Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Apr 2009
368 pages
Genre: Biography/Memoir
Publication Information
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 Sneum’s 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 aircraft—which he had to refuel in mid-air by climbing out on the wing. Later, he escaped from Denmark again—by 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 bomb—his 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, Churchill’s chief of scientific intelligence, "one of the true heroes of World War II." According to Major General Richard Eyre Lloyd, Sneum's King’s 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.
This information about The Hornet's Sting was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
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.
The Flower Sisters
by Michelle Collins Anderson
From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention.
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
