Keith Jeffery's fascinating and revealing account draws on a wealth of archival materials never before seen by any outsider to unveil the inner workings of the world's first spy agency. Britain's Secret Intelligence Service-or MI6-was born a century ago amid rising fears of foreign military powers, especially Germany. The next 40 years saw MI6 taking an increasingly important-and, until now, largely hidden-role in shaping the history of Europe and the world.
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"Interesting! If you love books about government agencies, spy stuff, or dream of James Bond you'll think this book is at least somewhat interesting. I'm just a huge nerd! " — Ashley (5 out of 5 stars)
"Interesting! If you love books about government agencies, spy stuff, or dream of James Bond you'll think this book is at least somewhat interesting. I'm just a huge nerd! "
“Jeffery's book is perhaps the most authentic account one will ever read about how intelligence really works.”
" Excellent history of MI6 using available historical data. The history only goes to 1949 as data after 1949 has not been declassified yet. "
" For 99% of the readers of this book, it is more than you want to know about MI6. It needed more aggressive editing. "
" A monster book at 768 pages long. The world war two part is fascinating, but I alwys wonder with these books, how much they have left out! "
" I enjoyed this book and found it quite interesting; however, as other commenters have said, there were times where the writing was quite dry and it was a bit of a struggle to carry on. That said, for the most part I enjoyed this book and am glad I read it. "
" Dense, lots of names, but a fascinating insight into the clandestine world of espionage from 1909 through to the end of WW2. This was real, not made up, but sometimes ... "
" Boring, boring, boring... "
" I really wanted to like this book but I found it so ponderous that I got through only a third of it. Too many names and dates with too little logical structure. Life is too short to read a book that I'm not enjoying so, even though I hate doing so, I quit reading it before I finished it. "
" Well, I gave up abut 100 pages in. There is a fascinating story here, to be sure. This guy manages to bury the interesting stuff underneath a bunch uninteresting stuff. A pity, really. "
" Can be a little dry but for those genuinely interested in the history of the agency that begat James Bond. This is your book. "
" Drier than sandpaper. The end. "
" Had to do it he was my professor :-) But it was good "
Keith Jeffery is a professor of British history at Queen’s University in Belfast, and has written or edited more than a dozen books.
John Curless is a theater, film, and television actor. He has appeared on Broadway in Journeys End, The Sound of Music, and The King and I and off-Broadway in Passion Play, Comic Potential, and The Entertainer. His film and television credits include Vibrations, Ed, and NYPD Blue. His audiobook narrations have been awarded two AudioFile Earphones Awards.
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