Intelligence Studies in Britain and the US
Historiography since 1945
Will be published approx. on 30. June 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
336 pages
978-1-3995-7073-2 (ISBN)
Description
From memoirs and academic texts to conspiracy-laden exposes and spy novels, the intelligence services' secrecy has never stopped people from writing about espionage. Now, this is the first introduction to these official and unofficial histories. Each chapter showcases new archival material, looking at a particular book or series of books and considering issues of production, censorship, representation and reception. Contributors include: Richard Aldrich, intelligence historian; Nicholas Dujmovic, CIA Staff Historian; Matthew Jones, novelist; Jo Wippl, Former CIA operations officer; Keith Jeffery, author of the first official history of MI6 and Chapman Pincher, journalist.
Reviews / Votes
A much-needed examination of the extensive and rapidly growing historiography of intelligence studies. It addresses the difficulties posed by official secrecy, how real world developments influenced historiography, and the recent trend toward state-sanctioned histories. Given the diversity of the literature examined, it is fitting that the contributors range from scholars to journalists and intelligence professionals ... Summing Up: Recommended. -- P. C. Kennedy, York College of Pennsylvania * Choice * A fascinating collection of perspectives that chronicles the development of intelligence studies during the past 30 years from a 'missing dimension' of modern history to a mature discipline fully able to hold its own with its scholarly forbears. -- David Robarge, CIA Chief HistorianMore details
Edition
New in Paperback
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
10 black and white illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-3995-7073-2 (9781399570732)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Dr. Christopher R. Moran is an Assistant Professor of US National Security in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick. He is also a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow. Previously, he was a research assistant on the AHRC-funded project, 'Landscapes of Secrecy: The CIA and the Contested Record of US Foreign Policy'. He is the author of Classified: Secrecy and the State in Modern Britain (2012). Christopher J. Murphy is Senior Lecturer in Intelligence Studies at the University of Salford.
Content
Preface
Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones
Introduction: Intelligence Studies Now and Then
Christopher R. Moran and Christopher J. Murphy
Part I. American Intelligence Historiography
1. CIA History as a Cold War Battleground: The Forgotten First Wave of Agency Narratives
Richard J. Aldrich
2. The Culture of Funding Culture: The CIA and the Congress for Cultural Freedom
Eric Pullin
3. 'Real Substance, Not Just Symbolism'? The CIA and the Representation of Covert Operations in the Foreign Relations of the United States Series
Matthew Jones and Paul McGarr
4. Bonum Ex Malo: The Value of Legacy of Ashes in Teaching CIA History
Nicholas Dujmovic
5. Narrating Covert Action: The CIA, Historiography and the Cold War
Kaeten Mistry
6. FBI Historiography: From Leader to Organisation
Melissa Graves
7. Reconceiving Realism: Intelligence Historians and the Fact/Fiction Dichotomy
Simon Willmetts
8. The Reality is Stranger than Fiction: Anglo-American Intelligence Cooperation from World War Two through the Cold War
Frederick P. Hitz
Part II. British Intelligence Historiography
9. A Plain Tale of Pundits, Players and Professionals: The Historiography of the Great Game
Robert Johnson
10. No Cloaks, No Daggers: The Historiography of British Military Intelligence
Jim Beach
11. The Study of Interrogation: A Focus on Torture, But What About the Intelligence?
Samantha Newbery
12. Whitehall, Intelligence and Official History: Editing SOE in France
Christopher J. Murphy
13. A Tale of Torture? Alexander Scotland, The London Cage and Post-War British Secrecy
Daniel Lomas
14. 1968 - 'A Year to Remember' for the Study of British Intelligence?
Adam D. M. Svendsen
15. Their Trade is Treachery: A Retrospective
Chapman Pincher
16. Intelligence and 'Official History'
Christopher Baxter and Keith Jeffery
Index
Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones
Introduction: Intelligence Studies Now and Then
Christopher R. Moran and Christopher J. Murphy
Part I. American Intelligence Historiography
1. CIA History as a Cold War Battleground: The Forgotten First Wave of Agency Narratives
Richard J. Aldrich
2. The Culture of Funding Culture: The CIA and the Congress for Cultural Freedom
Eric Pullin
3. 'Real Substance, Not Just Symbolism'? The CIA and the Representation of Covert Operations in the Foreign Relations of the United States Series
Matthew Jones and Paul McGarr
4. Bonum Ex Malo: The Value of Legacy of Ashes in Teaching CIA History
Nicholas Dujmovic
5. Narrating Covert Action: The CIA, Historiography and the Cold War
Kaeten Mistry
6. FBI Historiography: From Leader to Organisation
Melissa Graves
7. Reconceiving Realism: Intelligence Historians and the Fact/Fiction Dichotomy
Simon Willmetts
8. The Reality is Stranger than Fiction: Anglo-American Intelligence Cooperation from World War Two through the Cold War
Frederick P. Hitz
Part II. British Intelligence Historiography
9. A Plain Tale of Pundits, Players and Professionals: The Historiography of the Great Game
Robert Johnson
10. No Cloaks, No Daggers: The Historiography of British Military Intelligence
Jim Beach
11. The Study of Interrogation: A Focus on Torture, But What About the Intelligence?
Samantha Newbery
12. Whitehall, Intelligence and Official History: Editing SOE in France
Christopher J. Murphy
13. A Tale of Torture? Alexander Scotland, The London Cage and Post-War British Secrecy
Daniel Lomas
14. 1968 - 'A Year to Remember' for the Study of British Intelligence?
Adam D. M. Svendsen
15. Their Trade is Treachery: A Retrospective
Chapman Pincher
16. Intelligence and 'Official History'
Christopher Baxter and Keith Jeffery
Index