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Rating: 
Summary: Specialized Study of Secret Strivings
Review: Having a long time interest in this subject, both vocational and avocational, I find this book to be a good summation of the conflicts generated by the varying war aims of the two major powers, that of FDR being to liberate captive nations, and that of Churchill to restore the empire, which of course, meant also setting the French and Dutch back in their old places. There is little reason to go into much detail here, the subject has been covered in other books such as Allies of A Kind and OSS in China (see my review on this site). One of the more interesting parts is when the Australians realized that even though they came to the aid of Britain in the Near East and Africa, when they needed help the British were unable to do so, and they had to turn eastward to the US as their principal ally and supplier. To sum up, the title indicates what this is -- a high level study at the governmental and theatre level and not a bunch of thrilling operational tales of behind the lines "sneak and peek."
Rating:
Summary: Specialized Study of Secret Strivings
Review: Having a long time interest in this subject, both vocational and avocational, I find this book to be a good summation of the conflicts generated by the varying war aims of the two major powers, that of FDR being to liberate captive nations, and that of Churchill to restore the empire, which of course, meant also setting the French and Dutch back in their old places. There is little reason to go into much detail here, the subject has been covered in other books such as Allies of A Kind and OSS in China (see my review on this site). One of the more interesting parts is when the Australians realized that even though they came to the aid of Britain in the Near East and Africa, when they needed help the British were unable to do so, and they had to turn eastward to the US as their principal ally and supplier. To sum up, the title indicates what this is -- a high level study at the governmental and theatre level and not a bunch of thrilling operational tales of behind the lines "sneak and peek."
Rating: 
Summary: Press reviews
Review: Press reviews of Intelligence and the War Against Japan -Spying is never for its own sake; people spy because other people want to know something. Any consideration of secret intelligence that does not set it firmly in the bureaucratic context of that gave it birth and which consumes its product, is misleading. Richard J. Aldrich understands this very well. Aldrich calls his territory "the missing dimension of our understanding of intelligence during the Second World War" ... There are two kinds of book about intelligence: those that view it from the ground level, telling spy stories and generally panning or praising intelligence services; and those that, eschewing the stories, view it from the top down as part of a wider strategy, and look at the requirements, politics and bureaucracy, assessments and the use of secret information. This well-written, well-researched and thoughtful book is an excellent example of the later. As a contribution to its subject - and to Second World War studies generally - it is at least important; it may be a landmark. Alan Judd, The Telegraph, 8 April 2000 Earl Mountbatten of Burma narrowly escaped a Japanese plot to ambush and shoot down his aircraft over China during the second world war, according to a new book that discloses untold secrets about the intelligence war in the Far East ... The Mountbatten story is amongst a host of secrets brought to light by Richard Aldrich ... in Intelligence and the War Against Japan, to be published by Cambridge University Press next month. It discloses embarrassing proof that British and American Secret Services often competed instead of fighting the Japanese. Michael Sheridan, Sunday Times, 27 January 2000 The distorted sense of priorities prevailing in the London War Rooms which condemned the foot-sloggers of the Burmese jungle campaign to being dubbed "the forgotten Army" was reflected in the war of Intelligence, as this important overview makes clear. The Far Eastern Intelligence War has been a closed chapter until relatively recently, with the opening of a certain amount of classified material in the Public Record Office augmenting a mass of top-secret files in the American National Archives ... As Richard Aldrich ... makes clear, a sharp division of long-term aims divided the Allies in this theatre - a fact excised from Churchill's war memoirs. John Crossland, The Independent, 2 July 2000
Rating: 
Summary: Not the Best, But Necessary
Review: This book comes under the heading of "necessary reading" for anyone seriously interested in the war against Japan in general, or in intelligence during that war. The general reader will find the going rather tough as the writing is not carried out in the classic story telling line. But the information content is good and, since there are precious few books on this subject available, it will have to do. Also, it is written mainly from the point of view of British Intelligence in the East and therefore offers some interesting takes on US Intelligence activity and the sometime stormy relationship that existed, not only between US and British intelligence interests, but also between the various British intelligence organizations, themselves. Revealing information, if not gripping reading.
Rating:
Summary: Press reviews
Review: This book comes under the heading of "necessary reading" for anyone seriously interested in the war against Japan in general, or in intelligence during that war. The general reader will find the going rather tough as the writing is not carried out in the classic story telling line. But the information content is good and, since there are precious few books on this subject available, it will have to do. Also, it is written mainly from the point of view of British Intelligence in the East and therefore offers some interesting takes on US Intelligence activity and the sometime stormy relationship that existed, not only between US and British intelligence interests, but also between the various British intelligence organizations, themselves. Revealing information, if not gripping reading.
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