The Defence Of The Realm: The Authorized History Of MI5 (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
The main problem with this book is that you don’t really know what’s been left out. The early history including the campaign against Germany up to 1945 is probably largely complete and it is an impressive story. The early Cold War is also very informative and the author convincingly undermines the Peter Wright conspiracy theories.Perhaps not surprisingly the detail starts to fall away as the book approaches recent decades. I strongly suspect a lot of bad things went on vis-à-vis Northern Ireland and surveillance of those considered subversives on the UK mainland. However, given that it is an authorized history and touches on contemporary issues you shouldn’t really expect any great revelations or exposure of wrong doing.This is probably not a book for the casual reader. It is well written, but it couldn’t be described as racy and is enormously detailed. For those with a serious interest in UK politics it should be of far greater interest. I enjoyed revisiting the Cold War politics I grew up with; it now seems a world away. Read with your critical faculties switched on. Christopher Andrew has scraped the barrel on MI5; the mass of information here is daunting. Given the secretive nature of the agency, such an amount of material commands respect. For the most part, though, the information isn't efficiently molded into a straightforward narrative. The organization is largely chronological, but the consequences of one period in relation to another aren't clearly examined. There are some notable exceptions, as when the clandestine machinations of British espionage in WWII throw brilliant light on the larger geopolitical drama at play. But these flashes of illumination come far apart, obscured in the interim by dry, uninspired reporting.For its unprecedented depth of information and unequaled access to an essentially unexamined organization, "Defend the Realm" is notable. But its lack of enthusiasm and style don't do the material justice. A slog.
What do You think about The Defence Of The Realm: The Authorized History Of MI5 (2010)?
Interesting read but occasionally a little heavy on the organisational details.
—game
This will be on the currently reading shelf for quite some time me thinks...
—arronizkewl
The research was very well done. I found it transfixing.
—jellysnakes
