Inside the CIA: Revealing the Secrets of the World's Most Powerful Spy Agency (Mass Market Paperback)

by Ronald Kessler (Author) "WHEN MOST PEOPLE THINK OF THE CIA, THEY THINK OF the Directorate of Operations, the spy side of the house that is also known as..." (more)
Key Phrases: former operations officer, counternarcotics center, covert action proposals, Central Intelligence, Office of Security, Soviet Union (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Kessler ( Escape from the CIA ), who is the first journalist to be accorded the full cooperation of the CIA, here reveals more about the agency's structure, policies and key personnel than any previous writer has. He defines the missions of the agency's five components--the director and the directorates of operations, science and technology, intelligence, and administration. Kessler explores such diverse subjects as the agency's employment policies (the CIA, he maintains, prefers aggressive, manipulative recruits willing to lie and to break the laws of foreign countries), the director's daily presidential briefing, the CIA's counter-narcotics efforts, the physical plant itself ("The CIA compound is indeed a spooky place") and the agency's struggle to create a viable public-relations policy. As to the agency's mandate, given the diminution of the Soviet threat, Kessler reports that the CIA is intensifying its effort to track nuclear proliferation, international drug trafficking and terrorism. A largely objective, evenhanded, highly informative survey.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
Kessler ( Escape from the CIA , LJ 5/15/91) returns to "the Company" to relate how it has evolved since the mid-1970s. Here, he describes the organizational structure of the CIA, along with the responsibilities and day-to-day routines of the different directorates. Some of the details, such as those regarding the location and operation of the CIA complex in Virginia, are very interesting. Kessler makes the point that intelligence agencies are vital in today's dangerous world and that the CIA is a big bureaucracy full of ordinary people trying to do a good job at a difficult and complex task. While it reveals no startling "secrets," Kessler's book is a good source of background information. Suitable for all intelligence collections. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 7/92.
- Daniel K. Blewett, Loyola Univ. Lib., Chicago
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 358 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books (February 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067173458X
• ISBN-13: 978-0671734589
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #86,199 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not terribly revealing, March 31, 2001

By	doc peterson (Portland, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Kessler's Inside the CIA has more to say about the organization of the Agency than actual spycraft. As such it is hardly an interesting read - in fact, I would venture so far to say that it is downright dull. Kessler laboriously explains the table of organization of the CIA - what the 5 directorates are and what they do (in the abstract) with very little by way of specifics. The few interviews Kessler conducted in his preparation for this book were with former Directors - very little from the "men in the field." Most of the information Kessler presents can easily be found elsewhere, in a much abbreviated form, and at less cost than the book. If you are interested in a book about what the function of the CIA is and how it is organized to carry out its mission, this is the book for you. If you are interested in something about spycraft or are searching for stories about individual CIA operations, look elsewhere. In spite of its catchy title, you will be disappointed.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars interesting and entertaining, starting to become dated, November 22, 2003

By	James J. Lippard "skeptic" (Phoenix, AZ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This 1992 book by Kessler is quite similar to his more recent book on the FBI, but without the quantity or quality of interesting inside stories. Not surprisingly, despite having excellent access to the CIA, there are fewer details. Again, however, he comes across as remarkably fair-minded--quite critical of failings of the agency, and not afraid to point out flaws and foibles of its leadership--but also sympathetic, refuting some inaccurate charges that have been made. The book has a very amusing and horrible typo in the title of Chapter 24: it is given as "X-Rated Chowder" in the table of contents, at the beginning of the chapter, and at the top of every page in the chapter. In fact, it was supposed to be (as you learn when you read the chapter) "X-Rayed Chowder." A good introduction to the CIA, but it's now over a decade out-of-date.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good history, fair analysis, outdated, October 19, 2006

A Kid's Review

The simple fact is that this book is outdated. Published in 1992, it is obvious that the absolute last world event dealt with in the author's research was the Gulf War of 1991. Even though it says it's been updated in 1994, there is definitely no mention of the Clinton years or the 1993 WTC bombing. In fact, in an ominous line, the authors writes to the effect that there has never been a major intel failure since the 80s (regardless of what side you believe, 9/11 would certainly get a full chapter under this category). It's time to update this book, or it will be totally obsolete very soon.

The entire structure of the CIA is outdated. The book was written in the days when there was a DCI, and the major directorates were Ops, Science & Technology, Intelligence and Admin. Now, there is a DNI/DDNI team as head of national intel, under whom is the DCIA (not DCI anymore). The directorates are different as well: Ops is now called the National Clandestine Service; S&T is the same, Intelligence is called Analysis, and Admin is called Support. Not to mention that the whole thing about visitors to Langley is laughably archaic in post-9/11 America.

Though some reviewers mention that Kessler doesn't "reveal any secrets," I found the book quite full of inside info. There are tons of examples of insider issues, operations that went well or badly, and myth debunks. What did you expect, that even if there is a captured UFO, the book would tell you? I didn't see TOPSECRET//NOFORN//SCI anywhere on the cover.

As a history, the book is wonderful. Unfortunately, it's the closest thing to a current tell-all of the Agency, which is sad. Even the Agency itself lists it at the top of their recommended reading for applicants. Untimately, how much can one read about the Soviets and their terrible, horrible threat and still take it seriously in the age of terrorism? In a history of the CIA, fine. But in a book that is supposed to (by the Agency's own admission!) let the average civilian in on the unclassified story of the CIA, Kessler has got to update this book.