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9780198203070

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`The book will be of tremendous use to anyone wishing to unravel the intricate codes and laws that underlay Britain's 150 year commitment to the idea of secrecy' The Journal of Modern History, Vol.73, No.1 `the book is clearly written and functions well both as a reference work for those with specific questions about the operation of secrecy and as a more general account of the management of information in modern Britain' The Journal of Modern History, Vol.73, No.1 `The book is well-written each chapter ends with some vignette of the period that encompasses the themes and the author has a keen eye for the sheer absurdities of British practice over the years' Peter Gill, Journal of Intelligence & National Security, Vol. 15, Autumn 2000 `good discussion of some of the central paradoxes of state secrecy' Peter Gill, Journal of Intelligence & National Security, Vol. 15, Autumn 2000 `This is the most sophisticated and wide-ranging book ever written on the history of official secrecy in Britain and should be studied by all those interested in the interactionof law and society. it achieves this status because it concentrates on the social and economic context of secrecy and the way in which the development of secrecy suited the changing nature of British society and, in particular, the needs of teh elites who dominated that society... The central feature, and great strength, of this book is that it tries to answer the question why Britain, almost alone among western democracies, has had such a pervasive culture of secrecy.' Clive Ponting `David Vincent ranges much wider than the normal accounts of secrecy. He steps outside the Whitehall machine and investigates secrecy in other areas of British life thereby providing a series of perspectives that are so often missing from other accounts of secrecy. The conclusions that Vincent draws are therefore particulalry important not just for the political scientists but also for lawyers who wish to understand the social context of the law and other professionals who seek to understand how and why their professions operate in the way they do.' Clive Ponting `Vincent's excellent book explores a difficult topic with consummate skill ... the author treats the last part of this century with a sensitive ear for hypocrisy on both Left and Right. Above all, his admirably concise prose encapsulates the tensions and ambiguities of his subject.' D L LeMahieu, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Vol 37, no2 October 1999 `The strength of this book is its sweep. No facet of secrecy in British society in the period surveyed is overlooked.' Phillip Knightley, Sunday Times `New ethical outlooks are required and new rules for trust must be made. This timely book shows us the scale of the task.' David Stafford, History Today, June 1999. `an admirable survey of secrecy, both at the national and at the private levels, over the last century and a half of the country's fast changing history.' Stephen Fleming, Irish Independent (Dublin), 15/05/99. `path-breaking book' Bernard Porter, LRB 15/07/99 `a wide-ranging book' Nicholas Hiley, TLS, 28/05/99

This is the best book ever written on the history of official secrecy in Britian ... it ranges much wider than the Whitehall machine and investigates secrecy in other areas of British public life. It is this aspect of David Vincent's work that provides a range of perspective that is so often missing from other accounts of secrecy. Clive Ponting, THES 3/3/00

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David Vincent is Professor of Social History and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Keele.

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