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James Bamford

The Puzzle Palace: Inside the National Security Agency, America's Most Secret Intelligence Organization Paperback – September 29, 1983

by James Bamford (Author)

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In this remarkable tour de force of investigative reporting, James Bamford exposes the inner workings of America's largest, most secretive, and arguably most intrusive intelligence agency. The NSA has long eluded public scrutiny, but The Puzzle Palace penetrates its vast network of power and unmasks the people who control it, often with shocking disregard for the law. With detailed information on the NSA's secret role in the Korean Airlines disaster, Iran-Contra, the first Gulf War, and other major world events of the 80s and 90s, this is a brilliant account of the use and abuse of technological espionage.

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Editorial Reviews

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In 1947, the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand signed a secret treaty in which they agreed to cooperate in matters of signals intelligence. In effect, the governments agreed to pool their geographic and technological assets in order to listen in on the electronic communications of China, the Soviet Union, and other Cold War bad guys--all in the interest of truth, justice, and the American Way, naturally. The thing is, the system apparently catches everything. Government security services, led by the U.S. National Security Agency, screen a large part (and perhaps all) of the voice and data traffic that flows over the global communications network. Fifty years later, the European Union is investigating possible violations of its citizens' privacy rights by the NSA, and the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a public advocacy group, has filed suit against the NSA, alleging that the organization has illegally spied on U.S. citizens.

Being a super-secret spy agency and all, it's tough to get a handle on what's really going on at the NSA. However, James Bamford has done great work in documenting the agency's origins and Cold War exploits in The Puzzle Palace. Beginning with the earliest days of cryptography (code-making and code-breaking are large parts of the NSA's mission), Bamford explains how the agency's predecessors helped win World War II by breaking the German Enigma machine and defeating the Japanese Purple cipher. He also documents signals intelligence technology, ranging from the usual collection of spy satellites to a great big antenna in the West Virginia woods that listened to radio signals as they bounced back from the surface of the moon.

Bamford backs his serious historical and technical material (this is a carefully researched work of nonfiction) with warnings about how easily the NSA's technology could work against the democracies of the world. Bamford quotes U.S. Senator Frank Church: "If this government ever became a tyranny ... the technological capacity that the intelligence community has given the government could enable it to impose total tyranny, and there would be no way to fight back, because the most careful effort to combine together in resistance to the government ... is within the reach of the government to know." This is scary stuff. --David Wall

Review

"There have been glimpses inside the NSA before, but until now no one has published a comprehensive and detailed report on the agency. . . Mr. Bamford has emerged with everything except the combination to the director's safe." —The New York Times Book Review

Item Weight : 15.2 ounces
ISBN-13 : 978-0140067484
Paperback : 656 pages
ISBN-10 : 0140067485
Product Dimensions : 5.13 x 1.35 x 7.74 inches
Publisher : Penguin Books; 1st Edition (September 29, 1983)
Language: : English

Best Sellers Rank: #219,953 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #65 in Federal Jurisdiction Law (Books)
- #255 in Espionage True Accounts
- #406 in National & International Security (Books)

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149 ratings

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Reed H. Stuve

A good primer for anyone interested in this subject

Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2018

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At the time of publication this topic was newer than now. Bamford wrote this in a more journalistic and popular style. He traces the beginning of the many parts that made up the National Security Agency. It is very detailed and you can tell he did a lot of research. It also begins the foundation of today's surveillance state and the reasoning behind it. Many of these founding personnel are described and the problems they had to deal with. There is an insiders perspective to many of the things he describes. I found the book informative and interesting, even with some dated technological information. A good primer for anyone interested in this subject.

3 people found this helpful

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Monty Vierra

Important Background to the Snowden Leaks

Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2013

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Some reviewers have expressed dissatisfaction with the sometimes ponderous way the book moves, and some have complained that the book is out of date. This is not a John le Carre thriller; it does move slowly. But that doesn't mean it doesn't have its usefulness. And it is right up there with today's headlines. Reading this book can help people understand the evolution of the organization. Unlike when it was written and until the advent of the Internet, it really was shrouded in secrecy. Bamford helped to lift that shroud. To get a sharp contrast with this book, one only has to go to the NSA website, where just about everything is spelled out in black and white.

