Book reviews: anarchy in the archives

THIS book deserves a far more exciting title – anarchy in the archives? The mystery of history? The great government cover-up? It is an examination of how information is hidden from the people, either deliberately or accidentally, and what can be done to minimise the gaps in the archives (or “silences” as the authors describe them). The book discusses the causes of these “silences”: society’s simple inability to keep every record; poor cataloguing; deliberate decisions by government not to release or to destroy records. The authors point out that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office concealed the existence of 20,000 intelligence records which were sent to London from the colonies when they were granted independence until 2011 and access to these records has the potential to re-shape our understanding of the British Empire. The authors discuss several failings with Freedom of Information legislation that prevent citizens from accessing certain records. What once might have been thought ways to fill the “silences” such as digitisation have turned out to have their failings: not so much the issue of digital obsolescence as a deliberate failure to record decision-making such as that which came to haunt Hilary Clinton during the US Presidential election when she used a personal email server instead of her official account. This book should be read by historians and history students as a way to explain gaps in the historical record and understand the limitations of the records that have survived. Suggestions are offered on how to minimise these silences such as engaging with the hidden voices and promoting legislative changes to ensure that records are curated in an environment of openness. This would be an excellent addition to any university library.