Truth is stranger than fiction. Some incidents of the war are so bizarre or so brave that no reputable fiction writer would have dared to invent them. War brings out the worst and the best in human beings'. So said Philip Warner the author of World War Two—The Untold Story. Until the official account of Second World War British Intelligence activities was published, myth, propaganda and misrepresentation had combined to confuse our view of the war. We did not—could not—fully understand what had happened, or why. The distinguished military historian Philip Warner based this history of the war, the secret battles as much as the open warfare, on intelligence material that had not been previously available. The result is a vivid, concise and meaningful account of what was really happening day by day through the war, and why. The world was in the dark grip of war on many fronts and for both sides victories and defeats would come in many forms before the victors could finally prevail. Warner shows how the Allies' success was the result of a combination of factors, not least their increasing awareness of enemy intentions as they broke through German and Japanese codes. It was a war in which intelligence and interpretation came to play a major role.