Special Relationships

The renowned English historian reflects on the meaningful personal relationships in his life, from his childhood and education to his professional career.

"Special Relationships exudes a larger-than-life bonhomie, recording the sheer enjoyment of a career that has embraced academic administration, educational policy-making and social activism as well as books." —Times Literary Supplement

A Cambridge graduate, Bletchley Park code-breaker, and one of the most eminent and influential historians of our time, Lord Asa Briggs could easily fill several autobiographies with his experiences. Yet, surprisingly this memoir is the first book that he has ever written about himself.

In Special Relationships, Briggs delves deep into his own history: from the origins of his highly distinctive name and his early education; through his recruitment into the Intelligence Corps and his wartime experiences as a 'Hut Six' cryptographer; to his outstanding contributions as a social and cultural historian. Along the way he sets out to trace those personal relationships which have most shaped his life: his childhood friends and Cambridge professors, his Bletchley Park coworkers, fellow historians, and of course, his closest friends and family.

Brimming with fascinating insights, and full of warmth, intelligence and good humor, this is an exceptional memoir of an exceptional man.