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Defend the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5 |  | Author: Christopher Andrew
Publisher: Knopf
Category: Book
List Price: $40.00
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as of 3/21/2010 16:28 MDT details
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Seller: ceceralws
Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 12795
Format: Deckle Edge
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 1056
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.3
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.7 x 2.3
ISBN: 0307263630
Dewey Decimal Number: 327.1241
EAN: 9780307263636
ASIN: 0307263630
Publication Date: November 3, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
A Q&A with Christopher Andrew
 Question: Where does "MI5" come from? Christopher Andrew: MI5 originally stood for "Military Intelligence [Department] 5." The Secret Service Bureau (SSB) was formed in 1909 to counter the danger to Britain from German espionage, and the division of the SSB responsible for counter-espionage within the British Isles became Department 5, or "MI5." MI5 was renamed the Security Service in 1931, but is still commonly known as MI5 today. Question: Where is MI5 based? Christopher Andrew: MI5's staff, headed by Director General Jonathan Evans, is largely based in their headquarters at Thames House in London. They also have eight regional offices around Great Britain plus a Northern Ireland headquarters. The Service is organized into seven branches, each with specific areas of responsibility, which work to counter a range of threats including terrorism, espionage and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Question: What happened to MI1-MI4? Christopher Andrew: There were a number of departments within the Directorate of Military Intelligence (MI1 through MI19) which dealt with a range of issues. For example, MI1 was responsible for code-breaking, and MI2 handled Russian and Scandinavian intelligence. The responsibilities of these departments were either discontinued or absorbed into The War Office, MI5 and MI6 and, later, the Government Communications Headquarters. Question:What is the difference between MI5 and MI6? The Security Service (MI5) is the UK’s security intelligence agency, responsible for protecting the UK, its citizens and interests, at home and overseas, against the major threats to national security. The Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) is primarily responsible for gathering intelligence outside the UK in support of the government's security, defence, foreign and economic policies. Question: How realistic is the depiction of MI5 in the television series Spooks (MI-5 here in the United States)? Christopher Andrew: The BBC's Spooks is a slickly-produced and entertaining drama, but, like other works of spy fiction, it glamorizes the world of intelligence. The nature of MI5's work can be stimulating and highly rewarding (as the show's strapline declares, it is not "9 to 5"), but the program does not portray the full range of their activities, nor the routine, but vitally important, aspects of their operations which would not make such exciting viewing. Particularly unrealistic is the way in which the characters in Spooks regularly act outside the law in pursuit of their investigations! (Photo © Michael Jones)
Product Description
An unprecedented publishing event: to mark the centenary of its foundation, the British Security Service, MI5, has for the first time opened its archives to an independent historian. The book reveals the precise role of the Security Service in twentieth-century British history, from its foundation by Captain Kell of the British Army in October 1909, through two world wars, up to and including its present roles in counterespionage and counterterrorism. The book describes how MI5 has been managed, what its relationship has been with government, where it has triumphed, and where it has failed. In all of this no restriction has been placed on the judgments made by the author.
Defend the Realm also adds significantly to our knowledge of many celebrated events and notorious individuals and definitively lays to rest a number of persistent myths. Above all, it shows the place of this previously extremely secretive organization within the United Kingdom. Few books could make such an immediate and extraordinary increase to our understanding of British history over the past century.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 8
 price for an ebook???? February 13, 2010
Jeffrey R. Swearingen (Arlington, VA United States)
0 out of 14 found this review helpful
I was really excited to see this book, after becoming fascinated by MI5 from BBC. Then I see the eBook version is $23?!?!? Thanks but no thanks.
Pretty skimpy in parts... February 11, 2010
Owlet (Connecticut)
...in particular the Interwar years - 1919-39. Nothing particularly new about the periods it does deal with. Philby et al have been pretty much covered elsewhere. All in all a bit of a disappointment.
