The Circus: Mi5, Operations 1945-1972

Just like the title implies, Mr. West paints a sometimes comical, sometimes tragic portrayal of the circus-like "intelligence" blunders of the British Mi5 operations of the post-WWII period. There are three most interesting thoughts brought forth. One is the sheer quantity of cases of betrayal. In a practical sense, one may then wonder whether active espionage is worthwhile at all, since it appears to become a means of facilitating espionage against the nation engaged in active espionage in the first place. Secondly, one can picture the agonizing and miserably twisted lives that the individuals involved lead - something that only LeCarre's purported 'fictional' accounts can do justice. Espionage, counter-espionage, secrecy, years of covert operations, etc.; all these are foreign and seem to run counter to the most basic and endemic of human traits. Lastly, perhaps the most contradictory aspects of the whole spying business: the question of "what the real truth is". Is "Agent X" really a double agent, sanctioned by the head of F-branch, but because of the extreme secrecy required, not even the head of Mi5 has knowledge of the operation (or so it is thought). More importantly, does the other side know the real story, and are they feeding "Agent X" useless information and what information is our agent feeding his other side's counterpart ... but on a more important note, is the head of Mi5 a sleeper mole from the other side??!! Superposed on this logical absurdity, is the fact that as soon as the service finds out whether an agent has homosexual proclivities the truth becomes crystal clear ... of course ...An interesting and eye-opening book - a good survey of the espionage landscape which should prompt the reader to seek out other books on some of the many cases discussed in "The Circus." I am disappointed in Mr. West from the point of view he did not delve deeper in the details and background of the cases. Perhaps he may regale us with more of his insights (if he is still alive!)