About me (Alan Biggins) and the Books

After service in the Royal Air Force, I spent most of my working life in computing. One of my jobs was as the I.T. Manager for the Milton Keynes Development Corporation (MKDC). That body was set up to bring the new city of Milton Keynes, midway between London, Birmingham, Oxford and Cambridge, into being.

I have walked in the countryside all of my life. Sometimes I cycle. During fifty years of walking and cycling in the northern Home Counties, I have come across many Second World War sites; often related to communications, computing, spies, the RAF and the special forces. Some sites were grand mansions, others just a hut or two in a field, or a lone aerial.

I’m nosy and love to know why things are as they are; quirks, places, people – local stuff; but as I discovered how the treasure trove of sites that I came across were linked together; and how they related to Europe and America, my perspective widened – as did my eyes. Local history became national history; even world history.

I began to realise that the area between London, Birmingham, Oxford and Cambridge had been the birthplace of an Intelligence Revolution which was fully as important in the story of man as the Industrial Revolution in the North of England had been a couple of centuries earlier. It seemed to me that I had stumbled across - sometimes through - a story of enormous importance. Here was a saga of great power. It had its villains, its heroes and heroines, its drama and tragedy, often even humour - and all of it was true.  The more I looked into it, the more all-engrossing it grew. The story of The Intelligence Zone was, I thought, perhaps the greatest story never told.

Hyperbole? Exaggeration? No; for here was born… but I will let the covers of the books speak for themselves.

The Intelligence Zone covers the period between Hitler's rise to power until the entry of America into the war in 1941 (after the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbour).

 

Amazon Reviews

"This is an extraordinary book.. Readers who perhaps know a bit about Bletchley Park will be astonished at the range and variety of activities that surrounded it at varying distances. And just as Bletchley Park has its tales of amazing technical advances made by a  collection of sometimes eccentric individuals, so too have several of these less celebrated establishments." John Whitehead

“I bought this for my husband who has had his nose in it ever since... He says he has learned a lot from it and that I am to vote it five stars. So I have …I wish he’d learn to write as well as read…”  Matty

For more Amazon reviews click here


The Intelligence Zone is priced to sell; either for your own pleasure or as a gift. It costs £10.99

You can look inside the book, and buy it, on Amazon by clicking here.

Every place has its map.

Here is the map of the Intelligence Zone.

It is also the map of my book – as the numbers on the map are the numbers of the chapters in the book…

so, for example, chapter 1, Thor triumphant, relates to MI6’s headquarters in London. From here, spies were sent into Nazi Germany who reported back on the terrifying aggression and growth in military strength there; and awakened a breakneck British re-armament which led to all else..

I'm a sucker for a good map; which is why I commissioned a first class artist (Kai Toru) with many years experience in mapping to produce all of the numerous maps in the book

A New World after Pearl - is the sequel  to The Intelligence Zone and tells what happened next…

As an aside: The reasons why there are two books, not one, are several. Firstly, the Second World War really did break down into two phases. It became truly a 'world war' (rather than a European/North African/Atlantic war), with the Japanese attack on America at Pearl Harbour.

The other reason is that I’m not a fan of 600 page, bulky, expensive books. And anyway, you don’t know or trust me yet. I’m not a big name or a celebrity. I would rather offer you a 300 page book for a small price and then persuade you that the sequel is worth buying.

A New World after Pearl carries the story on from 1942, as Japan and America joined the fight; for this story is not just about how Britain survived the onslaught of Hitler and Mussolini and preserved freedom for the world. It is also about how the tools and weapons Britain developed were used by her new allies, Russia and America, to shorten and win the war. More even than that; they were key to the world we now live in.

 

 

Amazon Reviews

"A Brilliant Sequel to Alan Biggins Masterpiece The Intelligent Zone ... The Passing of World Power to America was instrumental in the winning of the second world war. A continuation of Alan's brilliant work to the end of the War means that it is a captivating read and explains in plain language that holds the readers attention throughout" Terry Smith

A New World after Pearl, again costs £10.99

You can look inside the book, and buy it, on Amazon by clicking here.

A New World after Pearl - map of where the action takes place

The area is the same. We’re still in the Intelligence Zone; and the principle is the same. The story moves forward through the chapters in the book; which tell how different sites played key roles as the great tale unfolded.