Written with great detail, this is an account of the foremost spy services: British Intelligence, both home and abroad, the KGB, the CIA, and others. From the cradle to adulthood. Phillip Knightly is first of all a journalist with an enquiring eye and, at times, a sharp pen. Bureaucracy, manipulation, half-truths, untruths, deceit, and all for the greater good. What does it take to build an empire? What does it take to expand an empire? Pariots! Fanatics! Imperialists! An ever increasing budget! This is a no-holds barred chronicle of how little was achieved and at what cost. It begs the question ... An entertaining read.