Paranoia with respect to Russia raged in the wake of World War II, just as Churchill had foreseen: fear of a “nuclear Pearl Harbour” and the growing challenge of political stability in Europe gripped the Western World. The advent of new and terrifying weapons of war and annihilation - atomic bombs, biological and chemical weapons, and intercontinental missiles - contributed to a pervasive atmosphere of menace in the US, Britain and all the countries of Western Europe. And in the thick of this, it was the Secret Service and its intelligence operations that took action, that was capable of creating early warning systems and making inroads during the years of the Cold War.
In The Hidden Hand, Aldrich reveals startling new information about the relationship between Britain and the US during the Cold War: the success of US and British covert operations - notably in Iran and Guatemala - as well as many costly debacles and follies.
