The Secret World

A History of Intelligence

By: Christopher Andrew

Narrated by: Clive Chafer

The history of espionage is far older than any of today's intelligence agencies, yet the long history of intelligence operations has been largely forgotten. The codebreakers at Bletchley Park, the most successful World War II intelligence agency, were completely unaware their predecessors in earlier moments of national crisis had broken the codes of Napoleon during the Napoleonic wars and those of Spain before the Spanish Armada.

Those who do not understand past mistakes are likely to repeat them. Intelligence is a prime example. At the outbreak of World War I, the grasp of intelligence shown by US President Woodrow Wilson and British Prime Minister Herbert Asquith was not in the same class as that of George Washington during the Revolutionary War and leading 18th-century British statesmen.

In this audiobook, distinguished historian Christopher Andrew recovers much of the lost intelligence history of the past three millennia - and shows its relevance today.

©2018 Christopher Andrew (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Thought it was objective until it was obviously not.

Because Allende killed himself instead of being killed by opposing forces is somehow proof the CIA had nothing to do with his overthrow.
Stopped reading immediately. Who knows what other fairy tales I read in this book I didn’t even question.

Great survey of the history of intelligence!

I enjoyed this trip through 3000 years to discover the history of intelligence till the present day. Great book and enjoyable listen. Highly recommended!! #AmericanRevolution #WorldWarI #WorldWarII #tagsgiving #sweepstakes

Very detailed and informative.

This book is very detailed and just over all amazing. Yet it is a little biased and takes the English (United kingdom) and the primary subject of the secret world of intelligence.

Wonderful book but flawed performance

The Secret World is full of fascinating historical characters and amusing anecdotes. It's also erudite. The bibliography alone is more than 250 pages long in the hardcover edition. Sadly, though, I can't recommend this audiobook. Clive Chafer reads in a quick monotone that flattens the material. Christopher Andrew's humor is lost, and this deadening makes this well-written book more difficult to comprehend and appreciate. I recommend the physical book over this audio version.

Overall good but missing big pieces

Really limited information on China and basically any non-European services once it gets to the modern era. The conclusions focus on terrorism seems also based in a 2015/2016 writing timeframe and seems outdated.

a unique look at the big picture

this book looks at the full history without hyper focusing on any one time or person. it is in chronological order so early on is antiquity and lessons learned. this, unlike others, is a strategic look at espionage

Very interesting history but biased

This is a very in-depth look at the the history of intelligence and how it was used throughout history. A lot of the information was very new to me, but on the historical parts I am better versed on, it was very accurate. The whole book was interesting.

However, it is sort of implied that the author believes all methods and function of intelligence work is totally justified and not at all problematic in a free and open society. I’m not entirely sure the author can tell were a well intend intelligence activity begins and purges and paranoia ends in the destruction of the society it was meant to protect.

Incredible depth and great information!

The author has done an amazing job with the depth of research and presentation of all the information.