The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5

This is a scrupulously well researched account of the history of the Security Service MI5 and the operations in which it has been involved. The author has been given access to the great majority of historical files, while forming his own conclusions about the significance of their contents. Inevitably coverage of some recent events is less thorough due to current national security requirements and the need to protect active sources, but is still insightful and sober in its conclusions. The book will not of course satisfy conspiracy theorists of one stripe or another, but the author's judgements seem shrewd and pretty balanced to me, pointing out intelligence successes (e.g. the Double Cross turning of German agents in WWII, or the show more tracking down and surveillance of Islamic ricin and homemade bomb-making plotters) and failures such as the slowness in identifying the Cambridge spy ring, the over-estimation of the strength of the KGB's analysis of the intelligence they acquired from the West and more recently the relative slowness in the 1990s of perceiving the worldwide reach of Islamic terror plots. The book clearly shows the insubstantial nature of most intelligence and the difficulty of assessing its reliability, points often lost on politicians and the general public who desire certainty and clearcut information.

Finally, one aspect of the book's structure was a little less than helpful, that is the fact that each major section, e.g. WWII, early Cold War, etc. began with a chapter covering how MI5 evolved during that era, before the other chapters giving the detail. This led to a slight confusion on timing in some places and some duplication of material. Usefully, there is a concluding chapter detailing the main points covered in the text. The index could have been more thorough. show less

As the cover helpfully says, this is an authorised history of MI5 (more lately, the Security Service) from its beginnings shortly before the First World War to more-or-less the present day.

And I was certainly kept very interested--I spent more-or-less a whole day in my dressing gown since I couldn't tear myself away from the book to get dressed. There are 1044 pages in my Penguin paperback, of which 861 are the main text and the remainder are appendices, notes, and an index. Actually the index isn't that useful--it really only allows you to look up proper names and isn't very helpful for general themes.

Why is it so interesting? I think it's because everything's so clear at the beginning where it's clear who the bad guys (Germans) are, show more what they want to do, how we want to stop them and what happened. 'What happened' is clear because as well as the action being relatively simple, the author isn't constrained by having to wriggle round what he's not allowed to say. So you follow him confidently into the murkier areas of Soviet espionage, counter-subversion and counter-terrorism.

Andrew does seem keen to discredit the various renegade (or repentant) Security Service operatives like Cathy Massiter and Michael Shayler (and indeed Peter Wright) who have surfaced over the years. That leads to one asking if they were so awful, how did they get taken on in the first place. In fact Andrew seems to be broadly sympathetic to Security Service attempts to join the modern world in recruitment, training, and indeed having a legal basis, while sharing its antipathy to performance indicators. One could ask would he (or indeed they) like to live next to a nuclear power station that eschewed quantitative indicators since an explosion would only happen once.

It's interesting to see things from a different angle: for instance, the Official Secrets Act as a necessary and overdue piece of legislation, rather than an instance of war hysteria. And similarly to see what we have lost: the Post Office refusing to allow opening of suspects' letters, since it would destroy public trust in the mail, and the meticulous respect for private property. We were free once, and now we're just frightened...It's interesting to contrast the detailed description of procedures for intercepting mail and obtaining Home Office Warrants for telechecks (phone-tapping) with the complete silence about more contemporary methods of communication.

Certainly a completely absorbing day's reading. It's actually a very easy read--I can't remember any instances of acronyms of personages being introduced without prior explanation, and there weren't any of the authorial tics that can become so irritating when repeated over 1000 pages or so.

(Fuller version at http://wp.me/pBfTB-qu) show less

At long last, I must concede defeat to the behemoth that is The Defence of the Realm. I first started in August 2010 when it came in for me at the library, didn't finish it, eventually bought the paperback in November because I figured then I could take as long as I wanted... and I've been reading it in fits and starts ever since. I've kept it out on my bedside table since January in hopes of finishing it eventually, but sadly I do not think that is likely. I'll put it back on the shelf and perhaps someday I'll muster up the strength to read the rest.

