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July 2011 marked the 90th birthday of a remarkable man – Lord Asa Briggs. A Cambridge graduate, Bletchley Park code-breaker, and one of the most eminent and influential historians of our time, his experiences could easily fill several autobiographies. Yet, surprisingly this memoir is the first book that he has ever written about himself.

In it, Briggs delves deep into his own history-from the origins of his highly distinctive name and his early education; through his recruitment into the Intelligence Corps and his wartime experiences as a ‘Hut Six’ cryptographer; to his outstanding contributions as a social and cultural historian. Along the way he sets out to ‘trace those personal relationships which have most shaped (his) life’ – his childhood friends and Cambridge professors; his Bletchley Park coworkers; fellow historians; and of course his closest friends and family.

Brimming with fascinating insights, and full of warmth, intelligence and good humor, this is a exceptional memoir of an exceptional man.