For the first time, ASIO has opened its archives to an independent historian. With unfettered access to the records, David Horner tells the real story of Australia's domestic intelligence organisation, from shaky beginnings to the expulsion of Ivan Skripov in 1963... From the start, ASIO's mission was to catch spies. In the late 1940s, the top secret Venona program revealed details of a Soviet spy ring in Australia, supported by leading Australian communists. David Horner outlines the tactics ASIO used in counterespionage, from embassy bugging to surveillance of local suspects. His research sheds new light on the Petrov Affair, and details incidents and activities that have never been revealed before... This authoritative and ground-breaking account overturns many myths about ASIO, and offers new insights into broader Australian politics and society in the fraught years of the Cold War... The Spy Catchers is the first of three volumes of The Official History of ASIO.
By:
David Horner
Imprint: Allen & Unwin
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 153mm,
Spine: 56mm
Weight: 1.009kg
ISBN: 9781760290429
ISBN 10: 1760290424
Series: OFFICIAL HISTORY OF ASIO
Pages: 736
Publication Date: 21 October 2015
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
List of Figures and TablesPrefaceAcronyms and AbbreviationsGlossaryChronologyIntroductionPART 1: FEDERATION TO THE COLD WAR, 1901-19491 Counterespionage or Political Surveillance? Australia's Early Security Intelligence Organisations, 1901-19452 Adapting to a New Threat: Postwar Security and Intelligence in Australia, 1945-19483 Reacting to the Leaks: British and American Concerns about Australian Security, February-July 19484 Under Irresistible Pressure: Chifley Forms a New Security Service, July 1948-March 1949PART 2: ESTABLISHMENT AND CONSOLIDATION, 1949-19545 Building a New Security Service: ASIO under Justice Reed, 19496 Trying to Crack 'The Case': The End of Reed's Term as Director-General, 1949-19507 Reshaping and Consolidating: Charles Spry Becomes Director-General of Security, 1950-19538 Contesting the Cold War: ASIO Confronts the Communists, 1950-19549 Watching and Recording: Field Operations against the Communists, 1950-195310 Vetting, Checking and Advising: ASIO's Protective Security Role, 1950-195411 Keeping Out Undesirables: Overseas Liaison, Refugees and War Criminals, 1950-195512 Moving Beyond 'The Case': Counterespionage Operations, 1950-1953PART 3: PETROV AND THE ROYAL COMMISSION, 1951-195513 ASIO's Triumph: The Defection of Vladimir and Evdokia Petrov, 1951-195414 Out of the Shadows: ASIO and the Royal Commission on Espionage, 1954-1955PART 4: EXPANSION AND PROFESSIONALISM, 1956-196315 Strengthening the Organisation: Legislation, Politics and Administration, 1956-196316 Seeking Comprehensive Coverage: Counter-subversion Operations, 1955-196317 Disruption, Propaganda and Exposure: Broadening the Counter-subversion Approach, 1955-196318 Searching for Illegals: Counterespionage Operations, 1955-195919 Resolving Doubts in the Commonwealth's Favour: Protective Security, 1955-196320 Building a Worldwide Network: ASIO's International Connections, 1956-196321 Return of the Russians: A Counterespionage Success? 1959-1963ConclusionAppendix: Protecting the Identity of ASIO Agents: The Case of Mercia MassonBibliographyNotesIndex
David Horner, AM, is Emeritus Professor of Australian defence history in the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University.
Reviews for The Official History of ASIO: Volume 1: 1949-1963: The Spy Catchers
The Spy Catchers is a fascinating account of ASIO's early years when the main threat Australia faced was from the Soviet regime. --The Hon. John Howard, OM, AC, former Prime Minister of Australia
- Joint winner of Prime Minister's Literary Award - Prize for Australian History 2015 (Australia)
- Long-listed for Council for the Humanities 2015 (Australia)
- Long-listed for Council for the Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences (CHASS) Australia Prize for a Book 2015.
- Winner of Prime Minister's Literary Award - Prize for Australian History 2015 (Australia)
- Winner of St Ermin's Hotel Intelligence Book of the Year 2015 (UK)
