A Quiet Company of Dangerous Men

ΓÇ£Well researched and rivetingΓǪ.The struggle of these four men against totalitarian injustice was noble,and this book memorializes it superbly.ΓÇ¥ΓÇöThe Wall Street Journal The untold story of four special operations officers who fought together behind enemy lines across multiple theaters of World War IIand then continued to serveofficially and unofficiallyfor decades after in the hottest parts of the Cold War There have always been special warriors; Achilles and his Myrmidons are the obvious classical examples. What we now think of as ΓÇ£special operationsΓÇ¥ howeverwere born in World War IIand one of the earliest and most exciting units formed was Britain’s SOE. In the early years of the warwhen Britain stood alone against the NazisWinston Churchill put them on a mission to ΓÇ£set Europe ablazeΓÇ¥: to foment local revoltto gather intelligenceto blow up bridgesand to do anything that could help to disrupt the Axis cause. A Quiet Company of Dangerous Men follows four SOE officers who distinguished themselves in this fight: the Spanish Civil War veteran Peter Kempthe demolitions expert David Smileythe born guerrilla leader Billy McLeanand the political natural Julian Amery. With new and extensive researchincluding unprecedented access to private family papers that reveal the men’s unbreakable bonds and vibrant personalitiesShannon Monaghan has uncovered a story of war in the twentieth century thatdue to the secretive nature of the SOEΓÇÖs workhas remained largely unknown. A Quiet Company of Dangerous Men is a thrilling and inspiring story of four remarkable men whothrough sheer determination and daringas well as unwavering friendship and loyaltyfought for a better world.