When we consider that people as far removed as the leaders of Germany and Indonesia appear shocked by the 2013 revelations that NSA is spying on them, we can conclude either that they have never read this book or that they have and don't want to tell their citizens about it. In short, as Bamford points out, one or more members of the "5 Eyes Only" group has been spying on mass communications ever since the transatlantic cables were first laid, more than a century ago.

Another valuable part of this history is the laying to rest of some myths of WWII communications. Bamford's book is a good counterweight to books and articles emphasizing the Enigma device. I recall one author claiming that Roosevelt "knew" the Japanese were going to attack Pearl Harbor and "let" it happen. Bamford supplies the more complex, nuanced story of how the communications failed due to human error, not to any "conspiracy."

The afterword contains the story of Geoffrey Arthur Prime, which is the closest we get to a Le Carre style spy story. Prime was carrying on his work while the 1974 Le Carre novel, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy was being written. See pages 502-532 in the paperback edition I have. Perhaps NSA should assign someone to read spy novels.

There is one major problem with this edition, but it doesn't seem to be the author's fault.The blurb on the back of the book claims that the book includes "information on the NSA's secret role" in "major world events of the 1980s and 1990s." The afterward ends with 1982. There's nothing after that: No "Korean Airlines disaster [Sept 1, 1983], Iran-Contra [1986], [nor] the Gulf War [1990-91]."

Readers counting on the book to cover these topics should complain to Penguin Books.

11 people found this helpful

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Craig Wood

A peek inside the kimono

Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2010

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"The Puzzle Palace" should be required reading for devotees of investigative reporting. James Bamford's 1982 classic is an eye-opening exploration of the National Security Agency -- the NSA. The book is impressive not just for its breadth, but also its depth. Bamford describes the origins of the super-secret agency during the first World War, and takes the reader through all key events and personnel into the early years of the Reagan administration.

In parts the book is completely engrossing. The author's descriptions of double agents and defectors are fascinating -- true-life spy stories with all of the sordid details laid bare. The thoroughness of Bamford's reporting, though, can also be a challenge to the reader, at least to me. Some chapters are so dense with names, dates and acronyms that I had a hard time retaining the key points. At times it felt like I was reading a dictionary or an encyclopedia. Bamford also engages in a bit of sanctimonious finger-wagging towards the end of the book, using his literary pulpit to warn us all against the dangers of letting such a large and powerful agency run amok with so much eavesdropping technology at its disposal.

That said, if you're looking for an iconic book on 20th-century history, "The Puzzle Palace" should be on your shelf. It's not the lightest reading out there. But it's a worthwhile read for anyone who has an interest in the shadowy world of the NSA.

6 people found this helpful

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R. Kimmel

A goog history of US Intelligence capabilities, successes and failures

Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2018

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This book is a factual account of the early years of NSA and other US intelligence agencies. If you are interested in such history, the book is fascinating, even though it is now decades old.

2 people found this helpful

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Kevin Lynch

NSA has been involved in our lives since 1950's and that should concern all of us

Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2019

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A good read, but it shines a light on a organization that has no limits . That is a concept that is counter to good government. No restraints leads to abuse and we know that has and still is happening.

One person found this helpful

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Anthony Alfero

Amazing detail

Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2019

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How the author could know every secret program the NSA was every involved in, in enormous detail is astonishing. Not long ago, the agency claimed not to exist. A great book.

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Seattle Buyer

Super boring

Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2019

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For academic use only. A dull history, devoid of any human interest. Better to check it out from a library than to buy.

One person found this helpful

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T from Long Island

A lot of detail.

Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2020

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An equal amount of small print and my eyes are getting weaker. This otherwise excellent book should be revised and come out in audio format.

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Graham

James Bamford has written two newer and - especially post-Snowden ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 20, 2015

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James Bamford has written two newer and - especially post-Snowden - important books but this remains a fascinating and gripping read even in the historical context it now exists in. Essential reading still for anyone wanting the definitive public history of the NSA, the only caveat to that statement is that you should also buy and read Bamford's other books on the subject too.

One person found this helpful

T. Ellis

Go into secret places

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 23, 2015

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INteresting book

Maureen swallow

Condition

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 3, 2020

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The book was in a satisfactory condition, thanks, Bill.

grahamtagg

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 18, 2016

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good read

JACK SHIELDS

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 7, 2017

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GOOD

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