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MI6 previews the upcoming book "Six
- The Real James Bonds" Part 1, the history of
Britain's most secret service 1909 to 1939...
Update [8th April 2011]: USA release date and cover artwork confirmed
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Book Preview: Six - The Real James Bonds
15th December 2009 / 8th April 2011
SIX - The Real James Bonds (Part 1) The
History of Britain's Most Secret Service 1909 to 1939: The
Complete
History of the Secret Intelligence Service - Michael Smith
From the Kaiser to the Taliban, Britain’s real spooks are
revealed in this intriguing biography of the most prestigious
of the world’s secret services. SIX is the full story of
100 years of espionage by MI6, the organisation still seen as
the model for the world’s spies.
This book tells the truth
about the men and women who inspired fictional characters such
as James Bond and George Smiley. It begins with the creation
of the British Secret Service in 1909 as the First World War
loomed, and comes right up to date,
detailing the work of MI6 officers in Afghanistan. SIX focuses
on the human factor, recounting hitherto untold tales of derring-do
and exposing villainous traitors whose identities
have until now been closely guarded secrets. Using hundreds of
previously unreleased files and interviews with key players,
SIX exposes the truth behind the failures and
successes of the service including the real story of the Iraq
scandal, naming the heroes and villains alike.
Official Blurb
This first part of acclaimed author Mick Smith's epic history
of Britain's external intelligence community begins with
the creation of the Secret Service Bureau in 1909, which
was charged with controlling intelligence within Britain
and overseas in particular, establishing through spies
the strength of the Imperial German army and navy. This
naturally came to the fore during World War One.
Between
the wars the service really established itself, restyling
itself the Secret Intelligence Service. Under the aegis
of the diplomatic service, the SIS expanded its network
of European spies in order to counter the threat of
Russian Bolshevism. In 1918 an operation to overthrow the
Bolshevik
government by SIS agents failed badly. With the ascent
of the Nazis, the SIS switched its focus to the threat
of German aggression, recruiting sources within the
German government and admiralty. This first part of SIX
takes
us up to the eve of the conflict, using hundreds of
previously unreleased files and interviews with key players
to show
how one of the world's most secretive of secret agencies
originated and developed into something like the MI6
we know today.
About The Author
is a former intelligence officer and award-winning journalist,
as well as one of the world’s leading experts on Britain’s
secret services. He is author of the No.1 bestseller Station
X.
The second part, published in Spring 2011, will
tell the story from the outbreak of World War Two to the present,
showing the development of the agency into the model for the
world s spies during the Cold War, and detailing the work of
MI6 in Afghanistan and Iraq today.
Datastream
Publisher: BiteBack Publishing
Imprint: Dialogue
Pages: 400
Format: Hardback
RRP: £19.99 / $29.95
ISBN-13: 978-1906447007 (UK) / 978-1906447004 (USA)
Released: 7th July 2010 (UK) / 1st May 2011 (USA)
