The Amazing Untold Story of World War II Spy Thomas Sneum
by Mark Ryan
Assassination by crossbow, refueling homemade planes in mid-air, mother and daughter seduction - Allied spy Tommy Sneum has done it all. The exploits of Tommy Sneum, the Danish-born spy who died in 2007, made him a legend in espionage circles. But until now, the full extraordinary story of Sneums action-packed career as a British-run spy had never been told.
Working with hundreds of hours of interviews with Sneum, Mark Ryan describes how Tommy made an incredible escape from Denmark in a battered old Hornet Moth aircraftwhich he had to refuel in mid-air by climbing out on the wing. Later, he escaped from Denmark againby walking across a treacherous frozen sea on which two of his companions died.
Tommy brought over precious intelligence about the Nazi radar installations in Denmark and their atom bombhis reward was to be imprisoned in Brixton as a suspected double agent and threatened with execution. He cheated the hangman - but it is only with the publication of this enthralling book that Sneum can be celebrated as, in the words of Professor R.V. Jones, Churchills chief of scientific intelligence, "one of the true heroes of World War II." According to Major General Richard Eyre Lloyd, Sneum's Kings Medal for Courage should have been the prestigious Victoria Cross.
"Starred Review. Ken Follet's The Hornet's Sting was based on this World War II episode, but the real account is more exciting than fiction: readers will find the book hard to put down." - Library Journal.
"Ryan skillfully builds and sustains interest through a narrative that grows increasingly convoluted." - Kirkus Reviews.
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Mark Ryan has been a journalist for over 20 years. His fourth book, The Hornet's Sting followed the exploits of Allied spay Tommy Sneum. He first heard about Sneum in 1994, and followed a trail for a number of years which finally led him to Sneum - who eventually agreed to help piece together the account of his amazing life before he died in 2007 aged 89.
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