The Secret World: A History of Intelligence

(Paperback)

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Description

A stupendous history of intelligence, its uses and its neglect - by 'the doyen of intelligence historians' (New Statesman) The history of espionage stretches back over millennia, yet it has largely been forgotten. This book sets out to recover that lost history, to demonstrate the role of intelligence in global events, and to challenge histories which have so overlooked the intelligence dimension. The Secret World is a gripping account of spies, secrets and espionage through the centuries, tracing the shift in the ancient world from divination to the gathering of real intelligence in the conduct of military operations, and charting its development in statecraft through, amongst others, Renaissance Venice, Elizabethan England, Ancien Regime France, Revolutionary America and Tsarist Russia - right up to the sophisticated modern activities of which Christopher Andrew is the world's leading historian. What difference have security and intelligence operations made to course of history Why have they so often forgotten by later practitioners This fascinating book provides the answers.

Reviews

To write a world history of intelligence, from the dawn of recorded history to the present day, is a daunting task. To make such a work accurate, comprehensive, digestible and startling, and all in a single volume, is a stellar achievement. But that is what Christopher Andrew has done in The Secret World. -- Edward Lucas * The Times *
Brilliant in its sweep and near-miraculous in the detail and confident judgements provided on two and a half millennia of spying ... The book is a crowning triumph of one of the most adventurous scholars of the security world -- John Lloyd * Financial Times *
Christopher Andrew delivers a stunning secret archaeology of a subject that he himself helped to create -- Richard J. Aldrich * Times Literary Supplement *

Author Bio

Christopher Andrew is Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at Cambridge University and one of the world's leading intelligence historians. His many books include KGB- The Inside Story (with Oleg Gordievsky) and the bestselling The Defence of the Realm- The Authorized Official History of MI5.