Behind the Enigma: The Authorised History of GCHQ, Britain's Secret Cyber-Intelligence Agency is an authorised history of GCHQ, written by intelligence and security expert[1] John Ferris.[2] It was published on 20 October 2020 by Bloomsbury Publishing.[1]

Behind the Enigma
AuthorJohn Ferris
Published20 October 2020
PublisherBloomsbury Publishing

Reception edit

Lawrence D. Freedman, reviewing from Foreign Affairs, commented that the book's judgement on Bletchley Park's influence was "careful".[3] However, the book's engagement was critiqued by The Guardian, which described it as "deeply technical in places and largely lacking in colour or human drama", despite praising the coverage of intelligence during the Falklands War.[2] The book was also reviewed by The Times and Cryptologia.[4][5]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "GCHQ's history told for the first time in Behind the Enigma". gchq.gov.uk. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b Harding, Luke (21 October 2020). "Behind the Enigma by John Ferris review – inside Britain's most secret intelligence agency". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  3. ^ FreedmanMarch/April 2021, Lawrence D. (2021-04-15). "A Review of "Behind the Enigma" by John Ferris". Foreign Affairs. ISSN 0015-7120. Retrieved 2023-01-25.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Urban, Mark. "Behind the Enigma by John Ferris, review — the not-so-super spies of GCHQ". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
  5. ^ Marks, Philip (2023-01-16). "Review of Behind the Enigma by John Ferris". Cryptologia: 1–30. doi:10.1080/01611194.2022.2156311. ISSN 0161-1194. S2CID 256126968.