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A Man and an Institution: Sir Maurice Hankey, the Cabinet Secretariat and the Custody of Cabinet Secrecy / John F. Naylor

Review Date:

1 Oct 2009

A Man and an Institution is in reality three books combined into one. It is, first, a contribution to a biography of Sir Maurice Hankey, the first Cabinet Secretary; second, a history of the origins of the Cabinet Office and its development until Hankey’s retirement in 1938; and third, an account of how the Cabinet Office came to be the guardian of official secrecy.

Splendid Isolation? Britain, the Balance of Power and the Origins of the First World War / John Charmley

Review Date:

1 May 2001

John Charmley is, of course, no stranger to controversy.... How tempting it would be to begin a review of his latest book in this vein.