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The Perfect English Spy: Sir Dick White and the Secret War, 1935 -1990

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A profile of Dick White, a former schoolmaster who rose to become the respected chief of Britain's counter-intelligence bureau, exposes a dramatic career stretching from the dawn of World War II to the "Spycatcher Affair."

Hardcover

First published March 1, 1995

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About the author

Tom Bower

57 books179 followers
For the author of works on child development, see T.G.R. Bower

Tom Bower (born 28 September 1946) is a British writer, noted for his investigative journalism and for his unauthorized biographies.

A former Panorama reporter, his books include unauthorised biographies of Tiny Rowland, Robert Maxwell, Mohamed Al-Fayed, Geoffrey Robinson, Gordon Brown and Richard Branson.

He won the 2003 William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award for Broken Dreams, an investigation into corruption in English football. His joint biography of Conrad Black and Barbara Amiel Conrad and Lady Black: Dancing on the Edge was published in November 2006, and an unsuccessful libel case over a passing mention of Daily Express proprietor Richard Desmond in the book was heard in July 2009.

An unauthorised biography by Bower of Richard Desmond, provisionally entitled Rough Trader, awaits publication. Bowers's biography of Simon Cowell, written with Cowell's co-operation, was published on 20 April, 2012.

Bower is married to Veronica Wadley, former editor of the London Evening Standard, and has four children.

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May 5, 2010
Bestselling spy novelist Charles Cumming has chosen to discuss The Perfect English Spy by Tom Bower on FiveBooks as one of the top five on his subject - Espionage, saying that:

"...Bower’s book is a biography of Sir Dick White, who was the head of MI5 between 1953 and 1956 and of SIS [MI6:] between 1956 and 1968. In other words, right the way through the trauma of the Cambridge spies: Old Etonians, gentlemen, hoodwinking the Establishment..."

The full interview is available here: http://fivebooks.com/interviews/charl...
717 reviews4 followers
March 16, 2025
Book on Sir Dick White - English spy. Covers the spy scandals regarding Philby, burgess, and the gang. Free of the usual british anti-americanism and supercillious attitude toward the FBI/CIA. Very informative.
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