The Central Intelligence Agency: Security under Scrutiny (Understanding Our Government) [Hardcover]

Athan G. Theoharis (Author), Richard H. Immerman (Author), Kathryn Olmstead (Author), John Prados (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0313332827 | ISBN-13: 978-0313332821 | Publication Date: December 30, 2005

Created in 1947, the Central Intelligence Agency plays an important part in the nation's intelligence activities, and is currently playing a vital role in the war on terrorism. While the agency is often in the news and portrayed in television shows and films, it remains one of the most secretive and misunderstood organizations in the United States. This work provides an in-depth look into the Central Intelligence Agency and how its responsibilities affect American life.

After a brief history of the agency, chapters describe its organization, intelligence/counterintelligence, covert operations, controversies, key events, and notable people.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Although the CIA is the government agency most often depicted on television and in films, it is probably the least understood. This volume seeks to redress that problem, as much as possible, with a survey of the CIA's programs, personnel and activities. The chapters are arranged by theme, such as liaison arrangements and intelligence and counterintelligence, and are written by experts on those topics. The text includes biographies of important CIA administrators, a chronology of key events, and an annotated bibliography. It is part of the Understanding Our Government Series, which is aimed at high school students."

-

Reference & Research Book News

"[T]heoharis provides a good introduction to the history, structure, and operations of the CIA, information required to understand fully what all the heated arguments are about. The chapters cover the agency's origins, foreign and domestic liaison arrangements, covert activities, the work of intelligence and counterintelligence units, and CIA controversies from 1947 to 2004. The chapters are further subdivided and labeled by subtopic, and the indexing and table of contents are helpful in directing one's study. The book's reference value is increased by its 29-page chronology of key events, 20-page annotated bibliography, list of acronyms, and short biographies of 50 important CIA-related individuals. Readers can also examine the CIA's Factbook on Intelligence for the official facts and links to more information from the intelligence community….Theoharis's high-quality publication is suitable for academic and larger public libraries."

-

Library Journal

Book Description

Details the Central Intelligence Agency, whose mission is to provide accurate and timely foreign intelligence on national security issues to the President.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood (December 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313332827
• ISBN-13: 978-0313332821
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,999,439 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very impressed, May 11, 2011

By 

Zo (NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Central Intelligence Agency: Security under Scrutiny (Understanding Our Government) (Hardcover)

Very impressed, and I appreciate the way the book is set up.

Basically, you have an introductory chapter of a dense 80 pages that goes through the whole history. People, places, events, results, trends under each President, etc. Following that is a series of analysis essays, that really underline the more important aspects of the organization and provide an in-depth look at specific issues. It's definitely a textbook (as opposed to some of the more enjoyable books on the same subject), so you sacrifice some readability for the dense content.

Overall, I learned more from this book than any other one I had read, but I did slow way down and took notes on each chapter. Suggest taking a week of intense reading to completely understand the first section, and you can then read the analysis essays with ease.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Provides college-level readers with a primer on the CIA's history, purposes, and activities, April 27, 2006

By 

D. Donovan, Editor/Sr. Reviewer "California B... (California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Central Intelligence Agency: Security under Scrutiny (Understanding Our Government) (Hardcover)

THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY: SECURITY UNDER SCRUTINY edited by Athan Theoharis and others joins others in the 'Understanding Our Government' series to provide college-level readers with a primer on the CIA's history, purposes, and activities. Chapters describe its organization, intelligence operations, controversies and events, considering the changing role and perception of secrets and intelligence work over the decades and spying and interception projects fostered by the CIA.