In Spies We Trust
The Story of Western Intelligence
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Published:13th Jun '13
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£14.99(9780198701903)
In Spies We Trust reveals the full story of the Anglo-American intelligence relationship - ranging from the deceits of World War I to the mendacities of 9/11 - for the first time. Why did we ever start trusting spies? It all started a hundred years ago. First we put our faith in them to help win wars, then we turned against the bloodshed and expense, and asked our spies instead to deliver peace and security. By the end of World War II, Britain and America were cooperating effectively to that end. At its peak in the 1940s and 1950s, the 'special intelligence relationship' contributed to national and international security in what was an Anglo-American century. But from the 1960s this 'special relationship' went into decline. Britain weakened, American attitudes changed, and the fall of the Soviet Union dissolved the fear that bound London and Washington together. A series of intelligence scandals along the way further eroded public confidence. Yet even in these years, the US offered its old intelligence partner a vital gift: congressional attempts to oversee the CIA in the 1970s encouraged subsequent moves towards more open government in Britain and beyond. So which way do we look now? And what are the alternatives to the British-American intelligence relationship that held sway in the West for so much of the twentieth century? Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones shows that there are a number - the most promising of which, astonishingly, remain largely unknown to the Anglophone world.
a thoughtful and thought-provoking book, and provides a valuable study of a story that still has a very long way to run. * Gill Bennett, Diplomacy & Statecraft *
[An] authoritative book. * Military History Monthly *
What this book [does well] is examine the complex history of American British intelligence cooperation, which has underpinned the supposed "special relationship" between the two English-speaking powers for the past century or more. * The Sunday Telegraph *
In Spies We Trust is threaded with detail and anecdote... It's a great achievement, and one comes away with fresh perspectives. * Scotland on Sunday *
[E]xtraordinarily detailed ... one of the resounding lessons of Jeffreys-Jones's book is that both the UK and the US have to think long and hard about how their intelligence endeavours will evolve in the future. * The Sunday Herald *
An informal but well-informed, examination of the up and down relationship between US and UK intelligence ... this is an enjoyable and information-loaded history that entertains the reader as it informs. * Frederick P. Hitz, former CIA Inspector General *
Librarians seeking to upgrade their holdings on national security issues will find this book to be a worthy addition to their collections ... Highly recommended. * C.C. Lovett, CHOICE *
Jeffreys-Jones has written a lucid, revealing study of the Anglo-American relationship, using intelligence as his lens into larger political transitions. In the place of myth he has put fine-grained historical analysis. * Michael Kimmage, American Hisorical Review *
ISBN: 9780199580972
Dimensions: 241mm x 162mm x 30mm
Weight: 612g
312 pages