Intelligence Power in Peace and War (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"...the most thoughtful, detached and up-to-date primer on the subject ever produced by a recent member of the British intelligence community." The Independent

"...the most thoughtful, detached and up-to-date primer on the subject ever produced by a recent member of the British intelligence community." The Independent

"An excellent work written with enough skill and clarity to be valuable for academic and general readers." J.D. Stempel, Choice

"This is an important book about Anglo-Saxon tradition of intelligence management." Michael I. Handel, The International History Review

"...a grand scale breakthough....No one who is serious about intelligence studies should fail to become familiar with this book." H. Bradford Westerfield, Intelligence and Counterintelligence

"It is a scholarly study and for those readers who want to know about the internal workings of intelligence it provides more fascination than many of the 'cloak and dagger' spy stories. The study of Michael Herman is a very valuable addition to the analytical intelligence literature. It provides a conprehensive overview how intelligence works and functions. As a former intelligence professional, the author knows that not only intelligence but also scolarly results need to be presented in a language which appeals to the novice, the practitioner and scholar alike and he is very gook at this. His thoroughly researched, well-structured, and very readable book is highly recommendable." Newsletter

Product Description

Intelligence services form an important but controversial part of the modern state. Drawing mainly on British and American examples, this book provides an analytic framework for understanding the "intelligence community" and assessing its value. Michael Herman, a former senior British Intelligence officer, describes the various components of intelligence; discusses what intelligence is for; considers issues of accuracy, evaluation and efficiency; and makes recommendations for the future of intelligence in the post-Cold War world.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 440 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (October 13, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521562317
• ISBN-13: 978-0521562317
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 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: #2,482,502 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ultimate Graduate/Policy Text on Intelligence, January 10, 2001

By	Robert D. Steele (Oakton, VA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This is the textbook for the best and the brightest of both the academic world and the policy world. It is not an easy read, between the British language form and the deep thinking, but it is, as Christopher Andrew says, "the best overview" and "surely destined to become a standard work". I especially liked its attention to components and boundaries, effects, accuracy, and evaluation. Perhaps most usefully within the book is the distinction between long-term intelligence endeavors that rely primarily on open sources and serve to improve state understanding and state behavior, and short-term espionage that tends to be intrusive and heighten the target state's feelings of vulnerability and hostility. No intelligence library is complete without this book--it provides a rock-solid foundation for serious thinking about the intelligence in the 21st Century.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Basic Intelligence Production, December 30, 2007

By	Retired Reader (New Mexico) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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This review is from: Intelligence Power in Peace and War (Paperback)

This is arguably the best book available on the essentials of intelligence production. It provides a basic, but accurate, description of intelligence production from collection through dissemination. Herman, not surprisingly, is especially competent in his explanation of intelligence collection and processing. Almost alone among writers on intelligence issues he notes the distinctions between single source, open source, and all source intelligence. He also provides an excellent description of the real intelligence cycle and the true relationship between customer requirements and collection planning and execution. This alone is worth the price of the book. Further the basics of intelligence that he presents in this book remain constant regardless of changing targets, priorities, and technical advances. For these reasons this book would make an excellent text book and ought to be the first book read by anyone seriously interested in the business of intelligence. For intelligence professionals, yes this is a very basic book, but in point of fact it clarifies and elaborates on many issues that are far too often taken for granted or discounted even though they are vital to intelligence processes.

Good as it is the book has one serious flaw. It is extremely weak on its discussion of intelligence analysis, a considerably more complex process than Herman seems to believe. In such an otherwise outstanding book this is odd, but understandable. One would suspect that Herman's career with GCHQ (UK SIGINT Service) was on the technical not analytic side of the work. Still this book provides an outstanding introduction to the arcane business of intelligence production and a good deal to think about for those already immersed in art and craft of intelligence. It is well worth its rather steep price.