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The History Thieves by Ian Cobain
£9.99
Available
Product Ref. (e.g. ISBN, SKU)
9781846275852
Published:
06 Jul 2017
Format:
Paperback
Number of pages:
368 pages
Dimensions:
198x129x22mm
Weight:
0.250kgs
Author:
Ian Cobain's 'The History Thieves' looks at the culture of secrecy in British society. Since the passing of the first Official Secrets Act, a complex bureaucratic machine has grown up around the British state, allowing a culture of secrecy to flourish. Drawing on previously unseen material and original research, Cobain's book reveals the secrets that successive governments have tried to conceal from the public, including controversial alliances, surveillance initiatives - and even unreported wars.
'As British official records are still "going missing", the significance of Cobain's work only increases' David Olusoga, author of Black and British
'In an astonishing book, the writer Ian Cobain reveals the mass destruction of records and archives, and the false memory it has left us with' Andrew Marr
In 1889, the first Official Secrets Act was passed. Since then a culture of secrecy has flourished. As successive governments have been selective about what they choose to share with the public, we have been left with a distorted and incomplete understanding not only of the workings of the state but of our nation's culture and its past.
Ian Cobain reveals how key moments in British history since the end of WWII have been manipulated by these official secrets. We follow the decades-long attempts to conceal the existence of Bletchley Park and its successor, GCHQ. We learn how a series of astonishing wars were fought during the 1960s and 1970s remained unreported. He also tells of the government's hidden links with terrorist cells during the Troubles, and reveals the state's peacetime surveillance techniques, not to mention its cynical manipulation of the criminal justice system and 'freedom of information'.
Drawing on previously unseen material and rigorous research, The History Thieves is a gripping story of how a complex bureaucratic machine has been created by the British state, allowing governments to evade accountability and bury their secrets.
'An engrossing account of how government officials burned the records of imperial rule as the British empire came to an end' Book of the Week, Guardian
'An important book which deserves to change the way we see our recent past...' Daily Mail
About the Author: Ian Cobain was born in Liverpool in 1960. He has been a journalist since the early 1980s and was most recently an investigative reporter with the Guardian. His inquiries into the UK's involvement in torture since 9/11 have won a number of major awards, including the Martha Gellhorn Prize and the Paul Foot Award for investigative journalism. He has also won two Amnesty International media awards. Cobain lives in London with his wife and two children.
| Number of pages | 368 |
|---|
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| First Item | 2 Items & Over | |
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| UK | £3.75 | £5.00 |
| EU | £15.00 | £30.00 |
| USA & Canada | £30.00 | £50.00 |
| Rest of the World | £45.00 | £60.00 |
| Collect in Store | free | free |
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