The Secret World: A History of Intelligence

“Perhaps the most comprehensive narrative of intelligence compiled: the author's breadth and depth of knowledge are unrivalled.”—Max Hastings, The Sunday Times(London)

“To write a world history of intelligence, from the dawn of recorded history to the present day, is a daunting task. To make such a work accurate, comprehensive, digestible and startling, and all in a single volume, is a stellar achievement. But that is what Christopher Andrew has done in The Secret World.”—Edward Lucas, The Times(London)

“This scholarly but readable history unlocks a portfolio of secrets—supersecrets, even. . . . Failures of intelligence . . . figure as much as successes in Andrew’s spry account. Fans of Fleming and Furst will delight in this skillfully related true-fact side of the story.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Both brilliant in its sweep and near-miraculous in the detail and confident judgments provided on two and a half millennia of spying. . . . A crowning triumph of one of the most adventurous scholars of the security world.”—Financial Times

“The Secret World is a magisterial book. It is designed for the lay reader as much as for the expert; the scale, breadth, and depth of the work confirm Christopher Andrew’s position as the great Yoda of intelligence studies in the UK.”—Michael S. Goodman, Literary Review