The third volume of ASIO's official history is finely produced and has the uncanny appearance of a serious, worthwhile book. Between the covers, the text brings to mind fingernails pulled along a blackboard -- and that is one of its better qualities

As Sir Humphrey would have grasped in a trice, ASIO is concerned with safeguarding its status and reputation. In this context, the latest volume of the agency's official history should be read with an eye for what isn't said amid the muted revelations that actually made it into print