2010, ISBN: 1594202745

Hardcover

[EAN: 9781594202742], [PU: NY etc~. 2010. The Penguin Press], Jacket, black hardcover 8vo. (octavo). dustwrapper in protective plastic book jacket cover. fine cond. binding square & tight… More...

[EAN: 9781594202742], [PU: NY etc~. 2010. The Penguin Press], Jacket, black hardcover 8vo. (octavo). dustwrapper in protective plastic book jacket cover. fine cond. binding square & tight. covers clean. edges clean. contents free of markings. dustwrapper in fine cond. minor rubbing, not torn or price clipped. nice clean copy. no library markings, store stamps, stickers, bookplates, no names, inking, underlining, remainder markings etc~. first edition. first printing (#1 in # line). b&w frontis. xxi+810p. glossy b&w photo illustrations. notes. bibliography. index. world history. world war i. world war ii. british empire. covert operations. espionage. secret societies. counter~espionage. conspiracy theory. military history. ~ The authorized history of the world's oldest and most storied foreign intelligence service, drawing extensively on hitherto secret documents. Britain's Secret Intelligence Service (also commonly known as MI6) was born a century ago amid fears of the rising power of other countries, especially Germany. The next forty years saw MI6 taking an increasingly important~and, until now, largely hidden~role in shaping the history of Europe and the world. This thorough, fascinating and revelatory account draws on a wealth of archival materials never before seen by any outsider to unveil the inner workings of the world's most famous spy agency. MI6's early days were haphazard but it was quickly forged into an effective organization in the crucible of World War I. During these war years, MI6 also formed significant and highly influential ties with the United States~harbingers of a relationship that would become vital to both countries and their security agencies as the century progressed. These early years also saw the development of new techniques vital to the work of intelligence agencies~forgery, invisible ink, disguises, concealing mechanisms, secret communications and much more~revolutionary then, but familiar now as plot devices in a thousand books and films. From this narrative emerges an unprecedented warts~and~all view of MI6. We see, for instance, the challenges the Service faced in interwar Europe trying to counter the spread of Communism and the growing threats from Germany, Italy and Japan with totally inadequate resources and read for the first time some of the human consequences, including embezzlement, treachery and suicide. MI6 took important steps to prepare for the inevitable conflict in the late 1930s, but the outbreak of World War II caught MI6 off balance. High~profile blunders created an impression of ineffectiveness (reinforced by the memoirs of MI6 operatives, such as Graham Greene). We witness, among other tragedies, the Venlo disaster, a Gestapo sting against an MI6 operation that sought to end the war in 1939. But the war would bring MI6 many of its greatest triumphs. The Service pioneered cryptography on an industrial scale at Bletchley Park (where the Enigma codes would be broken) and devised the very methods and equipment that would inspire Ian Fleming's novels. MI6 also helped change the course of the war by uncovering crucial information on Germany's V rockets, by scouting sites for the D~Day invasion and by contributing to stunning deception operations before the Allies landed. SIS's relations with senior Americans (including J. Edgar Hoover and "Wild Bill" Donovan, the founder of the OSS) secured U.S. support for Britain at a crucial time in the war. The work of the Service during wartime was more extensive~and more dangerous than has been known until now. At one point, Ml6 estimated the life expectancy of its agents in Nazi Germany at three weeks. In a way, the aftermath of World War II was as dramatic as the war itself had been, because these years saw not only the end of the British Empire but also the emergence of a new sort of conflict~the Cold War. We witness MI6 wrestling with these epic developments as it tightens its bonds with the newly christened CIA, changes that would dictate the shape of the Service ~and the world~for decades to come., Books<

ISBN: 9781594202742

This thorough, fascinating, and revelatory 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. … More...

This thorough, fascinating, and revelatory 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. MI6's early days were haphazard but it was quickly forged into an effective organization in the crucible of World War I. Media > Book<