Synopses & Reviews
From two men who know better than anyone how espionage really works, an unprecedented historyaheavily illustrated with neverbefore- seen imagesaof the CIAas most secretive operations and the gadgets that made them possible.
It is a world where the intrigue of reality exceeds that of fiction. What is an invisible photo used for? What does it take to build a quiet helicopter? How does one embed a listening device in a cat? If these sound like challenges for Q, James Bondas fictional gadget-master, think again. Theyare all real-life devices created by the CIAas Office of Technical Serviceaan ultrasecretive department that combines the marvels of state-of-the-art technology with the time-proven traditions of classic espionage. And now, in the first book ever written about this office, the former director of OTS teams up with an internationally renowned intelligence historian to take readers into the laboratory of espionage.
Spycraft tells amazing life and death stories about this littleknown group, much of it never before revealed. Against the backdrop of some of Americaas most critical periods in recent historyaincluding the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the war on terrorathe authors show the real technical and human story of how the CIA carries out its missions.
Review
"Details of operational activity are as engrossing as the descriptions of the equipment."
-Library Journal
"Reveals more concrete information about CIA tradecraft than any book... [Deserves] a five cloak-and-dagger rating."
-The Washington Times
Review
"Reveals more concrete information about CIA tradecraft than any book."
-The Washington Times
"This is a story I thought could never be told."
-James M. Olson, former chief of CIA counterintelligence
"The first comprehensive look at the technical achievements of American espionage from the 1940s to the present."
-Wired
Synopsis
An unprecedented history of the CIA's secret and amazing gadgetry behind the art of espionage
In this look at the CIA's most secretive operations and the devices that made them possible, Spycraft tells gripping life-and-death stories about a group of spytechs--much of it never previously revealed and with images never before seen by the public.
The CIA's Office of Technical Service is the ultrasecret department that grappled with challenges such as:
What does it take to build a quiet helicopter?
How does one embed a listening device in a cat?
What is an invisible photo used for?
These amazingly inventive devices were created and employed against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions--including the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and continuing terrorist threats. Written by Robert Wallace, the former director of the Office of Technical Service, and internationally renowned intelligence historian Keith Melton, Spycraft is both a fantastic encyclopedia of gadgetry and a revealing primer on the fundamentals of high-tech espionage.
"The first comprehensive look at the technical achievements of American espionage from the 1940s to the present."--Wired
"Reveals more concrete information about CIA tradecraft than any book."--The Washington Times
"This is a story I thought could never be told."--JAMES M. OLSON, former chief of CIA counterintelligence
Synopsis
In this the first book ever written about the CIA's Office of Technical Service, former director Robert Wallace (a real-life Q, straight out of the James Bond films) and internationally renowned intelligence historian H. Keith Melton offer an unprecedented look at the CIA's most secretive operations and the devices that made them possible. Against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions- including the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the current War on Terror-the authors show how the CIA carries out its missions employing amazingly inventive tools. Illustrated with images never before seen by the public-and featuring everything from micro cameras to wired kitties to exploding pancakes-
Spycraft is both a fantastic encyclopedia of gadgetry and a revealing primer on the fundamentals of high-tech espionage.
Synopsis
From Wallace, the former director of the CIA's Office of Technical Service, and Melton, a renowned intelligence historian, comes an unprecedented history of the CIA's most secretive operations and the gadgets that made them possible.
Synopsis
Who's spying on you? And how are they doing it?
Spycraft offers an unprecedented look at the CIA's most secretive operations and the devices that made them possible.
Written by the former director of the CIA's Office of Technical Service, Robert Wallace (a real-life Q, straight out of the James Bond films), and internationally renowned intelligence historian H. Keith Melton, Spycraft reveals how the CIA carries out its life-and-death missions against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions - including the Cold War, the Cuben Missile Crisis, and the War on Terror.
More relevant than ever - given the news about Edward Snowden and the NSA, concerns about privacy rights, organizations like Julian Assange's WikiLeaks, and popular entertainment like The Americans and Homeland - Spycraft is an important and revealing primer on the fundamentals of high-tech espionage.
About the Author
Robert Wallace is the former director of the CIA's Office of Technical Service and lives in Virginia. A recipient of the CIA's Intelligence Medal of Merit, Wallace founded the Artemus Consulting Group in 2004, providing management and intelligence counsel to corporate and government clients. He is also a contributor to the oral history program of CIA's Center for the Study of Intelligence.
H. Keith Melton is an internationally recognized author, historian, and expert on clandestine devices and technology. He is the technical tradecraft historian at the Interagency Training Center in Washington, D.C. He has assembled the world's largest collection of espionage devices and lectures widely throughout the U.S. intelligence community and abroad. He resides in Florida.
Henry Robert Schlesinger is an author and journalist who has covered intelligence technologies, counterterrorism, and law enforcement. His work has appeared in Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, Technology Review, and Smithsonian magazine. He lives in New York City.
Table of Contents
Spycraft Foreword
Preface
Official Message from the CIA
Section I. At The Beggining
1. My Hair Stood on End
2. We Must Be Ruthless
Section II. Playing Catch-Up
3. The Penkovsky Era
4. Beyond Penkovsky
5. Bring in the Engineers
6. Building Better Gadgets
Section III. In The Passing Lane
7. Moving Through the Gap
8. The Pen Is Mightier Than the Sword (and Shield)
9. Fire in the Arctic
10. A Dissident at Heart
11. An Operation Called CKTAW
Section IV. Let The Walls Have Ears
12. Cold Beer, Cheap Hotels, and a Voltmeter
13. Progress in a New Era
14. The Age of Bond Arrives
15. Genius Is Where You Find It
Section V. Prison, Bullet, Passport, Bomb
16. Conspicuous Fortitude, Exemplary Courage in a Cuban Jail
17. War by Any Other Name
18. Con Men, Fabricators, and Forgers
19. Tracking Terrorist Snakes
Section VI. Fundamentals Of Tradecraft
20. Assessment
21. Cover and Disguise
22. Concealments
23. Clandestine Surveillance
24. Covert Communications
25. Spies and the Age of Information
Epilogue: An Uncommon Service
Appendix A: U.S. Clandestine Services and OTS Organizational Genealogy
Appendix B: Selected Chronology of OTS
Appendix C: Directors of OTS
Appendix D: CIA Trailblazers from OTS
Appendix E: Pseudonyms of CIA Officers Used
Appendix F: Instructions to Decipher the Official Message from the CIA on page xxv
Glossary
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Index
Tech Q&A
Read the Tech Q&A with Robert Wallace