Spycatcher [Mass Market Paperback]

Peter Wright (Author), Paul Greengrass (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1988

From Publishers Weekly The British government's efforts to block publication of Peter Wright's Spycatcher: Candid Autobiography of a Senior Intelligence Agent climaxed in a sensational trial in Australia in 1986 that cast a shadow of disrepute on the British legal system, the Official Secrets Act and the government itself. The author of this engrossing, suspenseful account is the Australian attorney who represented Wright and his would-be Australian publisher. Excerpts from the trial testimony reveal that Turnbull uncovered mendacity, hypocrisy and cynicism at the highest levels of the British government, principally during his cross-examination of Sir Robert Armstrong, cabinet secretary and adviser on intelligence matters. In 1987 the High Court at Canberra dismissed the case and ordered the Thatcher government to reimburse legal costs to Wright and Heinemann Publishers Australia. Turnbull calls the Britishers' conduct in the affair "quite disgraceful" and adds that the experience "galvanized my determination to see Australia rid herself of its sic remaining constitutional links with England." Illustrated. 40,000 first printing; author tour. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Dell (July 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440201322
• ISBN-13: 978-0440201328
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #399,968 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars British counterintelligence tradecraft, January 6, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Spycatcher (Mass Market Paperback)

From the end of WWII until 1965 when Roger Hollis left as head of MI-5, British counterintelligence was almost completely compromised. The Soviets outmaneuvered them continuously with a flood of diplomatic and illegal agents. This was a constant source of embarrassment as people like Kim Philby, Burgess and McLean defected to the USSR. The agents defecting in the opposite direction were frequently clever disinformants sent as ploys creating a "wilderness of mirrors." As former assistant director of MI5 the author was directly responsible for investigating the infiltration and gives a blow by blow account of how morale suffered as one by one potential moles were grilled and either cleared or ousted. Many interesting and authoritative asides keep interest high throughout the work.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely interesting & factual, yet entertainingly written, February 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Spycatcher (Mass Market Paperback)

Peter Wright presents an astounding personal history of his experiences within MI5, together with his exploits in conjunction with counterparts in the USA and Canada. The book is so well- written, with amusing escapades blended with potentially explosive international incidents and foreign political intrigue, that it is difficult to place the book down until it has been completely read. Perhaps the most amusing narratives are those in which Wright, the first Physicist employed by MI5, placed a "bug" in the London's Eygptian Embassy to gather secret messages ; also the random numbering from #1 to #20 of merely (8) sophisticated hidden microphone wires during the erection of a new Russian Embassy in Canada, under the auspices of the RCMP; and his personal scrambled message system with an American counterpart because they didn't trust their own contemporaries. On a more serious note, the author persistently contends throughout the entire book, that his former boss was the ninth (unidentified mole) in the complicated networks of international spies within the OSS, CIA, MI5, and the KGB. While detailing the exposure of eight "moles", including defectors such as Kim Philby, Wright makes many accusations against his former boss, and that is perhaps the major reason for the Spycatcher book being banned in the UK. On a sad note, several prominent people killed themselves shortly after being interviewed by the author. Evidently because many of them were cronies and had attended Oxford during the early 1930's, some were "gay", others had personal experiences which they were afraid would become public knowledge and they did not want to cope with the consequences. I believe that this is a "must read" book for all adult readers, especially those who enjoy the suspense of Agatha Christie, Erle S. Garner, & autobiographers such as William Manchester. rings

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Real MI5, June 14, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Spycatcher CST (Audio Cassette)

I'd been dying to read this book since I first heard Rosselson's song Ballad of a Spycatcher (basically the plot and best lines of Peter Wright's book). The book more than lived up to expectations. Although the style is sometimes dry and methodical, for the most part Wright takes the reader from the early "flying-by-the-seat-of-your-pants" stages of his work in counterintelligence as his branch of MI5 takes on a Soviet spy network 15 times its size, through the middle years when brilliant inventions and tactics are leaked to the Russians by an unknown, high-level source, through his heartbreaking autumn years when proving or disproving suspicions means long interrogations that can ruin the reputations of good men or let traitors slip away. Wright is a great guide through the arcane world of real MI5 work, and he has a splendidly British sense of humor that breaks the tension when needed. This book totally changed the way I thought of the British Secret Service.