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'This fine contribution from Robert Johnson, while lacking the stimulating writing style of semi-popular works such as Peter Hopkir's 'The Great Game, ' or Karl Meyer and Shareen Brysac's 'Tournament of Shadows, ' provides much of the archival documentation missing from these earlier works and in the process both widens the definition of intelligence and the time frame and geographical scope to present a more positive assessment of British efforts ... Johnson is to be commended for providing an excellent overview of British intelligence efforts in Asia which draws on extensive archival research in Britain to update, and in many cases surpass, much earlier work.' --The Great Game was the struggle between Russia and Britain for imperial influence over southern and central Asia, immortalised by Rudyard Kipling in his novel Kim. For the British, the threat to India s frontiers compelled them to dispatch diplomats, or
A well-written and gripping account of the development of the British intelligence system for the defence of India, this book is particularly valuable because it does not only focus on the nineteenth century, but also takes the story forward in order to consider Soviet and Japanese threats in the twentieth century, as well as the nationalist challenge. Johnson has made excellent use of the available information. --Jeremy Barker, History Today
This is a well-written, carefully researched work which follows agents on often extraordinary adventures, much like those young Kim has in Kipling's novel of that name . . . Worthwhile reading for anyone interested in intelligence and covert operations, the British Empire, or India --NYMAS Review
A well-written and gripping account of the development of the British intelligence system for the defence of India, this book is particularly valuable because it does not only focus on the nineteenth century, but also takes the story forward in order to consider Soviet and Japanese threats in the twentieth century, as well as the nationalist challenge. Johnson has made excellent use of the available information. --Jeremy Barker, History Today
This is a well-written, carefully researched work which follows agents on often extraordinary adventures, much like those young Kim has in Kipling's novel of that name . . . Worthwhile reading for anyone interested in intelligence and covert operations, the British Empire, or India --NYMAS Review
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The Great Game was the struggle between Russia and Britain for imperial influence over southern and central Asia, immortalised by Rudyard Kipling in his novel Kim. For the British, the threat to India s frontiers compelled them to dispatch diplomats, or more clandestine agents, to survey, map and monitor the approaches to the Indian subcontinent. Anxieties about Russian ambitions in central Asia were magnified by the discovery of military plans and the arrival of shooting parties and scientific explorers on the mountains adjacent to India's northern border. The British faced major problems compounded by the unresolved status of Afghanistan, the interception of agents, and the division of opinion in British military and political circles about the real or imagined nature of the Russian threat to India. The situation was further complicated by the instability of the Indian border area, a region through which British and Indian troops would need to operate in wartime, but which was inhabited by bellicose tribesmen who fought the imposition of British rule every step of the way. Spying for Empire gives a fascinating insight into how the British intelligence network worked in the 1800s. It also examines how the intractability of Afghanistan plagued imperial defence planners, and how the threat of conflict with Russia coloured Britain s dealings with the peoples of south-west Asia.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
The Great Game...
2 Dec 2007
Format:Hardcover
Robert Johnson's 2006 "Spying For Empire" is an impressive exploration of "The Great Game in Central and South Asia, 1757-1947." Johnson's focus is the slow growth of British intelligence activities in defense of the British Empire in India, and their effects on the similarly slow growth of a professional British intelligence service.
Johnson is hampered by the limited, sketchy documentation available on these early intelligence activities. However, he succeeds in presenting an intriguing portrait of the struggle by British authorities to understand the threat to India posed by Russian expansion in Central Asia. This struggle was made doubly difficult by an near-complete lack of European knowledge about the terrain Northwest of India. As Johnson makes clear, much of the early British reconnaissance effort was devoted to gaining such basic information as what passes over the Hindu Kush, Pamirs, and Karakorum Mountains might be feasible invasion routes.
As Johnson also documents, British intelligence activities were hampered by lack of a trained intelligence corps. A series of more-or-less gifted amateurs, mostly military officers, led the way, assisted by a variety of Asian agents who did much of the actual gathering of information. The work was incredibly dangerous; bandits, hostile tribesmen, cranky Khans and Russian patrols took their lethal toll of the officers and agents.
Johnson's account makes for dense reading, as he covers nearly two hundred years of turbulent history in South Asia in just 250 pages. The chronological approach to the material requires the reader to cover a huge swath of geography, for example from London to Southeast Asia, in each segment of the book, without the benefit of detailed maps. A general reader without prior knowledge of the British Raj may be challenged to understand the context of politics in India.
This book is highly recommended to those with an interest in the intelligence business and in the history of South Asia.
Johnson is hampered by the limited, sketchy documentation available on these early intelligence activities. However, he succeeds in presenting an intriguing portrait of the struggle by British authorities to understand the threat to India posed by Russian expansion in Central Asia. This struggle was made doubly difficult by an near-complete lack of European knowledge about the terrain Northwest of India. As Johnson makes clear, much of the early British reconnaissance effort was devoted to gaining such basic information as what passes over the Hindu Kush, Pamirs, and Karakorum Mountains might be feasible invasion routes.
As Johnson also documents, British intelligence activities were hampered by lack of a trained intelligence corps. A series of more-or-less gifted amateurs, mostly military officers, led the way, assisted by a variety of Asian agents who did much of the actual gathering of information. The work was incredibly dangerous; bandits, hostile tribesmen, cranky Khans and Russian patrols took their lethal toll of the officers and agents.
Johnson's account makes for dense reading, as he covers nearly two hundred years of turbulent history in South Asia in just 250 pages. The chronological approach to the material requires the reader to cover a huge swath of geography, for example from London to Southeast Asia, in each segment of the book, without the benefit of detailed maps. A general reader without prior knowledge of the British Raj may be challenged to understand the context of politics in India.
This book is highly recommended to those with an interest in the intelligence business and in the history of South Asia.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
A fine recommendation for either college-level world history collections or followers of early British history
18 Aug 2006
Format:Hardcover
SPYING FOR EMPIRE: THE GREAT GAME IN CENTRAL AND SOUTH ASIA, 1757-1947 covers the struggle between Russia and Britain for influence over southern and central Asia. The British dispatched diplomats and agents to survey and map the area, discovering Russian military plans on the border of India and facing major problems as they tried to understand the nature of the Russian threat to the region. From British intelligence work to the politics of the times, SPYING FOR EMPIRE is a fine recommendation for either college-level world history collections or followers of early British history.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
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