Hitler's spy chief
By: Richard Bassett
Edition: 1st Pegasus Books hardcover ed.
Publisher: Pegasus Books; Distributed by W.W. Norton & Co.
Published: 2012
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 319
ISBN-13: 9781605983707
Subjects: History; Secret service; Biography; Spies
Description: Admiral Wilhelm Canaris was appointed by Hitler to head the Abwehr (the German secret service) eighteen months after the Nazis came to power. But Canaris turned against the Führer, believing that Hitler would start a war Germany could not win. In 1938 he was involved in an attempted coup, undermined by British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. In 1940 he sabotaged the German plan to invade England, and fed General Franco vital information that helped him keep Spain out of the war. For years he played a dangerous double game, desperately trying to keep one step ahead of the Gestapo. SS chief Himmler became suspicious of Canaris and by 1944, when Abwehr personnel were involved in the attempted assassination of Hitler, he had the evidence to arrest Canaris himself. In this true story of intrigue and espionage, Richard Bassett reveals how Admiral Canaris'  secret work against the German leadership changed the course of World War II.--From publisher description.
Notes: "The Wilhelm Canaris betrayal ; the intelligence campaign against Adolf Hitler"--Cover.

Originally published: London : Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2005.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 298-308) and index.
Table of contents: title: A naval tradition; title: The league of gentlemen; title: A guilded youth; title: Finis Germaniae; title: Spy chief; title: Spain; title: Fallen bastions; title: Lines of communication; title: Keeping the empire afloat; title: Total war; title: Duel to the death; title: The search for peace; title: Unconditional surrender; title: The end of the Abwehr.