Calder Walton

The book lacks balance and perspective on the Cold War. There is an open disdain for the Soviets (and rightly so) but kid gloves for the horrors and perversions of the west. I found the editorial commentary biased. For example, he obviously doesn't like the Kennedy's, and refers to Watergate as Nixon's first time dabbling in criminal behavior which is blatantly false. I recommend reading some Rick Perlstein.

Some might find the content interesting but it reads like a love letter to Western intelligence agencies when the title and the credentials of the author would lead one to believe it would be a more academic and balanced work.… (meer)

A book on a little known topic, British intelligence and it's role in the last two decades of the British Empire. The first chapters on the pre-war and WWII era were quite revealing and helped to set the scene for the post war crises within the Empire. I thought that this book achieved two things, firstly it highlighted the role that British intelligence made to the independent countries of the Commonwealth. Secondly it demonstrated the lack of learning that each of the post war conflicts brought. Palestine, Malaya, Kenya, Cyprus and Aden all saw the same broad problems and the same relearning of lessons that should have already have been learnt. While the book doesn't cover Northern Ireland at all, it is clear that those problems continued there. An excellent book that brings to the forefront the role of British Intelligence within the Empire and Commonwealth up until the mid 1960's.… (meer)