Churchill and the Secret Service

by David Stafford and David Stafford

Book Overview

Featuring absorbing information about the secret world of agents, this groundbreaking work includes details from Churchill's days as a member of the Cabinet that established the Secret Service. 26... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0879519266
• ISBN13: 9780879519261
• Release Date: February 1999
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Groundbreaking work on Churchill

"Churchill and Secret Service" documents the life long connection between him and secret intelligence. The author traces this back to Churchill's experience as a journalist in the Cuban revolt against Spain. His romantic nature, combined with the undisputed effectiveness of the guerillas, instilled in him a faith in guerilla warfare and its requirement of good intelligence. The book continues through Churchill's association with "room 40" during WWI, and his continued receipt of intelligence reports during the years "in the wilderness". Naturally the bulk of the work concerns itself with the Second World War, the creation of SOE and the secret armies. The author delves into the "special relationship" between the UK and US and reveals in detail the serious conflicts between SIS/SOE and the OSS-an area that often does not receive much attention by historians. Churchill's second term as prime minister,and subsequent retirement conclude the work. What it shows is that Churchill, probably more than any other political leader, understood the value and the dangers of secret intelligence, and knew how to employ it (most of the time). His experience provides excellent lessons to those who collect or use strategic/operational intelligence,"intelligence was not an end in itself and did not belong to those who produced it." Would that our current intelligence structure followed this advice...

Stafford does his homework !

This is an excellent work from an author that thoroughly researches every detail of the subject before it is put to print. As all of Staffords work, the factual basis is unquestionable. Anyone that reads this work will have a deep understanding of the time period and the personalities involved.