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Craft of Intelligence: America's Legendary Spy Master On The Fundamentals Of Intelligence Gathering For A Free World Paperback – April 1, 2006

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Allen Dulles (Author)
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Well organized, informative . . . When he talks about the CIA, its Russian counterparts, and specific examples of fiascoes and coups, the reader will certainly snap to attention."--The New Yorker

"The Craft of Intelligence is one of the most fascinating books of our time."--Washington Post

"Brilliantly selective candor."--The New York Times

From the Back Cover

If the experts could point to any single book as a source for understanding twentieth-century intelligence, that book would be Allen W. Dulles's The Craft of Intelligence. This classic of spycraft is based on Dulles's incomparable experience as a diplomat, international lawyer, and America's premier intelligence officer. Dulles was a high-ranking officer of the CIA's predecessor - the Office of Strategic Services - and served eight years as director of the newly created CIA.
In The Craft of Intelligence, Dulles reveals how intelligence is collected and processed, and how the results contribute to the formation of national policy. He discusses methods of surveillance and the usefulness of defectors from hostile nations. His knowledge of Cold War Soviet espionage techniques is unrivaled, and he explains how the Soviet State Security Service recruited operatives and planted "illegals" in foreign countries.
In an account enlivened with a wealth of personal anecdotes, Dulles also addresses the Bay of Pigs incident, denying that the 1961 invasion was based on a CIA estimate that a popular Cuban uprising would ensue. He spells out not only the techniques of modern espionage but also the philosophy and role of intelligence in a free society threatened by global conspiracies.
This is a book for readers who seek wider understanding of the contribution of intelligence to our national security.
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Lyons Press; 1st edition (April 1, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1592282970
  • ISBN-13: 978-1592282975
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #88,492 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 70 people found the following review helpful
Core reading requirement for students of intelligence
By A Customer on October 9, 2001
Format: Hardcover
As I began researching the modern intelligence community, several books (e.g. "The Night Watch" by David Atlee Philips) pointed back to "The Craft of Intelligence" as a fundamental starting point. Because this book deals with the basic intelligence methods and objectives, it maintains its relevance well into the present. In some sections Dulles also addresses the ethical implications of deceptive or clandestine intelligence collection, providing valuable thought or discussion material for individuals scrutinizing this unique, and arguably disdainful, function of government. Dulles' writing style is thoughtful, refined, yet straightforward, revealing some of those traits which earned him the moniker "The Gentleman Spy".
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Amusing and Factual
By Justin Turner on October 12, 2011
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Contrary to previous reviews, Allen does provide some great insights into the world of intelligence collection and analysis. However, keep in mind that Allen was also a CIA Director. This means he's not tapping phones himself, any more than a mining executive swings a pick axe, and so he's not going to tell you how that is done. It's also correct that we no longer live in Allen Dulle's world. Allen died in 1969, a world where the Soviets were at their most intimidating, Communism was a genuine global threat and the Cold War was a desperate battle of economics, politics, covert and overt violence, intelligence penetration and, of course, ideology. Please keep this in mind when you buy and read this book.

The book has some interesting insights into what intelligence meant at the time. It was the laborious penetration of the clandestine parts of a clandestine society. It was the penetration of soviet satellite nations. It was also the defence against clandestine penetration.

This book doesn't disclose national secrets, but I was surprised by the level of insight that Dulles provides into the intelligence world he led and managed at the time. Problems including the difficulties of penetration soviet society, the methods of blackmail that soviets would use against westerners, his opinion of the fundamentally untrustworthiness of the soviets (I got the impression they would not abide a gentleman's agreement), and many stories illustrating how soviets attempted to penetrate western targets (like embassies) while also showing how many soviets would defect and collaborate with the west.

I also don't want to give anything way, but his section on Homo Sovieticus was both very funny and chilling at the same time.Read more ›
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47 of 54 people found the following review helpful
Better than spy fiction
By E. M. Van Court VINE VOICE on November 16, 2007
Format: Paperback
Allen Dulles said that "(i)n our time, the United States is being challenged by a hostile group of nations that profess a philosophy of life and government inimical to our own" and "(t)oday's intelligence service also finds itself in the situation of having to maintain constant watch in every part of the world, no matter what may at the moment be occupying the main attention of diplomats and military men." Given that this was written over forty years ago, in a radically different geopolitical climate, it is impressive that his observations are still valid and relevant, though not in the fashion that concerned him at the time of his writting. If someone reads this book broadly, without getting caught up in the constant references to the grand failure of the twentieth century, communism, there is great current relevance here.

Any citizen in a democracy has a duty to understand issues before voting. The actions and managment of the intelligence apparatus of the nation should be an essential issue in any voters' understanding of international affairs. "The Craft of Intelligence" will give the reader and voter a necessary understanding of the responsibilities and duties of the intellegence system. It discusses intelligence requirements, collection, and analysis, as well as defense against foreign spies, and deception.

But all that 'social conscious' and 'civic duty' stuff is the not the reason to read this book.

This is a bunch of awesome, historical spy stories! From a guy who has been there, done that from World War I through the height of the Cold War, you'll here the real life stories that inspired Tom Clancy, and Ian Fleming. And it's better than the made up stuff, as these events shaped the world we live in today.Read more ›
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31 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Great information... but incredibly dry.
By Evan Shearin on May 4, 2009
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
It's really all in the title. The information available in this book is excellent, reliable, and backed up with anecdotes and references. However, it's very dense and reads like a bureaucratic report, making it difficult to get through. Definitely not a casual read.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Selective candor
By A Forest Fan on July 1, 2013
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Probably the most accurate jacket endorsement ever in the history of publishing, from the back cover, "Selective candor".

Allen W Dulles has a number of interesting stories about spycraft and dissidents in the early days of espionage. He has a nice historical overview which delves into ancient intelligence and more recent (in his time) spy escapades before and during WWII. But as we move into the cold war, the author starts redacting his account quite heavily. Dulles tells the reader what he thinks he can get away with, this being written at the height of the cold war in the mid-sixties. The details he leaves out are now common knowledge, and that's the problem with this dated book. We're told of the emplacement of nuclear missiles in Cuba, but not that this was a response to the US emplacing intermediate range ballistic missiles in Turkey, right on the USSR's border.

We are told matter-of-factly of Gary Powers release from Soviet custody in a spy swap, leaving out the abandonment that Powers suffered as his superiors believe he should have used his suicide pills rather than survive the destruction of his U-2 spyplane. There are a lot of interesting stories that Dulles could have told us, but chose not to. The information this book contains is as outdated as one of Frank Sinatra's hats circa 1965. Read it for some interesting anecdotes that Dulles feels are old enough to safely relate to readers, and skip the second half of the book.
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