5. Spycatcher - Peter Wright (1987)
Written by a former MI5 agent, Spycatcher spills the beans on what spooks get up to, and it is pretty interesting reading as we learn of an MI6 plot to assassinate President Nasser during the Suez crisis. There is also talk of MI5 joining forces with the CIA to investigate left leaning British Prime Minister Harold Wilson who was suspected of being in the KGB! Of course this all sounds crazy now, but it must be viewed in the context of paranoid Cold War politics. Wright also goes into MI5 ethics and the technology they use. Published in Australia, the British government crapped their pants and issued a major crackdown. They couldn't stop it in Scotland because the ruling had been issued in an English court. Altogether now in your best Nelson Muntz voice - ha ha! The government tried to stop English newspapers from reporting on the affair, but gagging orders were useless as Scottish papers could write about Spycatcher to their heart's content. Eventually the gag was lifted, as was the ban on the sale of Spycatcher. However, Wright was not allowed to profit from sales of the book in the UK. There was legal action at the EU level by newspapers who had been gagged in the UK - this was seen as a very undemocratic act and the UK government faced substantial costs. The papers had a field day and pointed out the fact that the law is indeed an ass. Peter Wright died in 1995 - a millionaire from all his royalties.