Synopses & Reviews
This engrossing book presents the most interesting articles from Studies in Intelligence -- a previously classified in-house Central Intelligence Agency journal that was for CIA eyes only -- and provides insights into CIA strategies and into events in which the organization was involved.
"A brilliant selection from the CIA's secret cold war archive -- gripping, haunting, intellectually challenging, and as tantalizing as le Carre" -- Bob Woodward
'"Engrossing and fascinating. The articles include some of the best treatments of intelligence issues ever written, and they reveal a great deal about the internal culture of the CIA, not all of it complimentary". -- Foreign Affairs
"This volume with its thoughtful introduction by Westerfield provides new insights into the role played by intelligence during the Cold War. It is a fascinating glimpse into the CIA's past, and also includes valuable information relevant to shaping the future of the CIA in a world that has changed dramatically". -- David L. Boren
"Seldom can a reader eavesdrop on intelligence professionals, but that is precisely what this book makes possible. Thirty-two selections from the CIA's in-house and classified journal let us see professionals talking to each other, let us hear the way in which they analyze problems, and perhaps (as in all good intelligence work) reveal even a bit more than the authors of the essays intended. This book represents a unique breakthrough in intelligence studies". -- Robin Winks
Synopsis
For forty years the Central Intelligence Agency has published an in-house journal, Studies in Intelligence, for CIA eyes only. Now the agency has declassified much of this material. This engrossing book, which presents the most interesting articles from the journal, provides revealing insights into CIA strategies and into events in which the organization was involved.
The articles were selected by H. Bradford Westerfield, an independent authority who teaches courses on intelligence operations but has never been affiliated with the CIA. Westerfield's comprehensive introduction sketches the history and basic structure of the CIA, sets the articles in context, and explains his process of selection. The articles span a wide range of intelligence activities, including intelligence data gathering inside the United States; analysis of data; interaction between analysts and policymakers; the development of economic intelligence targeted at friendly countries as well as at foes; use of double agents (the personal memoir of a CIA officer who pretended to the Russians to be their agent); evaluation of defectors (the Nosenko case); and coercive interrogation techniques and how to resist them.