Inside CIA's Private World
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Declassified Articles from the Agency`s Internal Journal, 1955-1992
Edited by H. Bradford Westerfield
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.
"A brilliant selection from the CIA's secret cold war archive—gripping, haunting, intellectually challenging and as tantalizing as le Carré."—Bob Woodward, author of All the President's Men; Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA; and The Agenda: Inside the Clinton White House
"A valuable insight into both the strengths and the weaknesses of the CIA's thought processes."—Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones, author of The CIA and American Democracy
"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 break-through in intelligence studies."—Robin Winks, Townsend Professor of History, Yale University, and author of Cloak & Gown: Scholars in the Secret War
"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, president, University of Oklahoma, and former chairman, U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
"A collection of fascinating articles from the premier journal of its discipline. Heretofore it has been accessible only to insiders. This volume makes available to the world the cream of its content."—Ernest R. May, Harvard University
"[A] superb collection of articles. . . .This is a remarkable and unique collection that is a 'must read' for any serious professional concerned about national intelligence capabilities and future directions. . . .[T]he selection reflects the sound judgment of one of the most astute intelligence scholars ever. . . .This is the 'best of the best,' telling for what it does not discuss, and most valuable for what it does reveal."—Open Source Solutions
"Anyone interested in the world of intelligence must read this book."—Choice
"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
"A book that should be in the library of every intelligence officer."—Ward Warren, Surveillant
"This offers fascinating cold-war chills."—The Economist
Publication Date: August 25, 1997
26 b/w illus.