Historical Dictionary of British Intelligence

The 1st edition of this work was published in 2005 (see ARBA 2006, entry 665), and was the first title in this series. It was later reprinted asThe A to Z of British Intelligence (Scarecrow Press, 2009). This new edition has over 1,000 entries on vital events, important operations and programs, government agencies and offices, enemies and allies (who were sometimes both at the same time), secret equipment, and technical issues. As with most things, it is the people who are at the center of the story: who were heroes, who were traitors, who had important roles, and who were fumblers and disasters, what were their foibles and eccentricties? And indeed, the biographical entries tend to dominate the book. After all, it is humans who do the actual work. The numerous highlighted cross-references and see also references found throughout the book are most helpful in leading the reader to further related information. Of course, the most entries are about the twentieth century, as there is more information about that century, and that time period was an incredibly active one in terms of wars, scientific advances, and agent operations. The introduction is an excellent brief overview for those new to this field. The 24-page bibliography is nicely arranged by broad subject category, making it easier to identify the purpose of the item. . . .There is a list of acronyms and abbreviations (so important for this field), a chronology (1883-2013), and 39 photographs. . . .[T]his is a hefty book, full of information that is easy to read and understand. While there are many reference books on intelligence operations in general, there are very few on just British Intelligence. It is also available in electronic format. Other entries in this historical dictionary series authored by Mr. West include books on sexspionage (2009), and intelligence during the First World War (2014). This sturdily bound title is recommended for the reference collections of academic and large public libraries, and special collections. * American Reference Books Annual *
[The book] contains[s] excellent bibliographic essays that summarize the British intelligence literature and comment on its quality. . . .[it is] a valuable starting point for those who want to know more about espionage history. * Intelligencer *