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Nicholas Rankin ishappy to stereotype his own people. “The British enjoy deceiving theirenemies,” he writes in the opening line of his book. And while offering muchevidence that his country’s enemies were also adept at deception, his focus ison the United Kingdom’smany efforts to fool its foes in both world wars. From his account of elaboratecharades involving disinformation and make-believe military units, toremarkable coups in code breaking, one could assume that Britain won itswar almost entirely by stealth. A Geniusfor Deception is fun to read for its many fascinating asides. Who knew thatFrench Impressionist painters, drafted to serve in World War I, inventedcamouflage?
