The Somerton Man Mystery: Spies & Sparrows, ASIO & The Cold War. A Review..

 

'Spies and Sparrows' by Phillip Deery is one of those books that will draw you right into the thick of Cold War espionage in Australia, but not just espionage as you will discover as the author leads you through each of the 8 truly fascinating, real-life case-studies.

It's as if you're sitting in the room watching as ASIO (Australia’s Security Intelligence Organisation) starts ramping up its efforts to root out communist spies, cover organisations and sympathisers. The book doesn’t just focus on the big names or global power moves but it gets personal by introducing us to both the spies and the "sparrows," ASIO's civilian informants who infiltrate the networks.

Deery has a knack for making complex historical events easy to follow, and his writing style is more engaging than you might expect from a book on Cold War espionage. It’s a storytelling approach, giving us short, punchy biographies of the people who were caught up in this era. For example, Anne Neill, a seemingly ordinary war widow who became one of ASIO’s key informants. Then there’s the case of RAF airman, Michael Brown, a humble LAC stationed at RAAF Edinburgh in South Australia who almost brought about a major international diplomatic disaster. Or the scientist Tom Kaiser, whose political activities put him under ASIO’s microscope. Deery pulls you into their stories, showing just how deeply the Cold War paranoia affected everyday Australians. It’s hard not to draw parallels between those times and the current situation in our country.

Amongst so many other aspects of this book, what I found impressive, is the book's ability to humanize the victims of ASIO's sometimes overzealous investigations. Many of the people involved weren’t hardened spies but individuals whose lives were swept up in the fears and suspicions of the time. Deery makes you feel for them, painting a detailed picture of how Cold War tensions turned their lives upside down. At the same time, he doesn't let you forget about the real stakes, there were actual spies in Australia passing secrets to the Soviets, and ASIO and their predecessors for that matter, were under intense pressure from both Britain and the U.S. to get things under control.

The best part? The book is not a slog to read. The book is written in a way that makes even the more complex aspects of Cold War espionage clear and accessible, and he does it without bogging you down in jargon. If you’re familiar with his other work, you’ll find that Spies and Sparrows is a continuation of his expertise but in a more narrative-driven form. He’s taken what could be dry academic material and made it feel alive. 

Followers of the Somerton Man case will find the stories and accounts in the pages of this book enlightening and highly relevant even though they refer to a slightly later timeframe..

If you're curious about how Australia fits into the larger Cold War puzzle, or if you want a good read about espionage and intelligence, this book delivers. It’s history with a human face, that’s what will make it stick with you long after you’ve put it down.

The book is available from Melbourne University Publishing, here's the link:
https://www.mup.com.au/books/spies-and-sparrows-paperback-softback