This is a very comprehensive look at the history of intelligence, spanning the last several thousand years. Beginning in Biblical times and continuing on into the present day, we are taken into the secret world of spies and intelligence. This is a hefty book and there is a lot to take in, but it follows a chronological outline with lots of notes, making it easy to read. Andrew, who is an historian at the University of Cambridge, did a wonderful job compiling all this information and I was interested to learn that he is one of the world's leading authorities in this field. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this book. *Advanced copy provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

The author managed to research over 3,000 years of human history with intelligence work and condense it into an interesting book that captured my interest. Great writing and such interesting information!

Well done. A huge book, which incorporates some of Andrew's other work. If you are interested in the subject- truly interested- this is the place to start, even though it is intimidating. It's deeply researched and well written. This not a book to read on Kindle, as there are lots of footnotes etc. Note that this is the history of intelligence in the West. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.