The Secrets of Station X

How the Bletchley Park codebreakers helped win the war

By: Michael Smith

Narrated by: Patrick Molyneux

Bletchley 1945: a place where nearly 10,000 people would contribute decisively to the Allied war effort. Their role? To decode the Enigma cypher used by the Germans for high-level communications. It is an astonishing story. A melting pot of Oxbridge dons, maverick oddballs and more regular citizens worked night and day at Station X, as Bletchley Park was known, to derive intelligence information from German coded messages. That they succeeded, despite military scepticism, is testament to an indomitable spirit that wrenched British intelligence into the modern age, as the Second World War segued into the Cold War.

©2014 Michael Smith (P)2014 Oakhill Publishing

Great story spoilt by performance

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The story of Bletchley Park is so fascinating that any history of the accomplishments is worth reading. Highly recommended.

Who was your favorite character and why?

There really is no "star" in the book. Everyone contributed in their own way.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The reading was very disappointing. Whether it was the fault of the performer or his direction is difficult to say. Although the various accents were commendable, the need to read the quotes in a conversational mode lead to very uneven sentences and some very uncalled for pauses.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Neither! It is a factual book of which the history is only now being detailed.

Any additional comments?

Wonderful story that could benefit from being re-recorded.

Interesting book APPALLINGLY narrated

Many mispronunciations, awful intonation and phrase breaks. Did NO-ONE edit or produce this audiobook?