All right, exactly was probably the wrong word to use, however, as very little else has been published about 51 Sqn's activities, this book is a step in the right direction, particularly about Washington, Comet R1 and Canberra operations. The Warsaw Pact monitored the flight of these aircraft whenever they were near their borders, so I believe it's high time the veil of outdated secrecy was lifted on these particular operations, although I suspect those involved would completely disagree.
At some point in the future I assume a more detailed book describing Nimrod R1 operations will eventually be published and I look forward to reading it - perhaps Yellow Sun might like to contribute!!
I fully agree that a book like this is long overdue. However I disagree with you that those involved would would be averse to details of their activities being published. Unfortunately in respect of the Washington and early Canberra operations it is probably too late to ask them. Indeed the Canberra and Comet crews are a fast diminishing group as well.
The "veil" has been lifted a little before. I would recommend:
Richard J. Aldrich, The Hidden hand, ISBN 0-7195-5423 3, pub 2001
and by the same author, GCHQ, ISBN 13 978-0-00-727847-3, pub 2010
You may or may not agree with the conclusions that he draws in the latter book.
In a broader sense, DJ Thorp's, The Silent Listener, ISBN 978 7524 7739 8, pub 2012, provides a good picture of some of the difficulties in operating in a sensitive environment.
What Listening In clearly depicts is the degree of oversight that was exercised in respect of RPFs. The Foreign Office took them very seriously and their influence was real.
It is an area that will always be difficult to research, for because of the classification of the activities there was little opportunity to record the more personal accounts and thus the record will always appear sparse and somewhat thin. By the time that other agencies have consented to the release of details, the passing years will have thinned out the participants and much will have been lost forever.
YS
PS Heimdall I have sent you a couple of PMs