James Oliver: The Department Of Truth, Gebunden

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A monumental feat of investigative journalism, this exposé of a highly secretive British unit that overreached itself is shocking and shameful in equal measure.

This is the story of the Information Research Department, arguably the most influential and yet anonymous department of the British Government you've never heard of. Embedded in the Foreign Office it was Britain's secret Cold War propaganda agency, working closely with MI6, MI5, and the CIA. Set up, initially, as a small unit to fight the spread of communism, it grew into a monster, where almost nothing was off limits.

What made the Department so valuable - and dangerous - was because it was a weapon. Over time, it developed the assets and techniques to interfere in countries all over the world and back at home.

Targeting dictatorships and democracies alike, from 1948 to 1977 the Department sought to manipulate international events, publish disinformation, subvert elections and even incite murder. Its 'English Desk' ran operations to neutralize communists, left-leaning unionists, politicians and intellectuals in Britain, even secretly being used to change public opinion in favor of joining Europe.

Involving a vast network of journalists, news agencies and publishers the Department's activities drew in a multitude of players, such as George Orwell, Guy Burgess, Denis Healey, Woodrow Wyatt, Bertrand Russell, Edward Kennedy, Jonathan Aitken and Ricky Tomlinson.

A monumental work of investigative journalism by Lashmar, Oliver and Gilby, based on the recent release of thousands of classified files, this highly compelling exposé reveals the shocking truth of a vast, top secret propaganda war, and shows beyond all doubt that when it came to questionable activities, Britain was far from innocent.