The Hidden Hand: Britain, America, and Cold War Secret Intelligence

After 1945, London, Washington, Moscow and Peking were dominated by fear of a 'nuclear Pearl Harbour', and the need for better warning systems allowed the Western intelligence community to grow to unprecedented size and power. The conflict proved explosive, with bitter arguments over provocation threatening to tear Western capitals apart. Britain believed that the U.S. were bent on provoking a Third World War in which Britain would be obliterated. Here, Aldrich shows how the 'hidden hand' enabled Britain to extend its power over the U.S. in a time of military decline, and how the U.S. secret services allowed the extension of Presidential power over U.S. foreign policy.