Live and Let Spy: BRIXMIS and the Last Cold War Mission
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Product Description
Product Description
BRIXMIS (The British Commander-in-Chief's Mission to the Group Soviet Forces of Occupation in Germany) is one of the most little-known and covert elite units of the British Army. They were dropped in behind 'enemy lines' ten months after the Second World War had ended and remained operating their intelligence-gathering missions until the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. During this period Berlin was a hotbed of spying between East and West. BRIXMIS was established as a legitimate channel of communication between the Red Army and the British Army on the Rhine, they were trusted by the Russians. Its 'clean status' made BRIXMIS a key part of the Cold War. However, their missions were covert and they acted behind the shadows to steal advanced Soviet equipment and penetrate top-secret training areas. This unique history of this most elite of units offers a new understanding of the British role in the Cold War. The Rules of Touring Rule One - There are no rules. Rule Two - Think sneaky 'cos sneaky's best. Rule Three - Beware the wandering Sov, 'cos he's the one that's going to f*** you. Rule Four - Write it down now. You'll forget it later. Rule Five - The truth is a very powerful weapon. There is nowhere to go from the truth.
About the Author
Steve Gibson was educated at Lancing College and Birmingham University. Commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1983 he was selected for special duties training and posted to a unit in West Berlin, operating exclusively in East Germany between 1988 and 1990. Steve left the Army in 1993, with the rank of Major and an MBE awarded as a direct result of his work in East Germany.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
'Live and Let Spy' (a revised edition of 'The Last Mission') is an excellent book that works very well on several levels. Gibson tells the story of the Cold War military spying game in East Germany before and after 1989, when the Berlin Wall came down. He was part of the British Mission (Brixmis) that collected intelligence on the Warsaw Pact's military machine. Rather than degenerating into 'military algebra', by endlessly listing military 'kit', Gibson describes with great enthusiasm the methodology by which this intelligence was gained. It turns out to have been exciting and very dramatic indeed. I read his account with a tinge of envy, for I remember those years as very boring for an ordinary infantry officer in the West. Next, Gibson's account works well at the strategic level; he is very aware of the political context in which he was operating, and strives to make sure his readers understand this too. He is particularly good on the events and emotions of November 1989, when the Berlin Wall was first breached, which he witnessed personally. This chapter is very good reportage of history being made. Finally, Gibson's subsequent career as an academic (PhD in Intelligence Studies, lecturer at the UK Defence Academy) comes to his aid in reflecting on the nature of intelligence, risk and security in the Post-Cold War era. Well edited, his thoughts are challenging, profound and important. The book is a delight; Gibson writes extremely well - not a skill that comes easily to either academics or ex-soldiers. His prose is measured, carefully chosen, and yet his relish for his Brixmis work is positively infectious. 'Live and Let Spy' is an important addition to our understanding of the Cold War and Steve Gibson's provocative assessments require that it be read by all contemporary intelligence analysts and practioners, as well as Cold War historians.
Dr Peter Caddick-Adams, Lecturer in Military & Security Studies, Cranfield University.
Dr Peter Caddick-Adams, Lecturer in Military & Security Studies, Cranfield University.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
A good story on an unknown but vital task during the cold war period, I was fortunate enough to be part of this team
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Gibson's previous narrative and the new chapter, "Reflections," make Live and Let Spy an enduring contribution to the Cold War memoir genre, as well as a useful resource for newer scholars and practitioners of intelligence. My interest was in the new chapter, where readers are oriented to the loss of meaning that occurred in the wake of the Cold War's end. Gibson turns to philosophy to make sense of current conditions, where "purposeless pragmatism and managerialism" serve as a "cover for the absence of direction" of Western political elites. This situation can be traced to the crisis of control wrought by new technologies in the later half of the 20th century--intelligence has increasingly become just another vector of risk management in our technological age. Gibson argues that what's missing from the current discourse of national intelligence is a debate about collective national purpose. The image he evokes is of intelligence collectors, analysts, operators, and policymakers considering what to do with the technological artifacts of spy craft. Are these people going to work for the artifacts--mindlessly perpetuating their logics and commitments? Or, are these people going to skillfully use these artifacts to advance democratic values and purposes? Gibson appears to have little confidence that the latter will occur anytime soon. Brixmis illustrates a time when intelligence practitioners themselves controlled much of their work and were trusted by their colleagues and superiors. For Gibson, the radical systemization and "scientizing" of intelligence in the narrow pursuit of control has been a mistake. Gibson declares, provocatively, "It is difficult to conclude anything other than the Cold War was a giant historical cul-de-sac where all enlightened efforts at producing a good society were suspended." Live and Let Spy uniquely illustrates how Brixmis both reflected and reinforced that condition. Students in political science, history, international affairs, and intelligence studies would benefit from reading this book.
Hamilton Bean (author of No More Secrets: Open Source Information and the Reshaping of U.S. Intelligence)
Hamilton Bean (author of No More Secrets: Open Source Information and the Reshaping of U.S. Intelligence)
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