Spying for America: The Hidden History of U.S. Intelligence [Paperback]

Nathan Miller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1997

Shocking details of Gulf War espionage and the treachery of CIA officer Aldrich Ames update this in-depth history of U.S. intelligence operations
-- Reveals that U.S. intelligence did not begin in World War II, but has been a major activity of the U.S. government since the Revolutionary War
-- This edition includes new material on the role of the CIA after the end of the Cold War

People who were shocked a decade ago by Oliver North's testimony on "shredding parties" and shady arms deals will be electrified by details from the case of Aldrich Ames, the counterintelligence officer who betrayed CIA operatives in Russia and spied for the KGB (and its post-Cold War successor, the Russian SVR) for nine years before his arrest in 1994. With its new information on recent episodes in the U.S, Spying for America is a complete history of the nation's espionage. Author Nathan Miller tells the true stories of agents like John Honeyman, George Washington's Tory agent who gathered enemy intelligence along the backroads of New Jersey; and of Elizabeth Van Lew and Rose Greenhow, belles who spied during the Civil War.

Sometimes humorous, often disturbing, and always dramatic, Miller's history of American spying traces the growth of intelligence organizations, and the unfortunate pattern of officials all too tempted to use covert operations as shortcuts in resolving domestic and international problems.

"(A) fact-filled study of the people behind the 200-year-old American intelligence community.... A solid primer". -- Kirkus Reviews

"A stunning narrative that reads better than a novel". -- Charles W. Corddry, Baltimore Sun writer and panelist for Washington Week in Review

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Miller seeks to correct the common wisdom that U.S. military intelligence didn't amount to much until WW II. His chronicle begins with an account of George Washington as spymaster during the Revolutionary War. Although he demythologizes such supposed paragons as Nathan Hale and Belle Boyd, Miller takes an admiring look at some of the men and women who performed valuable service with a minimum of government support. After reaching its low point during the Mexican-American War (the War Department sent the campaigners a map of Mexico torn from an atlas), U.S. military intelligence entered its professional era during the Spanish-American War with Ralph Van Deman's intelligence bureau. Calling him the father of modern intelligence, Miller points out in passing that Van Deman also initiated the kind of domestic snooping that has led to civil-rights infringements ever since. Other pre-WW II figures include Herbert O. Yardley, whose code-breaking service during the 1920s was abruptly shut down by Secretary of State Henry Stimson with the immortal comment that gentlemen do not read each other's mail. The book's take on U.S. intelligence activities through WW II to the Iran- contra affair is adequate but undistinguished. Photos.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

A very readable and comprehensive overview of the use of intelligence since the American Revolution, written by a former reporter for the Baltimore Sun . Beginning with the well-known tale of John Honeyman and ending with Oliver North, the narrative is straightforward, and the coverage is comprehensive and well focused. While no new ground is broken, it provides an excellent starting point for the neophyte and is sufficiently annotated to provide access to more detailed studies. The first half of the book treats the use of intelligence to support military operations. The second half looks at intelligence in the postwar period with the major emphasis on covert operations. An excellent history.
- George W. Price, Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington , D.C.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 491 pages
• Publisher: Marlowe & Co; 2 edition (May 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569247218
• ISBN-13: 978-1569247211
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #454,830 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spying for America, May 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Spying for America: The Hidden History of U.S. Intelligence (Paperback)

This book is a most excellent read. It is good for people casually interested in espionage and those with more background in it. One of the most overlooked areas was the periods between the world wars and the late 19th Century which is well treated. It is also written in a fast paced style that is never boring. I highly recommend this book. I have several other books by the author after reading this one and have been impressed with them all. A definite "can't miss" book.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Nothing New, January 10, 2010

By 

Sally Fallen - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spying for America: The Hidden History of U.S. Intelligence (Paperback)

It is obvious in the first three chapters of this book that there is no original research here. It is simply a matter of going to the library and regurgitating what was already written in secondary sources. Other author's conjectures about the Revolutionary war spying story are simply repeated here, so accurately that one can tell which books they are taken from. It would be permissible to copy the historical fact, but when the old myths and conjecture of past researchers are repeated here as well, along with the fact, that is unacceptable.

5 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Multiple true life stories about spies and spying., October 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Spying for America: The Hidden History of U.S. Intelligence (Paperback)

John Wortman p.4 The Fine Art of Spying is a collection of true, and truly amazing, stories written by Somerset Maugham, Anthony Abbott, Winston Churchill, Fletcher Pratt, Alan Hynd, Kurt Singer, and other famous authors. But The Fine Art of Spying would not have come together without the editing of Walter B. Gibson. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to read about clever and incredible strategies that people use when they find themselves in difficult situations. Although The Fine Art of Spying is a book about the exiting events and missions that certain spies go through, the book does not include 100% concentrated action. So, if you are looking for a pointless, plotless, "everybody dies" novel, (which I DO enjoy reading) I don't recommend this book to you. Otherwise I recommend it to anyone. Although this is a great book, it does have a couple of boring parts. There is a story in The Fine Art of Spying entitled "The Traitor." This is one of the book's less enjoyable stories, in fact, I think it is the worst one in the book. "The Traitor" is about one spy trying to get another spy to work for his network. This may sound okay but it wasn't because the first spy did nothing to persuade the other spy. This makes it bad because there was no conflict and without conflict there is no action. Don't worry, however, there are really only two bad stories. "The Traitor" and "Prisoner in the Legation" are those stories, but I found "Prisoner in the Legation" not to be as boring as "The Traitor." There are, however, many good stories in this book. One of my favorites is called "Encounter at Treasure Island." This story is about an ordinary guy who gets tangled up with some Japanese spies and tries to get on the inside of their network and obtain enough information about them to get them arrested and convicted. The Fine Art of Spying is a great collection of some excellent spy stories. I liked this book because most of the stories were extremely exciting and they told what real people have done in actual situations. Many of the strategies that these people thought of I would not have dreamed of, so my attention was held. Even though the interesting aspects varied from story to story, some stories were very boring, while others almost forced the reader to continue. Over all I highly recommend The Fine Art of Spying.