The Deceivers : Allied Military Deception in the Second World War The Deceivers : Allied Military Deception in the Second World War , by Thaddeus Holt , is a 2004 historical account of Allied military deception during the Second World War . The book focuses primarily on the work of Dudley Clarke in the Middle East , John Bevan in London , Newman Smith in Washington , and Peter Fleming in the Far East , detailing their work in creating strategic and tactical deceptions for the Allied forces . The book was generally well received by critics , with historian Max Hastings calling it a " worthy celebration " of British deception during the war . Some reviewers , however , criticised the extensive detail and considerable length of Holt ' s work . Synopsis . Holt , a lawyer and former Deputy Under - Secretary of the US Army , began work on " The Deceivers " in the early 1990s , after becoming interested in the strategic deceptions used during Operation Overlord . Over time the scope of the book expanded ; the book documents the development of military deception across all Allied forces , from early 1940 until the end of the war . Holt was the first non - official historian allowed access to declassified US war records about deception . " The Deceivers " initially focuses on Dudley Clarke , whom the author describes as " the master of the game " . It begins with an account of Clarke ' s collaboration with Archibald Wavell in North Africa , and the founding of the ' A ' Force deception department . " The Deceivers " then moves to London , where Clarke ' s work was coming to the attention of Allied high command , and the foundation of the London Controlling Section ; and to Washington and the foundation of Joint Security Control . Holt follows John Bevan and David Strangeways and their work on the largest strategic deception of the war ; Operation Bodyguard . Finally Holt covers the work of Peter Fleming , also collaborating with Wavell , and ' D Division ' in the Far East . The book contains four appendices ( listing all of the Allied deception operations , double agents , fictional divisions and regional maps ) which , along with the footnotes , account for a fifth of the material . Critical reception . Holt ' s work received generally positive reviews , although some critics drew attention to the length and extensive detail of the book . Writing for " The Guardian " , John Latimer called " The Deceivers " " a monumental work and clearly a labour of love , which provides both its strength and its weakness . " He praised the book for its intense detail , noting that Holt ' s biographical material , particularly for Dudley Clarke , was very good . But said that the level of detail might confuse readers unfamiliar with the subject matter . Noble Frankland , reviewing for " The Spectator " , called the subject matter " gripping " but criticised its presentation as " a bewildering series of disjointed chronological , geographical and systematical sequences " . Frankland praised the detailed sourcing and the " passionate interest " of Holt ' s work . " The Deceivers " extensively details deception within the ground forces , but barely mentions airborne deception . Holt is also non - committal on the success of two broad strategic deceptions ( El Alamein and Operation Bodyguard ) . He records how the Axis forces did as the Allies intended , but is careful not to attribute this result to the deceptions alone . Historian Max Hastings called the book a " worthy celebration " of British deception and praised Holt ' s avoidance of the sensational . M . R . D . Foot said of the book , " as good as it is long . "