About this item
A ground-breaking history of intelligence -- from its classical origins to the onset of the surveillance state in the digital age -- that lifts the veil of secrecy from this clandestine world. Comprehensive and authoritative, The Secret State skillfully examines the potential pitfalls of the traditional intelligence cycle; the dangerous uncertainties of spies and human intelligence; how the Cold War became an electronic intelligence war; the technical revolution that began with the use of reconnaissance photography in World War I and during the Cuban Missile Crisis; the legacy of Stalin's deliberate ignoring of vital intelligence; how signals intelligence gave America one of its greatest victories; how Wikileaks really happened; and whether 9/11 could have been avoided if America's post-Cold War intelligence agencies had adapted to the new world of international terrorism. Authoritative and analytical, Hughes-Wilson searches for hard answers and scrutinizes why crucial intelligence is so often ignored, misunderstood, or spun by politicians and seasoned generals alike. From yesterday's spies to tomorrow's cyber world, The Secret State is a fascinating and thought-provoking history of this ever-changing and ever-important subject. 16 pages of B&W illustrations
About the Author
John Hughes-Wilson retired from a prominent army career to become one of Britain's leading military historians, as well as a successful novelist. A former Colonel on NATO's International Political Staff in Brussels, his military posts included Head of Policy and Senior British Intelligence Officer, SHAPE, and posts with Intelligence, Counter-Terrorism and Special Forces. During his 25 years' service with the Intelligence Corps and as a Special Forces Operations officer, he saw active service in the Falklands, Cyprus, Arabia and Northern Ireland.
A past president of the International Guild of Battlefield Guides, Hughes-Wilson is a respected commentator on a wide range of intelligence and military historical subjects and lectures for a number of international, governmental and academic organisations.
His factual books include the best-selling Military Intelligence Blunders; Blindfold and Alone published by Constable & Robinson, (described by the Guardian as "the definitive book on the WW1 executions") ; and A Brief History of the Cold War. The Puppet Masters, a history of intelligence, published by Phoenix was shortlisted for the Westminster Gold Medal. An American Coup d'Etat - Who Really Killed JFK? was published in 2013 by John Blake Publishing. His books have been translated into six languages, including Japanese and Turkish. He has produced over 150 articles and broadcasts worldwide on defence and related subjects. In 2012 he was selected to be the author of the Imperial War Museum's official History of the First World War, due out in 2014.
Hughes-Wilson has been a frequent broadcaster for BBC television and radio, covering the Falklands 25th Anniversary celebration (with Huw Edwards) as well as live commentary for the annual cenotaph memorial for BBC Television (with David Dimbleby) . He has presented numerous television programmes for film companies, including the award-nominated BBC's What If? television series and Fulcrum TV's 1945.
He is an Archives Fellow of Churchill College Cambridge and a working Fellow of the Royal United Services Institute in Whitehall.
Since retiring he has travelled and lectured extensively, leading over 150 battlefield tours and giving public presentations. He has trained the Palestinian Police in Gaza on intelligence for counter-terrorism and improvised explosive devices for the EU, plus numerous other training contracts for the UN in the Balkans, the Swiss General Staff and the UNDP. He is a visiting university lecturer for a number of universities, as well as the Continuing Professional Development organisation and international corporations such as Shell, Reuters, IBM Europe and the City of London.