But don't let me make you think that this is a bad book. Far from it. It is almost too good at what it does -- provide information about the history of MI5. There are so many tidbits and show more fun facts and dry-witted asides crammed into each page that reading a whole chapter leaves your eyes gasping for air (if that makes any sense). The best parts for me were the bits up to and including the Second World War, then my interest gradually declined until I reached the Thatcher years, at which point I decided to stop. Perhaps the 1980s are too recent history for me to read about.

Anyway if you're interested in the history of MI5, you definitely want to read at least the first half of this book. The second half I would qualify as "your mileage may vary". And be sure to pace yourself. It's a lot to absorb. show less

Absolutely superb, very interesting, although this was taken as an overview, I found it comprehensive and relatively non sparing of criticism with regards to the controversies surrounding the security service. An excellent read for anyone interested in the subject

It would be naïve to expect a history of an intelligence operation to say everything that ought to be said, even when relating to a time frame for which the principal participants are no longer with us. As this book aims to include the very recent past, as well as relating to the philosophy, strategy and tactics of the British approach to security, it is important to bear this in mind when reading this weighty tome. What it has to say on the 100-year old origins of MI5 is probably close to what we would recognise as the truth, and even up to WWII the gentle mocking of many of the key figures suggests a reasonable degree of reliability. In the discussion of the early Cold War, however, which deals with the deeply entrenched Soviet show more spies, and the conspiracy theories that muddied the investigatory waters, we start to leave behind this relative certainty. It is nonetheless helpful to have such an authoritative review of the sequence of events relating to the Communist Party of Great Britain, the labour strife of the seventies, the break-up of Empire, and the emergence of Northern Irish terrorism. What is not mentioned, though, seems as indicative as what is mentioned, and this is where conspiracy theorists will feed. Thus, the relevant issue of relationships with other agencies is only sparsely treated. FBI gets some attention, but with little about the CIA; the South African BOSS attracts a mention, but there are no mentions of the Israeli MOSSAD. Perhaps the most interesting part of the book is the concluding remarks, summarising 'lessons to be learned' from the history. Much of the supporting evidence is reviewed in the main part of the book, but I felt that more could have been said. However, within the authoritarian constraints that also must be imagined, this is a valuable book, and an illuminating contribution to 20th Century British history. show less

The full extent of the secret work of the British Security Service or MI5 will probably never be known. With the publication of this massive,1032 page book,the general public has the chance to read the fullest version of that work for some time yet. Detailed though it is,there is more missing than is present here. This is of course very necessary for national security reasons and bearing in mind the fact that there are about 400,000 paper files in the archives,many of these are multi-volume.
The history of MI5 began in October 1909,when it was known as the Secret Service Bureau,and was staffed at the time by two people.
In the course of the book we are taken through both World Wars and between the Wars too. We then have sections about the show more Cold War and later. Finally we are taken right up to the events of 9/11.
The sections about the 'Cambridge Five' and the details of the 'Profumo ' affair were of particular note.
At the end of the book is a list of Directors and Director Generals 1909-2009 plus other lists about the Service and an excellent Bibliography.
I found this a wonderfully informative read,and although much is glossed over,or quite simply omitted,what is here is much more than we have known previously.
On a lighter note do not attempt to hold this volume in your normal reading position as after a few moments you will find yourself getting rather weary. Ideally find yourself a lectern or reading stand, Failing that,do as I did and read with it supported on your desk. show less

Chock full of details. Not an easy read,but ultimately rewarding. Must information is obscure to a non-British reader, but the author manages to provide sufficient, although limited, detail to help those of us from across the pond to understand. There are many assumptions in the book that he is writing for (and he clearly is) a British-based audience. Lots of really good footnotes. Wish there had been more pictures of Prime Ministers and a list of the years they were in office. Just not info that I can readily retrive from my stored knowledge while reading! Hpwever, I do look forward to reading his other books.