It is pleasant to read a book on intelligence and security that has not been written by a journalist or somebody with a political axe to grind. Moreover, David Omand speaks of that which he knows. The result is a sober, and welcome, look at the old battle between security of the state and freedom of the individual - not by shouting at one but by looking at the real situation. One might hope that some op-ed writers would read the whole book through. Though if they did, they could probably ignore it. The rest of us can digest it and ponder.