Very little has ever been written about Renato Levi, or his incomparable contribution to the Allied war effort, simply because his role has been kept so secret. Even with the declassification of MI5's wartime files, all references to his true identity were redacted. However, it is now possible to tell his astonishing story in full for the very first time since his death in 1954. As a double agent Levi, or 'Cheese' as he was codenamed, has few equals. He was an Italian Jew brought up in India, educated in Switzerland, and employed as a British agent while working for the French, Italian and German intelligence services. During his espionage career, which spanned the entirety of World War Two, he worked for four intelligence agencies simultaneously and miraculously survived the experience.

Author Biography

Nigel West is a military historian specialising in security and intelligence topics. He was voted 'the experts' expert' by a panel of other spy writers in The Observer in November 1989, and the Sunday Times has commented: 'His information is so precise that many people believe he is the unofficial historian of the secret services. West's sources are undoubtedly excellent. His books are peppered with deliberate clues to potential frontpage stories.' He is on the editorial board of the lnternational Journal of lntelligence and Counterlntelligence and Global War Studies and, for the past three years, he has chaired the panel of judges for the annual St Ermin's lntelligence Book of the Year Award. He is also the recipient of the US ssociation of Former lntelligence Officers' first Lifetime Literature Achievement Award.