A dispassionate reference work on modern intelligence gathering.
Rather than a romantic or riveting story about espionage, Richelson
(American Espionage and the Soviet Target, 1987), a senior fellow
at the National Security Archive, offers an extended encyclopedia
entry detailing the progressively more complex methods countries
have devised to steal and conceal their secrets from each other. He
traces the development of the 20th century's major spy services,
describes many of their important players, chronicles key events in
the modern history of espionage, and evaluates governments' use and
misuse of intelligence gathering. At times, the book is fascinating
almost in spite of itself, as when Richelson describes Stalin's
scorn for predictions of the 1941 Nazi attack on the Soviet Union.
Mostly, however, his technique of presenting the facts with
virtually no commentary or color is stupefying to the layperson. It
also seems excessively myopic: For example, the author doesn't tell
us whether there was any debate over the morality or legality of
America's 1945 recruitment of Nazi spy Reinhard Gehlen, eventual
head of West Germany's intelligence service, and he discusses only
the narrowest part of the 1986 debate about giving Stinger
anti-aircraft missiles to anti-Soviet rebels in Afghanistan,
describing the CIA's concern that the missiles could be traced to
the US but ignoring the broader argument over whether Islamic
fundamentalists should be trusted with such lethal weapons at all.
Other serious omissions include the lack of a chapter on the CIA's
secret wars in Central America during the 1980s and the absence of
a discussion of the CIA's failure to anticipate the collapse of the
Soviet Union. Of value to researchers but little interest to a
general readership. (Kirkus Reviews)
Spy-masters, moles, and double-agents. Ciphers, saboteurs, and atomic secrets. The shady world of real-life espionage is as alarming and mysterious as any John Le Carré novel or James Bond movie.
This outstanding book chronicles the international history of intelligence in the 20th century, exploring the impact of spies on world events during both war and peacetime. The work highlights the key events and breakthroughs in the history of intelligence and espionage - from the codebreaking and sabotage operations in the World Wars to the U2 incident and the CIA's secret war in Nicaragua. It also offers fascinating details of the colourful individuals who have made a mark as spies, defectors, and counterspies.
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