Oyster The Story Of Australian Secret Intelligence

Biography & Memoir History Australiana

Oyster: The Story of Australian Secret Intelligence by William Pinwill and Brian Toohey lifts the lid on ASIS, Australia’s least-known spy agency. First published in 1989, this scarce first edition delivers a gripping, fully-documented tour through covert operations at home and abroad.

Ideal for collectors of Australian military history or true-life espionage accounts, the 322-page paperback blends political analysis with cloak-and-dagger narrative. The authors trace ASIS from Cold War beginnings to the shadowy 1980s, revealing bungled missions, political infighting and the tightrope between secrecy and accountability.

This vintage 1989 copy shows light scuffing and edge creasing plus a tiny watermark on the first three page corners—otherwise clean pages, tight binding, no writing. A solid reading copy that preserves the original impact of Toohey and Pinwill’s investigative journalism.

Add a rare first edition of Oyster to your shelf and own the definitive early exposé of Australian intelligence.