MI6: Life and Death in the British Secret Service

by Gordon Corera

The British Secret Service has been cloaked in secrecy and shrouded in myth since it was created over a century ago. Our understanding of what it is to be a spy has been largely defined by the fictional worlds of James Bond and John le Carré. In MI6, security expert Gordon Corera provides a unique and unprecedented insight into this secret world and the reality that lies behind the fiction.

It tells the story of how the secret service has changed since the end of the Second World War, revealing the danger, the drama, the intrigue, the moral ambiguities and the occasional comedy that comes with working for British intelligence.

The grand dramas of the Cold War and its aftershocks - the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the 9/11 and the Iraq war - are the backdrop for the human stories of the individual spies at the centre of the narrative. Corera draws on the first-hand accounts of those who have spied, lied and in some cases nearly died in service of the state. They range from the spymasters to the agents they ran to their sworn enemies. From Afghanistan to the Congo, from Moscow to the back streets of London, these are the voices of those who have worked on the front line of Britain's secret wars. And the truth is often more remarkable than the fiction.

Genres: History

Paperback

First published October 3, 2012

About the author

Gordon Corera is a British journalist. He is the Security Correspondent for the BBC.

Reviews

[Jillian]

I was looking for background on the British Secret Service in the Subcontinent post WWII. What this account established was some pretty hard-nosed decisions, betrayals and abandonments, mainly in Europe, and a culture that was, to say the least, disloyal and uncaring. That, of course, is very useful background . I was hoping, however, for a broader view of Secret Service activity. The book serves its mission, and provides a good perspective on lives ruined or damaged by involvement. It’s a valuable insight. It just wasn’t what I was looking for. Not the fault of the book. I will keep looking.

[Jerome Turner]

I read this for research purposes only, don't normally 'do' non fiction. It promised lots of first hand accounts, and I was hoping for more on the nuts and bolts of everyday practice in MI6, but it didn't deliver quite as much of that as I'd have liked. Nonetheless, it was interesting and useful, if maybe a little repetitive. Alongside Stella Rimington's autobiography Open Secret: The Autobiography of the Former Director-General of MI5, this should do the 'research' job for me.

I'm also not really sure I can count this as a proper 'read', as a lot of it I skipped and speed read.

[Sam Clarke]

An absolutely brilliant history of MI6 and the stories that have gone down in history. This book demystifies a lot of the secrets and aspects of spying throughout the 20th century and into the 21st.

Very analytical and well sourced book by a journalist with a lifelong career reporting on the security industry makes this a perfect guide to anyone wanting to understand the secret service better.

Really enjoyed it.

[Margaret Warren]

Enjoyable read with chapters focussing on particular individuals and their place in the story of MI6. Particularly liked the chapter on Daphne Park who worked in Russia, The Congo and then as a senior officer.

[Ruth]

A fascinating and very accessible history of MI6, from its foundation before the First World War to the War on Terror.

[Andrew]

A journalistic collection of spying incidents. Not a history of MI6 as an organisation. Sometimes feels a bit padded.