Synopses & Reviews
Gordon Thomas has established himself as a leading expert on the intelligence community. He returns here on the one hundredth anniversaries of Britains Security and Secret Intelligence Services to provide the definitive history of the famed MI5 and MI6.
These agencies rank as two of the oldest and most powerful in the world, and Thomass wide-sweeping history chronicles a century of both triumphs and failures. He recounts the roles that British intelligence played in the Allied victory in World War II; the postwar treachery of Great Britains own agents; the defection of Soviet agents and the intricate process of “handling” them; the often frigid relationship that both agencies have had with the CIA, European spy services, and the Mossad; the cooperation between the British and Americans in the search for Osama bin Laden; and the ways in which MI5 and MI6 have fought biological warfare espionage and space terrorism.
All told, this is the story of two agencies led by men---and women---who are enigmatic, eccentric, and controversial, and who ruthlessly control their spies. Based on prodigious research and interviews with significant players from inside the British intelligence community, this is a rich and even delicious history packed with intrigue and information that only the author could have attained.
Review
Praise for Gordon Thomas and Gideons Spies
“Espionage buffs will love every page.”
---Booklist
“Literally impossible to put down.”
---The New York Times
“A riveting yarn.”
---Publishers Weekly
“Thomas handles highly dramatic material with clarity and impact.”
---The Washington Post
“A fascinating look at a spy organization that has remained off-limits to most journalists. The incredible episodes Thomas writes about seem like they belong in fiction, yet this is a first-rate account.”
---GQ
“An anecdote-rich series of tales about the extraordinary derring-do of Israels vaunted elite foreign intelligence service.”
---Kirkus Reviews
Review
"A rollicking good read." --NPR "[A] fascinating cast of moles and double agents, whistle-blowers and politicians. For the ambience of the closed world that inspired James Bond and George Smiley, this book is a winner." --Publishers Weekly "[In] his rollicking, readable new history of Britain's famous spy organizations...Thomas builds one fast-paced anecdote upon another, often yielding surprising insights." --Los Angeles Times "Authoritative history of Britains spy services by a veteran who has been writing about “the Great Game” for 50 years [and a] well-written page-turner that demystifies the notoriously foggy “wilderness of mirrors.”" --Kirkus Reviews "Thomas brings to the agencies' histories a high level of expertise, a fluent style accessible to lay reader and expert alike, and a combination of frankness and balance about some of his subjects' less glorious chapters." --Booklist
Synopsis
Gordon Thomas, a leading expert on the intelligence community, returns in Secret Wars to provide the definitive history of the famed MI5 and MI6.
Thomass wide-sweeping history of two of the oldest and most powerful agencies in the world chronicles a century of both triumphs and failures. He recounts the roles that British intelligence played in the Allied victory in World War II; the postwar treachery of Great Britains own agents; the defection of Soviet agents and the intricate process of “handling” them; the cooperation between the British and Americans in the search for Osama bin Laden; and the ways in which MI5 and MI6 have fought biological warfare espionage and space terrorism.
Based on prodigious research and interviews with significant players from inside the British intelligence community, this is a rich and even delicious history packed with intrigue and information that only the author could have attained.
Synopsis
Thomas offers a complete and up-to-date history of the famed, mysterious M15 and M16 agencies--Britain's Security and Secret Intelligence Services--and the intrigue-filled world of international espionage.
Synopsis
Gordon Thomas, a leading expert on the intelligence community, returns in Secret Wars to provide the definitive history of the famed MI5 and MI6.
Thomass wide-sweeping history of two of the oldest and most powerful agencies in the world chronicles a century of both triumphs and failures. He recounts the roles that British intelligence played in the Allied victory in World War II; the postwar treachery of Great Britains own agents; the defection of Soviet agents and the intricate process of “handling” them; the cooperation between the British and Americans in the search for Osama bin Laden; and the ways in which MI5 and MI6 have fought biological warfare espionage and space terrorism.
Based on prodigious research and interviews with significant players from inside the British intelligence community, this is a rich and even delicious history packed with intrigue and information that only the author could have attained.
About the Author
GORDON THOMAS is a bestselling author of forty books published worldwide, including many on the international intelligence community. His awards include the Citizens Commission for Human Rights Lifetime Achievement Award for Investigative Journalism, the Mark Twain Society Award for Reporting Excellence, and an Edgar Allan Poe Award for Investigation. He lives in London.