A Century of Spies: Intelligence in the Twentieth CenturyHere is the ultimate inside history of twentieth-century intelligence gathering and covert activity. Unrivalled in its scope and as readable as any spy novel, A Century of Spies travels from tsarist Russia and the earliest days of the British Secret Service to the crises and uncertainties of today's post-Cold War world, offering an unsurpassed overview of the role of modern intelligence in every part of the globe. From spies and secret agents to the latest high-tech wizardry in signals and imagery surveillance, it provides fascinating, in-depth coverage of important operations of United States, British, Russian, Israeli, Chinese, German, and French intelligence services, and much more.All the key elements of modern intelligence activity are here. An expert whose books have received high marks from the intelligence and military communities, Jeffrey Richelson covers the crucial role of spy technology from the days of Marconi and the Wright Brothers to today's dazzling array of Space Age satellites, aircraft, and ground stations. He provides vivid portraits of spymasters, spies, and defectors--including Sidney Reilly, Herbert Yardley, Kim Philby, James Angleton, Markus Wolf, Reinhard Gehlen, Vitaly Yurchenko, Jonathan Pollard, and many others. Richelson paints a colorful portrait of World War I's spies and sabateurs, and illuminates the secret maneuvering that helped determine the outcome of the war on land, at sea, and on the diplomatic front; he investigates the enormous importance of intelligence operations in both the European and Pacific theaters in World War II, from the work of Allied and Nazi agents to the "black magic" of U.S. and British code breakers; and he gives us a complete overview of intelligence during the length of the Cold War, from superpower espionage and spy scandals to covert action and secret wars. A final chapter probes the still-evolving role of intelligence work in the new world of disorder and ethnic conflict, from the high-tech wonders of the Gulf War to the surprising involvement of the French government in industrial espionage.Comprehensive, authoritative, and addictively readable, A Century of Spies is filled with new information on a variety of subjects--from the activities of the American Black Chamber in the 1920s to intelligence collection during the Cuban missile crisis to Soviet intelligence and covert action operations. It is an essential volume for anyone interested in military history, espionage and adventure, and world affairs. |
What people are saying - Write a review
Reviews aren't verified, but Google checks for and removes fake content when it's identified
A CENTURY OF SPIES: Intelligence in the Twentieth Century
User Review - KirkusA dispassionate reference work on modern intelligence gathering. Rather than a romantic or riveting story about espionage, Richelson (American Espionage and the Soviet Target, 1987), a senior fellow ... Read full review
A century of spies: intelligence in the twentieth century
User Review - Not Available - Book VerdictIn this ambitious book, Richelson (America's Secret Eyes in Space, HarperBusiness, 1990) surveys the growth, development, and transformation of intelligence (a.k.a., "spying") in the 20th century. The ... Read full review
Contents
19001939 | 3 |
Spies and Saboteurs | 18 |
Eyes and Ears | 31 |
Lenins Spies | 47 |
19191929 | 67 |
19301939 | 85 |
64 | 91 |
Intelligence and the onset of War | 103 |
New Players | 232 |
Secret Wars | 244 |
Superpower Espionage | 256 |
Spies and Moles | 272 |
Technological Espionage | 293 |
Crisis Intelligence | 310 |
The Technical Revolution Continues | 328 |
Penetrations Sunken Subs and Sudden Death | 342 |
Spies and Counterspies | 124 |
The Wrecking Crews | 145 |
Aerial Spies | 157 |
Black Magic | 173 |
Knowing the Enemy | 197 |
The Cold War Era and Beyond | 213 |
New Adversaries | 215 |
Elusive Truths | 360 |
A New Decade | 373 |
The Year of the Spy | 388 |
End of an Era | 404 |
A New World of Disorder | 416 |
Abbreviations Used in the Notes Notes | 433 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
able action activities addition Agency agents aircraft Allied American Andrew arms Army arrived attack attempt August became began Black bomb Britain British Central chief collection COMINT Command Committee communications concerning continued December Defense Department develop directed Directorate documents early East effort enemy espionage established followed forces Foreign France French GC&CS German Group head Hitler's Ibid indicated intelligence Intelligence Service intercept Israel Israeli Italy January Japanese July June later launch London major March meeting messages military missile missions monitoring months Moscow naval November nuclear October Office operations organization photographs placed plane plans political Post produced radio received reconnaissance reports responsible result returned Russian satellite Secret Security September served Service ships signals sources Soviet Union Spies Staff station successful tion troops United Washington weapons West World York
Bibliographic information
| Title | A Century of Spies: Intelligence in the Twentieth Century A Century of Spies: Intelligence in the Twentieth Century, Jeffrey Richelson Oxford paperpacks |
| Author | Jeffery T. Richelson |
| Edition | illustrated, reprint |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press, USA, 1997 |
| ISBN | 019511390X, 9780195113907 |
| Length | 534 pages |
| Subjects | › › › History / Military / General History / Modern / 20th Century / General History / United States / 20th Century Poetry / European / General True Crime / Espionage |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |