First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Richard Kerbaj, and Dreamscape Media for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

While I do not consider myself an intelligence or espionage expert, I could not help but want to learn a little more with this book by Richard Kerbaj. In the tome, Kerbaj explores the five intelligence agencies of the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as how well they work together. The evolution of intelligence and its sharing over the years has been exponentially increased with the onset of the Secind World War, as Kerbaj effectively argues throughout. During various periods discussed in the book, the author effectively shows how each of the five agencies work independently and together, as well as their numerous clashes over the last eight decades. This book is written so that the layperson can digest its contents, but is equally detailed for aficionados to enjoy. Richard Kerbaj reveals his detailed research and analysis in this well-paced book!

Richard Kerbaj does a stellar job explaining the role of The Five Eyes from the outset of the book. The spy network sharing intelligence between the respective agencies of the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand has been quite effective and veiled in secrecy since its creation around 1956. While not legally binding, The Five Eyes has worked well to collaborate on high-tensions situations that have benefitted some of all of its members to better handle geo-political threats over the last many years. Kerbaj effectively argues this throughout the tome, using multiple examples to further the arguments for the curious reader.

One could easily argue that the five players are not always on equal footing. The British and American agencies loom over their three cousins, though Kerbaj does not dismiss the importance of the New Zealanders, Australians, or Canadians. Rather, they are all cogs in a larger wheel, one that move effectively in union, which has been shown repeatedly. However, each of the five has had its share of blunders and been forced to justify decisions on the world scene, as well as to one another. This cohesive nature and refusal to vilify each other helps strengthen The Five Eyes on an ongoing basis.

There is no doubt that there have been clashes and high-level disagreements over the years, sometimes related to the politics of the countries’ respective governments, but there is an overarching sentiment that intelligence sharing has been used to unite The Five Eyes to ensure a solid and united front against many of the threats that have been brought to the intelligence community. Kerbaj offers some ideas as to how the five could have worked better together, but also exemplifies the powerful decision-making processes used to create a safety net to keep the West safe and the joint efforts to target some key countries who have vowed to dismantle safety and security on an international scale, namely the autocratic regimes of Russia and China, as well as some of their minor fellow players.

Richard Kerbaj delivers a well-paced book that is full of nuggets for the curious reader. He presents key arguments to support the creation and sustaining of The Five Eyes, as well as postulating its future on the world scene. Kerbaj uses great interviews and numerous documents to support many of his sentiments, providing the reader with hard evidence rather than speculation. This helps substantiate the numerous forward-thinking views presented within the tome and adds depth to an already well-developed book. While I am no intelligence expert or aficionado, I thoroughly enjoyed all I learned and the way in which Richard Kerbaj presented his findings. This is certainly a book well worth my time and effort and I am better for reading it!

Kudos, Mr. Kerbaj, for opening my eyes about many intelligence subjects I had never pondered.