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MI6: Fifty Years of Special Operations [Paperback]

Stephen Dorril (Author)
3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

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Book Description

Publication Date: 19 Feb 2001

The first comprehensive history of the UK government overseas intelligence service, MI6, by an acknowledged expert and author of the highly acclaimed Smear!

Epitomised in the public imagination by James Bond, MI6’s svelte and glamorous image has been peeled away by Dorril’s searching investigations to reveal a less savoury truth. Here is the story of MI6’s recruitment operation after WW2 of former Nazis; anticommunist guerrilla campaigns in the Ukraine and the Baltic States; Operation Stalin which led to mass arrests and executions ordered by Stalin; the European terrorist network ‘Gladio’; tunnels built in Vienna and Berlin known as operation ‘Gold and Silver’ ;and many other little-known operations. The dealings of George Blake, Oleg Penkowsky, Kim Philby and Maurice Oldfield, among others, are also fully explained, as are the many tensions that have existed and to some extent still exist between MI6 and its sister intelligence organisations especially in contentious territories such as Ireland. Post Cold War, Dorril discusses what role, if any, MI6 will have in the future.

Product details

  • Paperback: 928 pages
  • Publisher: Fourth Estate; New edition edition (19 Feb 2001)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1857027019
  • ISBN-13: 978-1857027013
  • Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 14.8 x 3.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 193,667 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Amazon Review

To the person in the street, the British secret service conjures up images of the shaken, but never stirred suavity of James Bond. The reality of life inside MI6--the Security Service responsible for British operations outside of the United Kingdom--is a more dark narrative of intrigue and ineptitude, alleges Stephen Dorril, author of this comprehensive and weighty tome. Don't plan to put this on your light reading list, for MI6 is a huge and dense book: 800 pages of text, plus a list of acronyms that runs to six pages and over 60 pages of notes. Dorril begins by observing that "Researching secret agencies--and there are a few more secret than MI6--is obviously a difficult task"; in the light of this he's done an admirable job. From his position as an outsider (Dorril has never been a member of the Security Services but has been researching their activities for nearly 20 years), his access to information and scholarship has little parallel in the murky history of whistle-blowers and legal actions. MI6 is crammed with information for the security service buff and the lay-person alike (although the latter may find the denseness of the text a little hard-going at times), which is by turn extraordinary, darkly comical and alarming, but never less than a remarkable insight into a service that operates in our name. --Carina Trimingham --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

'A fascinating, highly readable and ... weighty addition to the relatively small number of worthwhile books about Britain's Secret Intelligence Service.' -- Daily Mail

'A remarkable achievement ... which any student of the secret world should read." -- Guardian
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
63 of 65 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A mammoth piece of work 28 Sep 2001
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This book took me about four months to read, which was not for want of trying to finish it or because I became bored of the reading. It was more to do with the fact that it is a huge piece of work and and should not be read whilst in a half-hearted state or before bed. To enjoy reading this book, the reader must be alert and in the right frame of mind. At times it is very detailed and complex, there are a multitude of names to remember and it truly is one the most informative books I've ever read. A potential buyer would do well to read up what the book is about before jumping into a random purchase that they might regret at a later date. The book is both informative and a very historical narrative of MI6; detailing influential figures, strategies adopted and operations undertaken (both those carried out and those aborted). There are eye-opening sections of the book and Dorril whips off the cloak that the Secret Service has previously been shrouded in. No stone is left unturned in what must have taken many painstaking hours of research, and the reader is left with the unassailingly distinct impression that they have learnt a great deal about MI6, and to a lesser extent, MI5. There are great moments in the book when the United Kingdom government are shown to have awareness of situations that they openly deny in the House of Commons and when questioned by the media. I would be lying if I said the book didn't become tedious at times, especially when the narrative of historical information is at its peak; but you have to appreciate the reasons Dorril had for writing this book. It is a truly memorable piece of research that it undoubtedly a work of art for any study encompassing the secret service in this country. Bearing in mind the purpose of the book, it is only right it receives the full five stars.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Very Difficult 2 July 2004
By Overseas Reviewer
Format:Paperback
I'm afraid that I have to agree with the opinion that this book is difficult to read. I have no quibble with the writing style, simply the level of detail included about events which most readers will consider of little interest, for example, the exact details of the agenda and individuals present at a whole series of JIC meetings in the 40s. Twice I have had to put it back on the self out of sheer boredom - it won't be attempted a third time.
As an academic study, I am sure that it is unrivalled but I cannot recommend it to anyone simply interested in the general area.

Note to the author or his editor - cut this book by approx. 60% and you will have yourself a bestseller, especially in the current climate of 'dodgy dossiers' etc.
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Thorough and detailed but a very tough read. 1 Mar 2001
By pek_uk@hotmail.com
Format:Paperback
The subject matter is perhaps too broad for the average reader (i.e. me!!). I was more interested in the more recent history of MI6, but found myself reading through chapters and chapters of meticulous descriptions of events during and after the second world war, very tedious. Sorry Mr Dorril, I had great hopes for this book but found myself being bogged down by irrelevant details. Worth reading if you start from the back and work your way forwards!!
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