Review: My Adventures as a Spy by Robert Baden-Powell
Robert Baden-Powell is revered worldwide as the founder of the Boy Scouts. Fewer know that at one time, before World War I, he was a spy for the British. He wrote a short memoir about this period in his life entitled: 'My Adventures as a Spy.'
The book acts as a great introduction to the field-craft of being a spy and a bit about being a spy catcher. Of course there were no micro-dots or electronic bugging devices back before 1914 but the fundamentals of operating as a spy in the field have not changed all that much in 90 years. Baden-Powell details some of his adventures scouting out military emplacements in foreign countries, establishing a cover and collecting information. He also details the different types of spies. He shows that spying is both a craft that can be learned, but also requires a certain intelligence and ability to swiftly improvise and adapt to situations in the field.
(As a side note: there is a lesson here for those who get caught up in the gadgets of spying - I am willing to guess that both industrial spies and the agents of the current terrorist organizations used and use low tech human intelligence gathering techniques not very different from those described in this book.)
Of special interest is this book confirms the basic premise of German plans for a surprise invasion of England that the protagonists discovered in the earlier spy novel: 'The Riddle in the Sands' by Erskine Childers and actually gives some detail about where the Imperial German Army would invade and their plans once they had landed. Baden-Powell lends a lot of weight to Childer's warning from over a decade earlier. I highly recommend reading this book after reading 'The Riddle in the Sands', because the compliment each other so well.
The book is a fast read and not overly long. If you are downloading a free copy (below) I highly recommend the HTML version because it contains the author's illustrations which greatly enhance the reading experience. This book is suitable for Young Adults (YA) as well as grownups.
Download a free (legal) ebook copy of My Adventures as a Spy by Robert Baden-Powell.
Order a print copy of My Adventures as a Spy from Powells.