Churchill and Secret Service

Product Description Winston Churchill believed passionately in the value of secret intelligence, in times of war as well as of peace. As a young correspondent and soldier in Cuba and South Africa, he experienced its worth first hand. As wartime Prime Minister, he built a centralized intelligence community, responded daily to raw ''Ultra'' reports, created the Special Operations Executive to work behind enemy lines and, with Roosevelt, built the intelligence alliance that endures to this day. Historian David Stafford makes the compelling case that one cannot understand Churchill's astounding success as a modern day statesman without reference to his deep involvement in the world of espionage. With absorbing detail about the secret world of agents and double-agents, this groundbreaking work traces Churchill's connections with that world, from his days as a member of the Cabinet that established the Secret Service to the war years, when his extensive intelligence network provided him with superior information. What results is a major contribution to the study of modern and military history and a crucial missing key to understanding Churchill himself. Review A first-rate and, what is more remarkable, an original contribution to Churchilliana, of sure interest to students of Churchill, modern history, or military intelligence. --Kirkus ReviewsStarting off as the standard BBC announcer, narrator Frederick Davidson cranks up for the stirring speeches and dips the pithy observations in venom or bile. This reading is superb. --AudioFileStafford's narrative is concise, easy to follow, and often exciting. Lovers of spy novels should get particular enjoyment from the fine examination of the genuine article. --Booklist About the Author DAVID STAFFORD is an expert in intelligence and espionage operations and the author of numerous books. A former diplomat, he is currently Projects Director at the Centre for the Study of the Two World Wars at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and a Leverhulme Emeritus Professor in the University's School of History, Classics, and Archaeology. From AudioFile Did Churchill hear of Pearl Harbor beforehand and callously withhold the information, forcing the U.S. into the war? Certainly he protected the "golden eggs" of secret intelligence, raised and fed the goose that laid them. And rarely showed the other Allied nations all his cards. But even if he could keep his mouth shut, Churchill was best known for the magnificent sounds he made when it was opened wide. Here homage is paid. Starting off as the standard BBC announcer, narrator Frederick Davidson cranks up for the stirring speeches and dips the pithy observations in venom or bile. This reading is superb. No, Winston wouldn't do that. Not to us. His mother was American. B.H.C. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine