The secret state : a history of intelligence and espionage / Colonel John Hughes-Wilson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hughes-Wilson, John, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Espionage--History.

Espionage.

History.

Intelligence service--History.

Intelligence service.

HISTORY / Europe / Great Britain.

HISTORY / Military / Strategy.

HISTORY / Military / United States.

POLITICAL SCIENCE / Intelligence & Espionage.

TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / Military Science.

Local Subjects:

HISTORY / Europe / Great Britain.

HISTORY / Military / Strategy.

HISTORY / Military / United States.

POLITICAL SCIENCE / Intelligence & Espionage.

TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / Military Science.

Genre:

Nonfiction.

History.

Physical Description:

xvii, 510 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Edition:

First Pegasus books hardcover edition.

Other Title:

History of intelligence and espionage

Place of Publication:

New York : Pegasus Books, 2017.

Summary:

A history of intelligence from its classical origins to the onset of the surveillance state in the digital age.

"A groundbreaking history of intelligence--from its origins in the ancient world to the onset of the surveillance state in the digital age--that lifts the veil of secrecy from this clandestine world. Dramatic and authoritative, The Secret State skillfully examines the potential pitfalls of the traditional intelligence cycle; the dangerous uncertainties of spies and human intelligence; how the Cold War became an electronic intelligence war; the technological revolution that began with the use of reconnaissance photography in World War I; the legacy of Stalin's deliberate ignoring of vital intelligence; how signals intelligence gave America one of its greatest victories; how Wikileaks really happened; and whether 9/11 could have been avoided if America's post-Cold War intelligence agencies had adapted to the new world of international terrorism. Drawing on a variety of sources, ranging from eyewitness accounts to his own personal experience, Colonel John Hughes-Wilson examines everything from undercover agents to photographic reconnaissance to today's much-misunderstood cyberwarfare. In this definitive history of espionage, Hughes-Wilson searches for hard answers and scrutinizes why crucial intelligence is so often ignored, misunderstood, or spun by politicians in season generals alike. From yesterday's spies to tomorrow's cyber world, The Secret State is a fascinating and thought-provoking history of this ever-changing and ever-important subject."--Jacket.

Contents:

Part one: Setting the scene. A little history

Part Two: On intelligence. Part Three. How intelligence works: the intelligence cycle. On direction: "What exactly is your intelligence requirement, Minister?" ; On collection

Part Four: On HUMINT and spies. Money: the Walker family's unusual business ; Ideology. Cambridge's famous Five ; Where ideology and ego mix: Ana Montes ; The one who got away: Melita Norwood ; Compromise/coercion. John Vassall ; Clinton and Pollard ; Joe Cahill ; Ego: Robert Hanssen ; The grievance: Penkovsky ; HUMINT in action: Werther and the Battle of Kursk ; On interrogation ; How Soviet HUMINT changed the world

Part Five: Technology takes over. On SIGINT ; The triumph of SIGINT: Midway ; On surveillance ; On technical intelligence ; Photographic reconnaissance ; Photographic reconnaissance in action: the Cuban missile crisis ; On satellites

Part Six: Information into intelligence. On collation: Vietnam and Tet offensive ; On interpretations: Yom Kippur ; Telling the user: Barbarossa and Stalin ; On dissemination: Pearl Harbor

Part Seven: On security. One who slipped through the net: Aldrich Hazen Ames ; The Avner Smit case ; The inadequate: Bradley Manning ; WikiLeaks and the appalling Assange ; Snowden, security and the surveillance state ; Strategic security: insecure from top to bottom: Singapore, 1941-2

Part Eight: On deception. D-Day

Part Nine: On terror. On terrorism ; Islam and the war on terror ; The greatest atrocity: 9/11 and the attack on the World Trade Center

Part Ten: On intelligence fiascos. The Sơn Tây raid ; Operation Eagle Claw ; Blair's dodgy dossier, Iraq 2003

Part Eleven: New horizons, new horrors?. On cyberwar: when is a war not a war?

Part Twelve: A dangerous trade. The secret war for ELINT ; USS Pueblo ; The attack on USS Liberty: with friends like this, who needs enemies? ; Disaster at Forward Operating Base Chapman

Will it ever get any better?

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 475-488) and index.

ISBN:

1681773023

9781681773025

9781681773698

1681773694

9781681776378

1681776375

OCLC:

951925571