In Spies We Trust

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 24 JUN. 2013

British and American intelligence services collaborate and compete to produce preeminent spies and surveillance tactics in this comprehensive account from Scottish historian Jeffreys-Jones (The FBI: A History). Beginning in WWI, upper-crust Brits and affluent Ivy Leaguers joined together and began "running espionage and secret diplomacy in such a manner that held at bay not only competing nations, but also what they viewed as repugnant elements in their own societies." Neither nation had qualms about suppressing its own people, nor did either hide its disdain for the left-leaning French Maquis resistance in WWII. During the Cold War, however, the allied groups drifted apart: the British waned, while the U.S. rocketed to primacy, creating, en route, the agency that would become the model for those around the world the CIA. The rivalry between the two countries' espionage organizations even prompted the CIA to pursue an American answer to popular British spy-fiction writers like Ian Fleming. During this time, the goals of intelligence gathering also changed rather than win wars, it was hoped that intel could be used to avoid them. Fascinating asides (and tales of notorious gaffes) abound, and Jeffreys-Jones displays a formidable knowledge of his subject throughout this impressive history. 15 b&w images.