A Century of Spies: Intelligence in the Twentieth Century (Paperback)

~ Jeffery T. Richelson (Author) "In 1800 a Londoner had the distinction of living in the most populous city in Europe, as one of 900,000 residents..." (more)
Key Phrases: space reconnaissance program, space reconnaissance systems, human intelligence operations, United States, Soviet Union, Foreign Office (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Intelligence, according to Richelson, played a crucial role in defeating Hitler, preventing the Cold War from turning into a nuclear war and keeping the superpower arms race from getting completely out of hand. His comprehensive survey explores the impact of spies and their special technology on world events in this century, showing how intelligence gathering and espionage have become a multibillion-dollar enterprise. The book covers events and developments from WWI to the age of spy satellites. With the end of the Cold War, as he shows, intelligence organizations have begun to focus more on international economic rivalries?an emphasis that includes economic espionage. Richelson predicts that intelligence technologies in the next century will become even more sophisticated but humans will still be needed for obtaining documents, technical samples and on-site reporting. This decade-by-decade review of key events and breakthroughs in intelligence and espionage is masterly. Richelson is a Senior Fellow at the National Security Archive.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

In 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 work combines elements of popular spy books-great stories, colorful characters, and sad incidents-with more straightforward analysis. For the ardent spy buff, the volume is an interesting array of tales with a broader developmental focus; indeed, the cross-national perspective is a strength here. The book falls short, however, in providing the in-depth analysis one would hope for. For example, a final chapter on "a new world of disorder" falls short of providing a good vision of the current situation, despite a proper emphasis on economic intelligence, proliferation, and technical intelligence means. Ultimately, too many questions are left unanswered here. While Richelson believes that spying has had its beneficial aspects (e.g., breaking Hitler), its impact on domestic life, no matter what country, slips by him. An optional purchase.
H. Steck, SUNY at Cortland
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (July 17, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 019511390X
• ISBN-13: 978-0195113907
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #153,557 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars concise history of the intelligence world, September 9, 1998

By A Customer

this book, written by a military scholar, will appeal to those seeking the tree to many branches; it gives excellent accounts of operations from the shadowy days of secret wartime missions, as well as up-to-date workings of the separate intelligence communities. With a comprehensive bibliography, the would-be intelligence analyst cannot go wrong choosing this book as their guide

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything you wanted to know, February 15, 2004

By	ErickH12 (Arlington, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This book was originally assigned to me in college as part of a course on US Intelligence. It has stayed on my bookshelf ever since then. I've reread parts of it for fun, or when I needed to reference something.
It's a great book that includes a least a small section on every major, and most minor intelligence operation or development of the century. Human Intelligence, technical, it doens't limit itself to one area. Obviously WW2 and the Cold War get the most attention, but there is plenty on various other conflicts and other parties.
All the major subjects are covered, and there will be quite a few smaller incidents that I (and most likely you) had not heard of previously, or only new very little about.
Richelsen has excellent credentials and is a great source, the book is very informative and accurate, as well as maintaining a factual and unbiased tone on a subject is very often not to unbiased. Despite it all this it remains a fun and enjoyable read, accessible to readers with a lot or very minimal previous knowledge of Intelligence work.