Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Originally published in 1987, Thwarting Enemies at Home and Abroad is a unique primer that teaches the principles, strategy, and tradecraft of counterintelligence (CI). CI is often misunderstood and narrowly equated with security and catching spies. CI is the art of actively protecting secrets but also aggressively thwarting, penetrating, and deceiving hostile intelligence organizations to neutralize or manipulate their operations.
Johnson, a career CIA intelligence officer, presents the nuts and bolts of the business of counterintelligence. Although written during the late Cold War, this book continues to be useful for intelligence professionals, scholars, and students because the basic principles of CI are largely timeless. General readers will enjoy the lively narrative and detailed descriptions of tradecraft that reveal the real world of intelligence and espionage. A new foreward by William Hood provides a contemporary perspective on this valuable book.
Synopsis
A Classic in Counterintelligence--Now Back in Print
Originally published in 1987, Thwarting Enemies at Home and Abroad is a unique primer that teaches the principles, strategy, and tradecraft of counterintelligence (CI). CI is often misunderstood and narrowly equated with security and catching spies, which are only part of the picture. As William R. Johnson explains, CI is the art of actively protecting secrets but also aggressively thwarting, penetrating, and deceiving hostile intelligence organizations to neutralize or even manipulate their operations.
Johnson, a career CIA intelligence officer, lucidly presents the nuts and bolts of the business of counterintelligence and the characteristics that make a good CI officer. Although written during the late Cold War, this book continues to be useful for intelligence professionals, scholars, and students because the basic principles of CI are largely timeless. General readers will enjoy the lively narrative and detailed descriptions of tradecraft that reveal the real world of intelligence and espionage. A new foreword by former CIA officer and noted author William Hood provides a contemporary perspective on this valuable book and its author.
Synopsis
This book is a concise primer that teaches the principles, strategy, and tradecraft of counterintelligence (CI). CI is often misunderstood and narrowly equated with security and catching spies, which are only part of the picture. As William R. Johnson explains, CI is the art of actively protecting secrets but also aggressively thwarting, penetrating, and deceiving hostile intelligence organizations to neutralize or even manipulate their operations. Although written during the late Cold War, this book continues to be valuable for intelligence professionals, scholars, and students because the principles of CI are timeless and the book captures the wisdom of one of the most accomplished counterintelligence officers in the CIA's history. CI remains a critical component of today's intelligence missions, even when the opposition is a non-state group such as al-Qaeda. The book will also interest general readers because its lively narrative and detailed descriptions of tradecraft reveal the real world of intelligence and espionage. Many intelligence professionals consider this book a classic, and the CIA's suggested reading list calls it "the best introductory book on the subject."