By Gershom Gorenberg
ISBN: 1610396278, PublicAffairs, 2021, 496 pages, $34
Ineffective spies, dramatic raids, high-stakes codebreaking, betrayal, and battle in the high desert of North Africa are all part of War of Shadows: Codebreakers, Spies, and the Secret Struggle to Drive the Nazis from the Middle East. The book offers a truly sweeping and thrilling journey into an overlooked period of World War II, covering the Allied efforts against the Axis powers in North Africa from 1939 to 1943 through a unique series of lenses.
Gershom Gorenberg’s deep experience as a journalist covering multiple aspects of the Middle East and Israeli issues provides a strong foundation for this book. Writing in a journalistic style, he dives into the issues with a unique eye and is faster paced than most historical authors. Gorenberg avoids a narrow recounting of battles in chronological order. He works tirelessly to lend perspective by including a wide cast of characters—from the halls of Washington and the huts at the United Kingdom’s Bletchley Park to Rome, Iraq, and actions across the Mediterranean and the Middle East.
The author revisits several themes of unconventional actions for consideration throughout the book: key individuals who contributed through espionage or special actions; the cryptanalysts and communications security on both sides of the conflict; the perspectives of British, Italian, and Nazi forces; and the local populations who endured the see-sawing effects of the struggle for the region. Gorenberg focuses on the British struggle against the Italians and Germans in North Africa, primarily chronicling the time before the U.S. invasion under Operation Torch in late 1942.
The North African theater is often treated more like a footnote, sideshow, or prelude to the much larger battles against the Soviets or in Western Europe. Other books dedicate much more time to the landings at Normandy or the Nazi failures against the Soviets on the Eastern Front. In this work, the author does an excellent job of reinforcing how vital this theater was to overall success in the war against the Axis powers. Not only did this region hold critical reserves of petroleum, but it also served as the sinews holding the British Empire together while the U.S. decided to join the war and ramped up its critical industrial capacity. Without the Suez Canal staying in Allied hands, reinforcements from the colonies would not be available to fill the ranks on the European front. Furthermore, critical supplies for waging war against Imperial Japan in Asia would be cut off from the west if North Africa fell to the Axis.
Gorenberg makes a convincing argument that without the tenacious efforts of the Allies in the early days of the war, critical lines of communication would have been lost, and valuable practice against the German forces would have been missing before the Allied liberation of Europe. He is a master at creating the critical air of context before diving into his story, deftly laying the scene for the struggle for North Africa by examining some of the key personalities who determined much of the success or failure on each side.
Investments in intrepid individuals who had the drive to explore the endless tracts of desert prior to the war ended up providing invaluable intelligence. It is easy to forget in the age of instant mapping that even in the late 1930s the spaces between Italian-dominated Libya and British-backed Egypt were still largely unexplored at the start of the war. Much of that intelligence value depended on the open-mindedness of each side’s leadership and their willingness to eschew traditional notions of soldiery and embrace high-risk, high-reward propositions.
The book serves as a reminder to commanders that attracting, identifying, and properly employing those with unique knowledge and talent is a critical skill that can provide a vital edge in combat. Throughout the book, Gorenberg carefully zooms in and out of the conflict to connect and frame the main activity on the battlefield with the critical support actions occurring worldwide.
He closely examines the work of the cryptanalysts at Bletchley Park, tracing their early efforts to break Nazi codes. What makes his treatment especially interesting is the attention he pays to lesser-known figures who made substantial contributions. This includes the Polish delegation, who broke much of the Enigma code through sheer mathematical talent and shared their work before the war—although British parochialism and xenophobia hindered effective collaboration.
Gorenberg also covers American codebreaking efforts and their complex relationship with the British. He offers insight into successes and into the reluctance to share between even close allies who feared the cost of leaks. Unlike many other books on WWII cryptography, Gorenberg successfully ties specific cryptologic breakthroughs to battlefield actions. He illustrates how much of Field Marshal Rommel’s battlefield success was due to the high-quality intelligence he received directly from Allied messages.
One of the most fascinating elements of the book is Gorenberg’s examination of Italian espionage. While the Germans relied on complex Enigma machines, the Italians targeted the weakest link in the cipher chain—human error. Their operatives, often placed in foreign embassies and consulates in Rome and beyond, exploited basic security lapses: unlocked doors, removable safes, unsecured keys, and inattentive staff. These vulnerabilities allowed for old-fashioned theft of codebooks and diplomatic messages, providing valuable battlefield insights.
That said, Gorenberg’s attempt to include a vast array of players across a sweeping geographical scale can occasionally leave the narrative feeling disjointed. Some characters receive detailed attention only to disappear, contributing little to the central narrative. These side plots sometimes distract from key themes and reduce space that could have been used to expand on critical units like the Long Range Desert Group or the Special Air Service, which are only mentioned briefly.
Still, the author weaves a remarkable and engaging story. The value for students of warfare and history lies in the depth of experience Gorenberg conveys. The book offers numerous lessons for modern warfare: confronting a capable state adversary with global reach, safeguarding and exploiting secure communications, and executing bold, high-risk operations for strategic effect.
The unique lens through which Gorenberg explores this often-forgotten yet pivotal theater makes War of Shadows a gripping read—well worth the time for anyone seeking to deepen their understanding of WWII history or glean relevant insights for today’s era of renewed great power competition.
