Publishers Weekly
02/26/2024
Philosopher Bell debuts with a gripping investigation of the secret role Canadian-born British spy and philosopher Winthrop Bell (no relation to the author) played in sounding the alarm about the Nazi threat—not once, but twice. The author learned about Winthrop in 2008 when he was doing research on German phenomenology and stumbled upon Winthrop’s archived records, including his diary. Working toward completing his philosophy PhD in Germany when WWI broke out and imprisoned as an enemy citizen for the duration of the conflict, Winthrop was recruited postwar by British intelligence due to his high-level connections within Germany. His first mission was to embed among Berlin political elites, and in 1919 he became “the first intelligence agent to warn about the National Socialists” and their plan to start a second world war—warnings that Bell shows were suppressed by fascist British politicians. Long bothered that his report had been buried, in the 1930s Winthrop returned to Germany posing as a Reuters journalist. He learned enough about the Nazi aspiration for “racial extermination” that was “global in scope” to issue “the world’s first published warning of Hitler’s plans for worldwide genocide” in a quietly influential 1939 newspaper article. Even readers well-versed on the war will be surprised by the history Bell has pieced together. It’s a significant new perspective on behind-the-scenes political machinations preceding WWII. (Apr.)
New York Journal of Books
The investigative work the author has done has produced a biography suited to the best of the current-day spy novels. Well-written and interesting and deserves to be devoured.
The Chronicle Herald
With the help of recently declassified documents, Jason Bell’s book is the first to shine a light on the intelligence work of Winthrop.
The Globe and Mail
"Is Winthrop Bell the most—or least—obvious spy name? It’s hard to say. As early as 1939, when he was working for Britain’s MI6 as Agent A12, the Halifax-born Bell was already sounding the alarm about Hitler’s plot to obliterate all non-Aryan people from the earth. Author Bell (no relation), a New Brunswick professor, posits that the intelligence his subject gathered may have been crucial to the Allies winning the war.
The Winnipeg Free Press
Fascinating. Cracking the Nazi Code is the result of many years of research, a magnetic and magisterial recounting of Winthrop Bell’s heroic life. It is worth every word.
Rosemary Sullivan
"Brilliantly researched, Cracking the Nazi Code upends our conventional, often inaccurate, understanding of the Nazis’ rise to power after WWI. It took the stunning intelligence work of Winthrop Bell, a Canadian spy working for MI6 in Germany, to decipher what was really going on. How did Hitler, an insignificant minion, manage to climb the ladder of power? How wide-ranging was his genocidal intent? As Bell pursues the truth, the twists and turns of his life are fascinating. We come away with a deep respect for intelligence work at its finest. A page-turner, one of those books not to be missed."
The Wall Street Journal
In Cracking the Nazi Code, Bell offers a deeply researched, intriguing portrait of Winthrop. It is a remarkable story. The author, who spent 15 years on his research, argues that his subject was a super-spy who ‘led the fight’ against the Nazis, both in their early days and on the eve of World War II.
Foreign Affairs
A hitherto unknown story about how Bell, who had been interned in Germany during World War I, used his excellent German and many connections to describe the country’s turmoil after the war for the benefit of the British secret services and government. The core story is remarkable in itself, but the wealth of detail about Germany in the years after World War I and the inner workings of British espionage makes it doubly so.
Peterborough Examiner
A firecracker of a Canadian story and a path-breaking look at the inner workings of British intelligence between the two world wars. A doozer of a tale. [Jason Bell] argues convincingly that ‘a good spy can prevent a war so quietly that hardly anyone realizes it.’ The author makes a compelling and exciting case for the effectiveness of Bell’s work.
Jewish Book Council
Exceptionally well-written, clear and engaging. Readers will be fascinated by the information that was, until now, unknown to the public. They will be captivated by Bell’s prose; his descriptions of fighting, landscapes, and historical figures carry the reader into the story.
Tim Cook
"Written with uncommon verve, wonderful detail, and deep insight gained from previously inaccessible archival records, Cracking the Nazi Code reveals the key spy work of Winthrop Bell. His secret fieldwork revealed insurrection, revolution, and the rise of the vile ideology that would underpin the Nazi party. Bell’s dangerous missions saved countless lives, supported battered democratic regimes, and provided British spymasters and Canadian political leaders with crucial information to avert disaster. Cracking the Nazi Code reminds us of the fragility of nations after war and how easily they can slide into chaos as demagogues prey upon the vulnerable, helpless, and hopeless."
Peter Mansbridge
"I love books that promise 'untold stories.’ This one does and it delivers. Who knew that a Canadian was the first to warn the world what the Nazis were up to, and to do it years before anyone else was even talking about Nazis? Winthrop Bell is a name you should know, and thanks to Jason Bell and his deep dive research you now will."
Gregory A. Freeman
"If you think you know everything about World War II, you need this book. Jason Bell’s account of how a philosophy professor alerted world leaders to the true threat of the rising Nazi movement is a first-rate spy story. Cracking the Nazi Code takes you along on one man’s dangerous quest to discover the truth and convince world leaders of perils to come."
Ken Cuthbertson
"In this fascinating first-ever biography of Winthrop Bell, historian Jason Bell introduces readers to the shadowy one-time Harvard-philosophy-professor-turned-secret-agent who became one of Nazi Germany’s biggest enemies."
Michael Bar-Zohar
"An amazing book. Winthrop Bell was a harbinger of fate, a prophet in his times. Spy stories’ addicts, history buffs, researchers and readers blessed with even a quantum of curiosity—should read this extraordinary ouvrage and reflect on its meaning for our past, but also for our future."
Library Journal
★ 03/01/2024
Bell (philosophy, Univ. of New Brunswick) has penned a remarkable account of the life of Winthrop Bell (1884–1965), a spy also known as A12 who uncovered the emerging Nazi conspiracy in 1919 Berlin from a careful reading of Hitler's Mein Kampf. (The subject and the author are not related.) A12 worked for the Canadian and British governments, and this book indicates that he tried to warn Britain of the rise of Nazism and general instability in Germany. The book vividly documents the spy's efforts to alert the British, of Nazi plans. Instead, the report was hidden away until 1939. That year, Bell again used his espionage expertise to help the British thwart the Nazis. Utilizing primary source material from Europe and Canada and reviewing documents from Bell's archives, the author writes a gripping account of the spy, who also was an academic at Harvard and McGill. VERDICT An extraordinary story of one man's efforts to stop the Nazi regime. Best for those who enjoy history, biography, and tales of espionage.—Jacqueline Parascandola
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2023-12-05
A Canadian scholar tells the story of a dynamic yet understated Renaissance man who was the first to decipher the plans for Hitler’s Final Solution.
University of New Brunswick professor of philosophy Jason Bell presents a remarkable book about a remarkable man heretofore unknown. Yet in this author’s capable hands, the name Winthrop Bell (1884-1965) should resound in the annals of history. The author was granted access to the previously classified espionage documents of the other Bell (no relation), a Canadian academic and MI6 spy known as A12 who diagnosed the rise of the Nazi conspiracy in Germany just after World War I and became one of the Hitler regime’s greatest enemies. The author’s own academic talents serve him extremely well throughout this fascinating, well-paced text. He’s cobbled together information gleaned from unpublished papers in Canadian, German, and British archives to demonstrate how Winthrop Bell’s knack for intelligence gathering, his intellectual prowess, and his keen reading of the subtext of Mein Kampf, along with his facility in the field of phenomenology, enabled him to decipher Hitler’s plans to eradicate not only Jews, but all non-Aryans. Winthrop Bell’s notes, writes the author, became “the world’s first published warning of Hitler’s plans for worldwide genocide.” The author provides vivid, exciting descriptions of Winthrop Bell’s often harrowing experiences, observational powers, and yeoman efforts to warn those in power in Great Britain and elsewhere of what was really happening in Germany and how to stop it. This book is a significant and timely achievement, and the author should be commended for bringing to colorful life the story of the courageous, intelligent, and infinitely interesting Winthrop Bell, a man whose name should always be registered in the first rank of heroic freedom-fighters and who, as the author points how, cracked not only the Nazi code but the peace code as well.
A masterful profile of a significant historical figure.
