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The Secret War of Hut 3. The Bletchley Archive, vol. 1. Edited by John Jackson. Milton Keynes, U.K.: Military Press, 2002. ISBN 0-84520-193-9. Figures. Glossary. References. Pp. x, 115. £25.
Ultra's Arctic War. The Bletchley Archive, vol. 2. Edited by John Jackson. Milton Keynes, U.K.: Military Press, 2003. ISBN 0-85420-224-2. Maps. Photographs. Appendixes. References. Index. Pp. ii, 127. £25.
The Official History of British Sigint, 1914-1945, vol. 1 (part1). The Bletchley Archive, vol. 3. By Frank Birch. Edited by John Jackson. Milton Keynes, U.K.: Military Press, 2004. ISBN 0-85420-273-8. Diagrams. References. Index. Pp. xli, 184. £32.99.
Ultra, Bletchley Park, and Magic are words that have supposedly transformed the history of World War II. One would think, or hope, that books such as those under review here would somehow provide the reader with more knowledge and understanding of Signals Intelligence or Sigint on a broader scale. Such, however, is not the case in Vol. 3-The Official History of British Sigint 1944-1945, written by Frank Birch, Official Historian, British Sigint, and edited by John Jackson. The role of the United States in the interception, interpretation, and distribution of the intercepted material to the proper authority is almost completely ignored. True, these are publications meant to record history, but one expects a full picture, not just one from the prejudiced British point of view.
One would expect that this book might be some sort of...