Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought
by PHILIP DAVIES
|
by Stephen Dorril
|
by G Macklin
|
Global Intelligence: The World's Secret Services Today (Global Issues) by Paul Todd |
![Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy : Complete BBC Series [1979] [DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Z5GDWM45L._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy : Complete BBC Series [1979] [DVD] DVD ~ Nigel Stock |
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Product Description
Synopsis
This is the story of the heads of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service. It contains numerous anecdotes and is fully up to date, and is written by acclaimed author and intelligence expert Nigel West. In August 1909, a kindly, balding figure named Mansfield Smith-Cumming was summoned to London by Admiral Alexander Bethell, Director of Naval Intelligence. He was to assume the inaugural position of Chief - or 'C' - of what has become the world's most celebrated intelligence agency, the British Secret Intelligence Service. And, while the organisation has developed in the near one hundred years since its inception, the role of C, currently fulfilled by John Scarlett, is in many respects unchanged from that of Smith-Cumming's. This remarkable book tells the story of that role, from Smith-Cumming to Scarlett, and each of the other twelve C's in between. For the first 85 years of the SIS, known variously as 'the firm', 'the funnies' and, within the Foreign Office, 'the friends', its existence and the identity of its Chief were subject to the strictest secrecy. Its only official recognition was the wartime designation MI6, by which the service continues to be commonly known today.For an agency that was not, until the Intelligence Services Bill of 1994, formally recognised by the government its notoriety is then something of a paradox. It was, perhaps, Britain's worst-kept secret, let slip by a succession of novelists, most notably Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond - a character whom former C Colin McColl dubbed 'our best recruiting sergeant'. But while Bond was a fiction, the flamboyant personalities and clever, or comical, subterfuges were not - for many years the SIS headquarters at 54 Broadway bore a brass plate proudly declaring the premises to belong to the 'Minimax Fire Extinguisher Company'. "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" is a revealing, detailed and highly entertaining account of the heads of Britain's most secret service. Written by the critically acclaimed author and intelligence expert Nigel West, it is compelling reading.
This is the story of the heads of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service. It contains numerous anecdotes and is fully up to date, and is written by acclaimed author and intelligence expert Nigel West. In August 1909, a kindly, balding figure named Mansfield Smith-Cumming was summoned to London by Admiral Alexander Bethell, Director of Naval Intelligence. He was to assume the inaugural position of Chief - or 'C' - of what has become the world's most celebrated intelligence agency, the British Secret Intelligence Service. And, while the organisation has developed in the near one hundred years since its inception, the role of C, currently fulfilled by John Scarlett, is in many respects unchanged from that of Smith-Cumming's. This remarkable book tells the story of that role, from Smith-Cumming to Scarlett, and each of the other twelve C's in between. For the first 85 years of the SIS, known variously as 'the firm', 'the funnies' and, within the Foreign Office, 'the friends', its existence and the identity of its Chief were subject to the strictest secrecy. Its only official recognition was the wartime designation MI6, by which the service continues to be commonly known today.For an agency that was not, until the Intelligence Services Bill of 1994, formally recognised by the government its notoriety is then something of a paradox. It was, perhaps, Britain's worst-kept secret, let slip by a succession of novelists, most notably Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond - a character whom former C Colin McColl dubbed 'our best recruiting sergeant'. But while Bond was a fiction, the flamboyant personalities and clever, or comical, subterfuges were not - for many years the SIS headquarters at 54 Broadway bore a brass plate proudly declaring the premises to belong to the 'Minimax Fire Extinguisher Company'. "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" is a revealing, detailed and highly entertaining account of the heads of Britain's most secret service. Written by the critically acclaimed author and intelligence expert Nigel West, it is compelling reading.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?
 |
37% buy the item featured on this page: At Her Majesty's Secret Service: The Chiefs of Britain's Intelligence Agency, MI6£19.25 |
 |
21% buy Inside British Intelligence: 100 Years of MI5 and MI6 £14.00 |
 |
17% buy MI6 and the Machinery of Spying (Studies in Intelligence) £23.74 |
 |
14% buy British Intelligence: Secrets, Spies and Sources£13.99 |
Customer Reviews
There are no customer reviews yet. Create your own review
| |||
Video reviews
|
 |
Customer Discussions
Beta (What's this?)|
This product's forum
(0 discussions)
Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Active discussions in related forums
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
Health & Beauty at Amazon.co.uk |
A Close Shave |
Treat Someone
With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is). |
||||||||
Make sure you always get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk
| |||||
Your Recent History
(What's this?)|
You have no recently viewed items or searches.
After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session. |
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers
| ||||
Amazon Home | |
| International Sites: United States | Germany | France | Japan | Canada | China | |
| Business Programs: Sell on Amazon | Fulfilment by Amazon | Join Associates | Join Advantage | |
| Customer Service | Help | View Basket | Your Account | |
| About Amazon.co.uk | Careers at Amazon | |
| Conditions of Use & Sale | Privacy Notice © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates |