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RIMiNGTON**, STELLA: : OPEN SECRET: The Autobiography of the Former Director-General of MI5

LONDON.HUTCHINSON,2001.

ISBN 0091793602.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,illustrated,1st edn.[Complete number line 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2.] FINE/FINE.No owner inscrptn but a price-clip to dw/dj. Subject/author bright,crisp,clean,glossy laminated colour photographic portrait illustrated front panel of dw/dj with white+red lettering,rear panel with b/w thumbnail cartoon by MATT; with negligible shelf-wear or creasing to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present.Top edges with minimal,sporadic dust- soiling,spotting/foxing and ageing,fore-edges also aged/toned but without foxing/spotting; contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound - pristine - no foxing/spotting and no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners,appears unread apart from my own collation.Publisher's bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered,original plain black cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked gilt letters to spine/backstrip and immaculate plain black endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj, illustrated,1st edn,vii-xviiipp+1-296pp [paginated] includes illustrations list/ table, Acknowledgements,a Preface,a Prologue,20 chapters,a Postscript and an Epilogue,16pp contemporary b/w auto+biographical photographs with a couple of b/w cartoon illustrations,and an Index; plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages,a dedication and 6pp blanks at the rear of the book. 'Nothing in my life ever turned out as expected.Having originally chosen a safe career, I ended up as leader of one of the country's intelligence agencies and a target for terrorists.Having conventionally married my school friend,I ended up a single parent.Having begun work in the days when women's careers were not taken seriously,I ended up advising ministers and Prime Ministers.I have experienced all this from an unusual position,inside the secret state. 'In the 1980s I was seen by some as Mrs Thatcher's stooge,the leader of an arm of the secret state which was helping her to beat the miner's strike and destroy the NUM.I was portrayed as the investigator of CND and even as the one who had ordered the murder of an old lady peace campaigner [Hilda Murrell].In 1992, when I first emerged into the public gaze as Director-General of MI5,I became a female James Bond,'Housewife Superspy','Mother of Two Gets Tough with Terrorists'.And finally,with the writing of this book,I have become,to some, 'Reckless Rimington',careless of our national security.I don't recognize myself in any of those roles. 'The unexpected course of my life has involved me closely with some of the significant issues of the late 20th century,including the rise of terrorism,the end of the Cold War and some of the big social questions,such as women's place in society (how can work and family be combined?),civil liberties (how far should the state intrude on the citizen's privacy to ensure their safety?) and open government (how much should the public know about the secret state and how should it be controlled?).These are some of the issues that concerned me throughout my career in MI5,and which I discuss in this book.' Please contact seller,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note,stock(s') shipping quotes are adjusted for any refunds AFTER receipt of order and BEFORE the despatch of the order,especially if the item is offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard US AIRMAIL to these destinations can now,in some cases,cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,illustrated,1st edn.
Not SIGNED.

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