Were you familiar with MI9 prior to reading this book? Which gadgets did you enjoy learning about most?

Were you familiar with MI9 prior to reading this book? Which gadgets did you enjoy learning about most?

I wasn't familiar with MI9. I was glad the author included information about this sector in the back of the book, as I'm not sure I would have believed there was a section of British Intelligence dedicated to this sort of thing. That might have been my favorite part of the book, although I would have loved to have known more. I especially loved the cards that, when wet, revealed maps.

I knew of MI9, but nothing major. This was one of my favorite parts of the story and one I would have enjoyed learning even more about. I am a huge fan of stories that focus on characters/relationships but skillfully infuse history to add to the story. It is probably why movies like "Cinderella Man" and "Seabiscuit" are among my favorites.

Was not familiar with MI19 prior to this book. I was fascinated by the ingenious ways that they used to get information to the allies- the ink that disappeared when wet, cards that revealed maps and so on. It was very clever how this was incorporated into the story.

I did not know of MI9 specifically and it reminded me of an item I saw on display when I visited London in 2015. A jacket was preserved (under glass) at a hotel that had a spy connection with the lining. I don't remember if a coded message was on the jacket lining or hide inside of the jacket. I enjoyed learning about the gadgets and the author's extensive research and enthusiasm about the creativity of the devices shows through in the believability of the story.

I was not familiar with Ml9 but so enjoyed reading about all of the gadgets designed for the war effort.

I was not familiar with them. And read somewhere where this was an influence for Q in the James Bond novels.

I had heard of M19 but really didn’t know what their role was during WWII. I was fascinated by the use of board games to send items to prisoners of war.

I was familiar with M19 from other books that I've read. I was most surprised about the use of the board games to supply help to the POWs.

I was not familiar with MI9. In fact it seemed stright out of James bond! But when I thought abotu it, why wouldn't there be such a department. Spies need some protection and ways to communicate, without giving themselves away!

I loved this section of the book
There is a spur museum in DC that includes some of this same information

I had never heard of MI9 or the specific gadgets discussed & demonstrated by McMorris. I had heard of various ingenious ways that people evaded escape & discovery, of course. I also heard from my mother about the code she & my father embedded in their letters to each other when he was serving in the Pacific Theater. His letters to her were censored, but her letters to him were not. So she devised a system & explained it to him that enabled him to her know where he was. Otherwise, she would have had no idea where he was serving.

I never got to read the letters because when my sister and I were cleaning out the house, we discovered that they were gone. Apparently, both of my parents or just my mother (who outlived my father) wanted the contents to remain private. I suspect they/she burned them at some point, because when we opened the cedar chest where she always kept them, they were gone.

Have you watched James Bond movies? Then you know about M19! LOL

One of my favorite parts of James Bond movies is Q and his group of ingenious inventions to keep the spies safe. While I hadn't heard of MI9, I knew that Q was based on a department of the British secret service. It is also interesting to me see how clever people can be - the maps on cards, the game boards - it was great to read about them.

While reading, I kept thinking of the James Bond movies which based their Q on a British war department that was responsible for sending messages to captured prisoners. In the book "The Time in Between" fashion design and stitches were used to pass messages. Chinese women sent messages to each other in their embroidery. It was fascinating to see all the ways in which the M19 came up with their clever messaging especially the maps which would be so useful.