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MI6 previews the groundbreaking new book
MI6: The History of the Secret Intelligence Service
1909-1949
by Keith Jeffery...
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MI6: The History of the Secret Intelligence
Service 1909-1949 - Book Preview
21st September 2010
MI6: The History of the Secret Intelligence Service
1909-1949 by Keith Jeffery
The most detailed and authoritative history
of the first forty years of the Secret Intelligence Service,
MI6, is published today by the London publishers, Bloomsbury,
and in the USA by Penguin. This unique publication, written by
Professor Keith Jeffery, of Queen’s University, Belfast,
is based on his unrestricted access to SIS archives of the period.
The
result is an 800-page story of the world’s oldest continuously
operating foreign intelligence service from its birth, in 1909,
to the beginning of the Cold War.
Throughout the pages of this history, the values
of courage and dedication held by the men and women who served
in SIS are graphically displayed. The history also underscores
another constant theme, that of the Service’s accountability
to government for its actions both in peace and war. The plan
to write the definitive history of SIS began five years ago when
Sir John Scarlett, the then Chief
of SIS, set the project in motion.
Commenting on the publication, Sir John Sawers,
the current Chief of SIS, said, “Professor Jeffery’s
history gives a view of the men and women who, through hard
work, dedicated service, character and courage, helped to establish
and shape the
Service in its difficult and demanding early days. I see these
qualities displayed every
day in the current Service as SIS staff continue to face danger
in far flung places to
protect the United Kingdom and promote the national interest.
I know my predecessors
would be as proud as I am of the men and women of the Service
today.”
Reflecting on the importance of the Service to the
country, the Foreign Secretary, William Hague, said, “This
history of our Secret Intelligence Service provides a unique
insight into an
organisation of great national and international importance.
It sets out in compelling
detail how SIS developed over forty years from modest beginnings
to be a world
leading intelligence service. The debt of gratitude we owe to
our intelligence and
security services is hard to overstate. Without their unstinting
efforts, the defence of
this country, its values and way of life would have been imperilled
many times.”
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The History traces the story of the Secret
Intelligence Service from its founding under the leadership
of Mansfield
Cumming, before the First World War, through to the beginning
of the Cold War.
Among the fascinating exploits of SIS,
revealed in this book, are the role the Service performed
in the USA, during both World Wars, in persuading the Americans
to support the British war effort. There are also unprecedented
insights into how SIS helped prevent a Communist revolution
in Brazil in 1935, how, during the Second World War, SIS
supervised the work of the code-breakers at Bletchley Park,
the role of SIS in North Africa, the build-up to D-Day,
and the Service’s role in tracking the development
of German V-weapons.
The book contains vivid accounts of SIS successes in
the First World War such as the secret agent organisation, “La
Dame Blanche”, responsible for providing invaluable
information on enemy troop movements; secret reporting
from inside Germany, and the daring exploits of Lieutenant
Augustus Agar VC, during the Russian Revolution, who sank
several Soviet warships in attacks using fast motor boats. |
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Above: Author Keith Jeffery
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Among other dramatic stories told for the first time from the
archive are the “Venlo Incident” when the Gestapo
captured two SIS officers, and the infamous “Zinoviev Letter” and
SIS’s involvement in its dissemination. The history also
clarifies SIS’s relationship with the Special Operations
Executive (SOE) where the requirements of sabotage often conflicted
with the needs of a secretive intelligence organisation.
Commenting on the process of writing the History,
Professor Keith Jeffery said, “Being granted such unparalleled
access to the archives of an organisation so
immersed in the culture of secrecy was a fantastic privilege.
I am grateful for the trust
and cooperation of all Service staff and I hope readers of this
History will find it as
engrossing as I did in writing it.”
Datastream
Publisher: Bloombury (UK), Penguin (USA)
Pages: 832
Format: Hardback
RRP: £30.00 / $39.95
ISBN: 0747591830
Released: 21st September 2010 (UK)
Order
Amazon UK (Hardback)
Order
Amazon USA (Hardback)
