Christopher Andrew
Team of His Own
Snow: The Double Life of a World War II Spy
By Nigel West & Madoc Roberts
Biteback 224pp £20
Arthur Owens, codenamed SNOW by MI5 and JOHNNY by the German Abwehr, was the first of the double agents in the Second World War ‘Double-Cross’ deception, who fed phenomenal amounts of disinformation to their unsuspecting German case officers.
Despite SNOW’s important role in the history of espionage, he was not popular with British intelligence. An MI6 officer disdainfully described him at the beginning of his espionage career as a ‘typical Welsh “underfed” Cardiff type’ with a ‘rather thin bony face’, ‘almost transparent and ill-shaped ears, disproportionately small for size of man’, and ‘a somewhat shifty look’. An MI5 officer wrote toward the end of SNOW’s years as a double agent:
SNOW’s principal characteristic is vanity, combined with an inherent untruthfulness. He has a perpetual itch to inform other people of his importance and when he does so (which is usually when he is rather drunk) has no regard for truth or discretion.
SNOW’s identity has never been officially revealed. His real
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
Twitter Feed
Knowledge of Sufism increased markedly with the publication in 1964 of The Sufis, by Idries Shah. Nowadays his writings, much like his father’s, are dismissed for their Orientalism and inaccuracy.
@fitzmorrissey investigates who the Shahs really were.
Fitzroy Morrissey - Sufism Goes West
Fitzroy Morrissey: Sufism Goes West - Empire’s Son, Empire’s Orphan: The Fantastical Lives of Ikbal and Idries Shah by Nile Green
literaryreview.co.uk
Rats have plagued cities for centuries. But in Baltimore, researchers alighted on one surprising solution to the problem of rat infestation: more rats.
@WillWiles looks at what lessons can be learned from rat ecosystems – for both rats and humans.
Will Wiles - Puss Gets the Boot
Will Wiles: Puss Gets the Boot - Rat City: Overcrowding and Urban Derangement in the Rodent Universes of John B ...
literaryreview.co.uk
Twisters features destructive tempests and blockbuster action sequences.
@JonathanRomney asks what the real danger is in Lee Isaac Chung's disaster movie.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/eyes-of-the-storm