The Battle of the Beams

Many histories claim without justification that their particular area of study changed the course of the Second World War. Whipple’s deeply researched and engagingly written account of the secret science of radar is, by contrast, a genuine contender. * The Times *The struggle for electronic supremacy, the so-called battle of the beams, is enthrallingly recreated by Tom Whipple in a book that has the pace and style of a well-crafted thriller. * Mail on Sunday *The gripping true story of a war fought in the shadows. From critical strategic decisions made in Whitehall to daring special forces operations behind enemy lines, Tom Whipple has vividly brought to life a scientific arms race that would determine the outcome of the war. Chock full of memorable characters and written with all the drama and pace of a Robert Harris thriller, The Battle of the Beams reminds us that both brains and brawn were required to stay ahead of a sophisticated and dangerous enemy. Not all heroes wear capes. Some wear lab coats. * Rowland White, author of Mosquito *Told with humour, the science is easy to understand in this tribute to a war without weapons. * Sun *Decoding the science in a digestible way for readers, The Battle of the Beams is a fantastic way into to a less discussed period of World War Two history. * Britain at War *An extremely well-researched and readable account, full of fascinating, anecdotal evidence of how, almost single handedly, the young radio scientist, RV Jones, worked out how the Germans were painting the night skies over Britain with electromagnetic crosses, enabling them to drop their bombs with accuracy. Highly recommend. * Soldier *Tales to delight and excite … A highly enjoyable account of a largely forgotten slice of wartime history. * The Critic *An account of real-life WWII technology is as engaging as a thriller and provides a ‘howdunit’ rather than a ‘whodunit’. Excellent. * Engineering and Technology *

Tom Whipple is the science editor at The Times. He covers everything from archaeology to zoology. He writes news, features, reviews and commentary across the paper, as well as appearing regularly on Times Radio. He joined the paper in 2006, shortly after graduating with a degree in mathematics.

During the course of his job he has visited the tunnels below Cern and the top of Mont Blanc above it. He has seen the inside of the world’s hottest sauna and the world’s most irradiated nature reserve. He has interviewed Stephen Hawking and Jedward. He has been arrested in three different countries.

As well as The Times, he has written for the Guardian and The Economist. He was named science journalist of the year for his coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic.