Spycraft
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- $19.99
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
Secret instructons written in invisible ink.
Cigarettes that fire bullets.
Covert communications slipped inside dead rats.
Subminature cameras hidden in ballpoint pens.
If these sound like the stuff of James Bond's gadget-master Q's trade, think again. They are all real-life devices created by the CIA's Office of Technical Services. Now, in the first book ever written about this ultrasecretive department, the former director of the OTS gives us an unprecedented look at the devices and operations from the history of the CIA - including many deemed 'inappropriate for public disclosure' by the CIA just two years ago.
Spycraft tells amazing life and death stories about this little-known group, much of which has never before been revealed. Against the backdrop of some of the most critical international events of recent years - including the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the war on terror - the authors show the real techinical and human story of how the CIA carried out its most secret missions.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Today's CIA is regularly criticized for emphasizing technology at the expense of "human intelligence." In this history of the agency's Office of Technical Services, Wallace, its former head, and academic specialist Melton (Ultimate Spy) refute the charge with exciting content and slam-bang style. The book's chief value is its perspective on the synergy of technology and tradecraft. From WWII through the Cold War and up to the present, the authors say, technical equipment for clandestine audio surveillance, for example has been an essential element of agent operations. In the post Cold War "information society," technology plays an even more significant role in fighting terrorism.
