Description
Book SynopsisThis is a history of the secret activities of the British government in response to threats to the nation''s well-being and stability during the twentieth century. It is based on intensive and widespread research in private and public archives and on documents many of which have only recently come to light or been made available.
The dangers perceived by the state have been manifold and various, coming from within and from abroad. Anarchists, fascists, socialists, communists, the IRA, trades-unionists and animal activists as well as spies, terrorists and saboteurs have been the subject of undercover investigation, along with almost every large-scale movement from suffragettes to campaigners for peace and nuclear disarmament. The author describes the methods and people employed, and the mixed nature of their results.
The British state has always seen itself as civil and liberal, but as Dr Thurlow shows it has sometimes been far from open. The government has had many weapons a
Trade Review
"The range of studies is quite breathtaking .... The whole book is a fascinating read, despite Thurlow's liberal politics and the fact that most of the relevant files are still unreleased." Socialist Review
"An important contribution to our understanding of the relationship between the traditions of individual freedom and the internal security needs of the state in modern Britain." American Historical Review
Table of ContentsIntroduction.
1. The Strange Death of Liberal England (1900-1914).
2. The First World War (1914-1918).
3. John Bull's Other Island (1910-1923).
4. Reds in the Bed (1917-1939).
5. The March of the Blackshirts (1923-1939).
6. The Second World War (1939-1945).
7. The Cold War (1945-1989).
8. Pushing and Shoving (1958-1993).
9. The Orange and the Green (1968-1993).
Conclusion.
Index.