Questionnable Accuracy February 6, 2010
J. Morrison (Washington, DC)
0 out of 6 found this review helpful
I would question the question the accuracy of this book given aspects of this which are inaccurate e.g.[...] or the tendency of this book to denigrate certain individuals, particularly those who searched for evidence that Hollis was a high level mole in MI5. Attempts to mislead the reader are legendary in all the work on spies and spying and I don't think this book is any different. The new Chapman Pincher book, which isn't necessarily any more accurate than this book, is worth reading as a counter balance i.e. Pincher, C (2009) Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders and Cover-ups: Six Decades of Espionage Against America and Great Britain. The Pincher book is the extended case for the prosecution i.e. that Hollis, the head of MI5 in the late 1950s and early 1960s, was a Russian GRU spy. The Pincher book makes one wonder if Hollis would have been charged after he was interrogated if they had all the information that has come to light since his interrogation and later death. As this outcome would, still, be too embarrassing for the UK it is not surprising that many still try too hard to counter this outcome. Defend the Realm tries too hard.
Defend the Realm February 6, 2010
Sacramento Book Review (Sacramento, CA)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
On the one hundredth anniversary of the United Kingdom's spy shop, MI5, comes //Defend the Realm//, the authorized history of the agency. The British Security Service opened its files to Cambridge professor and historian Christopher Andrew, giving him "virtually unrestricted access" to its archives. Although the Service vetted Andrew's work for reasons of national security, this exhaustive tome seems to offer a fair and balanced review of MI5's fascinating history. Of course, readers cannot possibly know what might be missing from Andrew's account. But regardless of what may have been omitted--for whatever reasons, security or otherwise--what remains is revealing.
As Andrew writes in the preface, "For most of its history the Security Service (MI5) has seemed to outsiders a deeply mysterious organization ... The Service, like the rest of the intelligence community, was to stay as far from public view as possible." One might wonder why, then, after one hundred years, the Service decided to open its vault, exposing its successes as well as its failures. Andrew notes that recent directors, beginning with Stella Rimington, have sought to demystify the Service. With that, Andrew uncovers warts and all in //Defend the Realm//, from its origins as a fledgling office staffed by two people to its work--clandestine and otherwise--during World War I, World War II, the Cold War, and the War on Terror.
Andrew traces the history of the Service as it thwarted espionage, subversion, and terrorism from domestic and international threats. He chronicles the agency's inner workings, highlighting key players throughout MI5's history, shedding light on the Service's culture throughout the years, and illustrating its ongoing struggle to avoid political entanglements. Readers will find in-depth examinations of "The Magnificent Five" ring of Soviet spies who had infiltrated the Service, the double-cross system, and the agency's alleged plot to smear Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Andrew also reveals the Service's work regarding threats to the empire from around the world, including Soviet Russia, the IRA and PIRA, and jihadists.
//Defend the Realm// clearly is one of the most comprehensive accounts of MI5. There is much ground to cover, and it seems as though Andrew has left little out. The early history of the Service is examined in vivid detail; the more contemporary history of the agency is less clear although still revealing. It seems Andrew has left few stones unturned. He not only examines the culture and morale of the Service throughout its history, but also occasionally notes the personal interests of some of its leaders. It is unclear what bearing hobbies such as hunting, fishing, and riding have on the successes or failures of the Service, but such details tend to bog down what already is, at more than one thousand pages, a lengthy book.
At times, //Defend the Realm// takes on a "ripped-from-the-headlines" tone, exposing sex, politics, suicides, and betrayals--both within the agency and within the government. These juicy bits certainly add some color to the text, but often come with the caveat that once investigated, such events often were found to have no bearing on the Service or on the security of the United Kingdom. Readers who are looking for more than tabloid voyeurism may find it easy to skim such details, which seem to add little to the overall history of the Service.
//Defend the Realm// will appeal to readers with a deep interest in the Service. However, although much in the book is fascinating, the breadth of detail, as well as the shear length of the book, may well overwhelm readers who enjoy spy novels but have just a passing interest in MI5.
Reviewed by Kelli Christiansen
Too much information! January 16, 2010
PST (Eislingen Deutschland)
10 out of 22 found this review helpful
This is certainly a GREAT book for the VERY serious student of secret services and of the MI5 in particular!
However for the average layman it is simply too burdensome, too much stuffed with detail information.
While I am an avid reader, and interested in history, this volume was simply too much for me - I put it away after having read some 285 pages.
( This seems to again prove the rule, that a book for the average, interested layman should not really exceed about 300 pages)
If you are SERIOUSLY interested in the subject, it will be a great buy - if you are just interested, stay away from this book!
NB: I obviously gave my "grade" from the average guy's point of view, I am sure, for the serious guy, it will be full marks!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 8
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