Mi6: The History of the Secret Intelligence Service, 1909-1949. Keith Jeffery

A groundbreaking book, this unprecedented study is the authoritative account of the best-known intelligence organisation in the world. Essential reading for anyone interested in the history of espionage, the two world wars, modern British government and the conduct of international relations in the first half of the twentieth century, "MI6: The History of the Secret Intelligence Service 1909-1949" is a uniquely important examination of the role and significance of intelligence in the modern world.

'Extraordinarily useful, endlessly interesting ... Jeffery captured the adventurous, John Buchan side of SIS with as much zest as he revealed the successes and failures of its analysis of events' John Simpson 'A magisterial account of the two wars in particular, viewed via the prism of secret intelligence. Winningly, it also entertains' Independent on Sunday 'Fascinating ... The book is full of examples of the ingenuity and courage shown by all ranks' Douglas Hurd, Guardian 'Full of episode and personality, without ever succumbing to the swash and buckle that can dazzle those who get close to SIS' Daily Telegraph

Keith Jeffery is Professor of British History at Queen's University, Belfast, and a Member of the Royal Irish Academy. In 1998 he was the Lees Knowles Lecturer in Military Science at Trinity College, Cambridge, and in 2003-4, Parnell Fellow in Irish Studies at Magdalene College, Cambridge. He is the author of fourteen previous books. Keith Jeffery lives in Northern Ireland.