Pirates and Privateers
The History of Maritime
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Cindy Vallar, Editor
& Reviewer
P.O. Box 425,
Keller, TX 76244-0425
Books for
Adults ~ History: Navy (United Kingdom)
Most Secret and Confidential:
Intelligence in the Age of Nelson
by Steven E. Maffeo
Naval Institute Press, 2012, ISBN 978-1-59114-538-7, UK
$24.95
This book
is about the history of naval intelligence from 1793
to 1815, and for much of this time period, the world
is at war. The author also describes and assesses
how Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson gathers, sifts
through, and utilizes information during his service
in the Royal Navy, as well as commenting on how
others, including Napoleon Bonaparte, practiced this
form of warfare.
In addition to two forewords, a preface, and
conclusion, the book is comprised of ten chapters:
1. The
British National Intelligence Effort
2. The Admiralty
3. Signals and
Information Transmission
4. Frigates: The Eyes
of the Fleet
5. Deception
6. The Commander: Jack
and Master of All Trades
7. The Commander as
Intelligence Officer
8. A Naval Intelligence
Occasion (Pulo-Aur, 14-16 February 1804)
9. A Naval Intelligence
Expedition (Copenhagen, 9 December 1800 to 2 April
1801)
10. A Naval
Intelligence Campaign (The Nile, 29 March to 1
August 1798)
In the preface, Maffeo
clearly defines information, intelligence, tactical
intelligence, and intelligence officer. The last
three chapters serve as historical case studies that
demonstrate how Nelson, the navy, and British
officials employ intelligence, whether it works or
doesn’t. To supplement the information, Maffeo also
includes six appendices: The British Cabinet
(1793-1815), British Government Key Officials
(1793-1815), Secret Interceptions Distribution List
(c. 1775), British Naval Administration (c. 1800),
The Naval Strategy of the War from the British
Perspective, and An Overview of the War of the
French Revolution and the Napoleonic War
(1792-1815). Chapter notes, a bibliography, and an
index round out this volume.
By culling through an enormous amount of primary and
secondary source material, Maffeo provides the
reader with a tantalizing and informative look at an
age when intelligence gathering is in its infancy.
He is eminently qualified to write on the topic,
having been a former naval intelligence officer with
a master’s degree in strategic intelligence from the
U.S. Joint Military Intelligence College. He now
serves as a commander of a reserve intelligence unit
that supports the Joint Intelligence Center Pacific,
as well as being an associate director of libraries
at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Maffeo begins each chapter with a quote that
directly showcases the subject matter contained
within those pages. Perhaps the most telling
quotation is the one that appears across the table
of contents, for John Milton’s words from the
preface to A Brief History of Muscovy
(1632), perfectly sum up what Maffeo has done in Most
Secret and Confidential:
What was
scattered in many volumes, and observed at
several times by eyewitnesses, with no cursory
pains I laid together, to save the reader a far
longer travail of wandering through so many
desert authors.
Most Secret and
Confidential is a long, overdue look at
historical intelligence. Few volumes make more than
brief mentions of it, which makes this one an
invaluable resource for students of the Royal Navy
during the Age of Nelson, as well as anyone
fascinated by intelligence, both in the past and the
present. Maffeo succinctly explores how information
is collected, analyzed, and disseminated, as well as
examining the strategies and tactics that are
employed. At times, he shows how the past is
relevant to the gathering and use of intelligence
today and how they differ.
Review
Copyright ©2013 Cindy
Vallar
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