Enemies within : communists, the Cambridge spies and the making of modern Britain

With access to recently released papers and other neglected documents,this sharp analysis of the intelligence world examines how and why these men and others betrayed their country and what this cost Britain and its allies. ‘Historians fumble their catches when they study individuals’ motives and ideas rather than the institutions in which people work, respond, find motivation and develop their ideas’ writes Richard Davenport-Hines in his history of the men who were persuaded by the Soviet Union to betray their country. In a book which attempts to counter many contradictory accounts, Enemies Within offers a study of character: both individual and institutional – the operative traits of boarding schools, the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the Intelligence Division, the Foreign Office, MI5, MI6 and Moscow Centre. The book refuses to present the Cambridge spies as they wished to be seen, in Marxist terms. It argues that these five men did their greatest harm to Britain not from their clandestine espionage but in their propaganda victories enjoyed from Moscow after 1951. Notions of trust, abused trust, forfeited trust and mistrust from the late nineteenth century to perestroika pepper its narrative. In a book that is as intellectually thrilling as it is entertaining and illuminating, Davenport-Hines charts how the undermining of authority, the rejection of expertise, and the suspicion of educational advantages began with the Cambridge Five and has transformed the social and political temper of Britain. What Pushed Blunt, Burgess, Cairncross, Maclean And Philby Into Soviet Hands? With Access To Recently Released Papers And Other Neglected Documents,this Sharp Analysis Of The Intelligence World Examines How And Why These Men And Others Betrayed Their Country And What This Cost Britain And Its Allies. Enemies Within Is A New History Of The Influence Of Moscow On Britain Told Through The Stories Of Those Who Chose To Spy For The Soviet Union. It Also Challenges Entrenched Assumptions About Abused Trust, Corruption And Establishment Cover-ups That Began With The Cambridge Five And The Disappearance Of Guy Burgess And Donald Maclean On The Night Boat To Saint-malo In 1951. In A Book That Is As Intellectually Thrilling As It Is Entertaining And Illuminating, Richard Davenport-hines Traces The Bonds Between Individuals, Networks And Organisations Over Generations To Offer A Study Of Character, Both Individual And Institutional. At Its Core Lie The Operative Traits Of Boarding Schools, The Universities Of Oxford And Cambridge, The Intelligence Division, Foreign Office, Mi5, Mi6 And Moscow Centre. Davenport-hines Tells Many Stories Of Espionage, Counter-espionage And Treachery. With Its Vast Cope, Ambition And Scholarship, Enemies Within Charts How The Undermining Of Authority, The Rejection Of Expertise And The Suspicion Of Educational Advantages Began, And How These Have Transformed The Social And Political Temper Of Modern Britain. Part 1. Rules Of The Game: The Moscow Apparatus -- The Intelligence Division -- The Whitehall Frame Of Mind -- The Vigilance Detectives -- The Cipher Spies -- The Blueprint Spie -- Part 2. Asking For Trouble: The Little Clans -- The Cambridge Cell -- The Vienna Comrades -- The Ring Of Five -- The People's War -- The Desk Officers -- The Atomic Spies -- The Cold War -- The Alcoholic Panic -- Part 3. Settling The Score: The Missing Diplomats -- The Establishment -- The Brotherhood Of Perverted Men -- The Exiles -- The Mole Hunts. Richard Davenport-hines. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. What pushed Blunt, Burgess, Cairncross, Maclean and Philby into Soviet hands? With access to recently released papers and other neglected documents, this sharp analysis of the intelligence world examines how and why these men and others betrayed their country and what this cost Britain and its allies. Enemies Within is a new history of the influence of Moscow on Britain told through the stories of those who chose to spy for the Soviet Union. It also challenges entrenched assumptions about abused trust, corruption and Establishment cover-ups that began with the Cambridge Five and the disappearance of Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean on the night boat to Saint-Malo in 1951. In a book that is as intellectually thrilling as it is entertaining and illuminating, Richard Davenport-Hines traces the bonds between individuals, networks and organisations over generations to offer a study of character, both individual and institutional. At its core lie the operative traits of boarding schools, the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the Intelligence Division, Foreign Office, MI5, MI6 and Moscow Centre. Davenport-Hines tells many stories of espionage, counter-espionage and treachery. With its vast cope, ambition and scholarship, Enemies Within charts how the undermining of authority, the rejection of expertise and the suspicion of educational advantages began, and how these have transformed the social and political temper of modern Britain