Graham Greene... -
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Blood Warm Waters: A WWII Submarine Adventure Novel by Scott Cook
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsDeath rises from the deep and tropical seas burn as the tide of war continues to rise…Art Turner and the crew of USS bull Shark are about to become the spearhead in a new offensive in the Pacific. As an island nation, the Empire of Japan depends on the sea to maintain its vital supply chain… and it’s into this jugular that Admiral Nimitz intends to plunge his knife... -
Ship of Force by Alan Evans
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsThe summer of 1917. Britain is losing the war against the deadly German U-boats. After a close fought action, Commander David Smith uncovers what he believes is a deadly plot against Britain from a dying German sailor. Code-named SchwerttrZiger - or Swordbearer - it could turn the tide of the war in Germany's favour. But nobody will listen to him. He is under suspicion, and ignored... -
While Still We Live by Helen MacInnes
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsEnglish girl Sheila Matthews’ innocent holiday to Poland becomes a nightmare when the German Army invade in the summer of 1939. Working for the Polish underground as a double-agent, she plays a dangerous game, and is soon suspected by the Germans. Forced to flee to the forest and hunted by a ruthless German officer, she must rely on the dashing Captain Adam Wisniewski to help her home...Categorized as:
espionage political-intrigue politics war ww2 thriller 20th-century action-adventure -
The Guardian of Lies by Kate Furnivall
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratings1953, the South of France. The fragile peace between the West and Soviet Russia hangs on a knife edge. And one family has been torn apart by secrets and conflicting allegiances. Eloïse Caussade is a courageous young Frenchwoman, raised on a bull farm near Arles in the Camargue... -
Seven Days in May by Fletcher Knebel, Charles W. Bailey II
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"Gentleman Jim" Scott was a brilliant magnetic general. Like a lot of people, he believed the President was ruining the country. Unlike anyone else, he had the power to do something about it, something unprecedented and terrifying. Colonel "Jiggs" Casey was the Marine who accidentally stumbled onto the plot... -
The Soldier Spies by W.E.B. Griffin, Stephen Lang
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn November 1942, war is raging in Europe. The invasion of North Africa has begun. In Washington, OSS Chief William J. Donovan finds himself fighting a rear-guard battle against an unexpected enemy: the rival intelligence chiefs back home...Categorized as:
espionage military political-intrigue war ww2 thriller 20th-century action-adventure -
The Assassination Option by W.E.B. Griffin, William E. Butterworth IV
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsJames Cronley’s first successful mission for the new Central Intelligence Directorate has drawn all kinds of attention, some welcome, some not, including from the Soviets, his own Pentagon, and a seething J. Edgar Hoover... -
The Honor Of Spies by W.E.B. Griffin, Scott Brick
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsGriffin?s Honor Bound novels have been hailed as ?terrific? (Newark Star-Ledger) and ?immensely entertaining? (Kirkus Reviews), with ?enough derring-do, romance and action to satisfy Griffin?s legions of fans and bring him new ones? (Rocky Mountain News). The new book is his best yet...Categorized as:
espionage military political-intrigue war ww2 thriller 20th-century action-adventure -
Bomber by Len Deighton
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe classic novel of the Second World War that relates in devastating detail the 24-hour story of an allied bombing raid.Bomber is a novel of war. There are no victors, no vanquished. There are simply those who remain alive, and those who die.Bomber follows the progress of an Allied air raid through a period of twenty-four hours in the summer of 1943...Categorized as:
espionage military political-intrigue war ww2 thriller 20th-century action-adventure -
The Secret Warriors by W.E.B. Griffin
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWashington D.C., 1942. With the help of Charles A. Lindbergh, ace OSS pilot Richard Canidy sets up an air maneuver that will drop agents into the Belgian Congo to smuggle out uranium ore essential to the arms race. But this time, Canidy is not in the saddle; he's the backup pilot. And though he's not used to waiting for something to go wrong, he knows that it will..Categorized as:
espionage military political-intrigue war ww2 thriller 20th-century action-adventure -
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Honor Bound by W.E.B. Griffin
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIt's 1942. A Marine aviator, an Army paratrooper and demolitions expert, and a non-com radio man are on an impossible mission for the OSS - sabotaging the resupply of German ships and submarines - by any means necessary! First Lieutenant Cletus Frade is fresh from Guadalcanal...Categorized as:
espionage military political-intrigue war ww2 thriller 20th-century action-adventure -
Eagle Day by Robert Muchamore
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsLate summer, 1940.Hitler has conquered France. Now he intends to cross the Channel and defeat Britain before winter arrives.A group of young refugees led by British spy Charles Henderson faces a stark choice. To head south into the safety of neutral Spain, or go north on a risky mission to sabotage the German invasion plans.For official purposes, these children do not exist...Categorized as:
espionage military political-intrigue war ww2 thriller 20th-century action-adventure -
The Fighting Agents by W.E.B. Griffin, Stephen Lang
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsBest of the Best. The fourth volume of Men at War follows the electrifying saga of the OSS during World War II as the story moves from the Philippines to Budapest to Cairo. Abridged...Categorized as:
espionage military political-intrigue war ww2 thriller 20th-century action-adventure -
The One from the Other by Philip Kerr
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsPhilip Kerr’s Berlin Noir trilogy—featuring the tough, fast-talking, noirish detective Bernie Gunther—is a publishing phenomenon that continues to win new fans more than fifteen years after its initial publication. Kerr has brought Bernie back in a highly anticipated thriller that will delight fans of the original books and attract new attention to the backlist... -
The Escape by Robert Muchamore
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSummer, 1940. Hitler's army is advancing towards Paris, and millions of French civilians are on the run. Amidst the chaos, two British children are being hunted by German agents. British spy Charles Henderson tries to reach them first, but he can only do it with the help of a twelve-year-old French orphan...Categorized as:
espionage military political-intrigue war ww2 thriller 20th-century action-adventure -
Dark Star by Alan Furst
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe acclaimed author of Night Soldiers offers a dramatic and exciting spy thriller of Eastern Europe on the brink of World War II. In the back alleys and glittering salons of Europe, there is a thin line between survival and betrayal, as Soviet NKVD agents and the Nazi Gestapo confront each other in a brilliant duel of espionage. Like watching Casablanca for the first time.--Time...
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