Churchill and Secret Service by David Stafford. (Woodstock & New York: Overlook Press, 1998. Pp. xiii, 386.)

Abstract

Winston Churchill--the journalist, soldier, politician, statesman, and war leader-- has been the subject of much scholarship. Why then another book which explores his public life? This book explores another of Churchill's personas, one of espionage advocate, a persona more private and secretive and, therefore, less familiar. For more than sixty years, Churchill was actively involved in the gathering, promotion, and use of secret intelligence, beginning with his own youthful spying for Britain during the Spanish-American War. Little has been written about this aspect of Churchill's life, even by Churchill himself, who has written voluminously on other aspects of his life.