The Special Relationship between America and Britain is feted by politicians on both sides of the Atlantic when it suits their purpose and just as frequently dismissed as a myth, not least by the media, which announces its supposed death on a regular basis. Yet the simple truth is that the two countries are bound together more closely than either is to any other ally.
In The Real Special Relationship, Michael Smith reveals how it all began, 80 years ago, when a top-secret visit by four American codebreakers to Bletchley Park in February 1941 ‒ ten months before the US entered the Second World War ‒ marked the start of a close collaboration between the two nations that endures to this day. Smith uses thousands of newly released secret documents and the testimony of those involved to guide us through the Cold War, the War on Terror and right up to the war in Ukraine revealing the truth of numerous joint US and UK intelligence operations and how they shaped the close ties between the two countries ensuring that more than 80 years after it began, the transatlantic intelligence exchange remains at the heart of the real Special Relationship.
"A well written and gripping overview of one of the closest intelligence and security relationships in the world - one that has served both the UK and the US incredibly well over the past 80 plus years and that continues to make a true difference today to each nation and their friends and allies. Amazing to see the twists and turns in the relationship laid out before the reader in such a compelling story."
Admiral Mike Rogers, former NSA Director