From the Publisher
From two men who know better than anyone how espionage really works, an unprecedented history—heavily illustrated with neverbefore- seen images—of the CIA's most secretive operations and the gadgets that made them possible.
It is a world where the intrigue of reality exceeds that of fiction. What is an invisible photo used for? What does it take to build a quiet helicopter? How does one embed a listening device in a cat? If these sound like challenges for Q, James Bond's fictional gadget-master, think again. They're all real-life devices created by the CIA's Office of Technical Service—an ultrasecretive department that combines the marvels of state-of-the-art technology with the time-proven traditions of classic espionage. And now, in the first book ever written about this office, the former director of OTS teams up with an internationally renowned intelligence historian to take readers into the laboratory of espionage.
Spycraft tells amazing life and death stories about this littleknown group, much of it never before revealed. Against the backdrop of some of America's most critical periods in recent history—including the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the war on terror—the authors show the real technical and human story of how the CIA carries out its missions.
David Kahn
Stuffed with stories about chemical taggants, forged documents, physical and psychological disguises, software beacons that reveal the location of a cell phone or a laptop...this extraordinary, detailed, accurate book tells more about what spies really do, the risks they run and their schemes to avoid them, than all the James Bond stories put together. (David Kahn, author of The Codebreakers)
Richard Gid Powers
Just amazing! Page after page of jaw-dropping revelations about incredible cases and amazing technology. There has never been anything like this book. (Richard Gid Powers, author of Secrecy and Power: The Life of J. Edgar Hoover and Broken: The Troubled Past and Uncertain Future of the FBI)
Pete Earley
This book is absolutely the best I've ever read about the CIA's "spy-techs" and the critical role they have played... Painstakingly researched, yet written with a novelist's flair, SPYCRAFT rips back the veils, revealing unfamiliar cases and offering fresh insights into infamous ones. From chronicling the invention of exploding pancakes to wristwatch cameras and quiet helicopters, SPYCRAFT documents how ingenious "techies" turned the CIA's lab into "the greatest toy shop in the world" and proved that if they "could think it —(they) could do it. (Pete Earley, author of Comrade J: The Untold Secrets of Russia's Master Spy After The End of The Cold War and Confessions of a Spy; The Real Story of Aldrich Ames)
James M. Olson
This is a story I thought could never be told. The CIA's super-secret gadgets and technical operations were the difference maker in the espionage wars. Bob Wallace and Keith Melton have done a brilliant job of taking us into this amazing and arcane world. Behind all of us who did the front line spying for the CIA stood some remarkable and unsung heroes, the scientists and engineers of OTS. It was a beautiful partnership. Don't miss this book. Nothing like it has been written before. (James M. Olson, former chief of CIA counterintelligence and author of Fair Play: The Moral Dilemmas of Spying)
Gary C. Schroen
A must read for anyone interested in the world of CIA clandestine operations. The authors open a door on a hidden area that even those of us who have served in the Agency rarely see. Incredible research and great writing make this a fun ride through the history of this until now overlooked secret world deep inside the CIA. (Gary C. Schroen, author of First In)
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. Agents remain important, along with their traditional skills. Increasingly, however, they support clandestine technical operations, especially infiltrating and compromising computer networks. The authors persuasively argue that employing and defending against sophisticated digital technology is the primary challenge facing U.S. intelligence in the 21st century. Their position invites challenge, but it cannot be dismissed. 32 pages of photos, over 100 b&w illus. throughout. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Discover magazine
Their tales will leave you shaken, if not stirred.
Daniel K. Blewett
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Library Journal
Modern espionage requires more than a fast car and a shaken martini; it demands suitable equipment with which to gather, store, and transmit information. Wallace, former director of the CIA's Office of Technical Services (OTS), and H. Keith Melton (CIA Special Weapons & Equipment: Spy Devices of the Cold War), together with Henry Robert Schlesinger (coauthor, Brooklyn Bounce: The True-Life Adventures of a Good Cop in a Bad Precinct), present this well-written account of the ingenious items and procedures developed by the OTS to support field agents. The details of operational activity are as engrossing as the descriptions of the equipment, military and otherwise-e.g., miniature cameras and radios, obscure drugs, tiny weapons, secret compartments, and forged documents-depicted here in 100-plus fascinating diagrams and photographs. Readers can find more photos of such artifacts on the CIA's virtual museum tour (www.cia.gov/about-cia/cia-museum/cia-museum-tour/index.html). Endnotes and a glossary of relevant terms round out the book, which complements Jeffrey T. Richelson's historical The Wizards of Langley: Inside the CIA's Directorate of Science and Technology. Suitable for all libraries. (Index not seen.)
What People Are Saying
Richard Gid Powers
"Just amazing! Page after page of jaw-dropping revelations about incredible cases and amazing technology. There has never been anything like this book."--(Richard Gid Powers, author of Secrecy and Power: The Life of J. Edgar Hoover and Broken: The Troubled Past and Uncertain Future of the FBI)
James M. Olson
"This is a story I thought could never be told. The CIA's super-secret gadgets and technical operations were the difference maker in the espionage wars. Bob Wallace and Keith Melton have done a brilliant job of taking us into this amazing and arcane world. Behind all of us who did the front line spying for the CIA stood some remarkable and unsung heroes, the scientists and engineers of OTS. It was a beautiful partnership. Don't miss this book. Nothing like it has been written before."--(James M. Olson, former chief of CIA counterintelligence and author of Fair Play: The Moral Dilemmas of Spying)
Pete Earley
"This book is absolutely the best I've ever read about the CIA's "spy-techs" and the critical role they have played . . . Painstakingly researched, yet written with a novelist's flair, SPYCRAFT rips back the veils, revealing unfamiliar cases and offering fresh insights into infamous ones. From chronicling the invention of exploding pancakes to wristwatch cameras and quiet helicopters, SPYCRAFT documents how ingenious "techies" turned the CIA's lab into "the greatest toy shop in the world" and proved that if they "could think it --(they) could do it."--(Pete Earley, author of Comrade J: The Untold Secrets of Russia's Master Spy After The End of The Cold War and Confessions of a Spy; The Real Story of Aldrich Ames)
David Kahn
"Stuffed with stories about chemical taggants, forged documents, physical and psychological disguises, software beacons that reveal the location of a cell phone or a laptop . . . this extraordinary, detailed, accurate book tells more about what spies really do, the risks they run and their schemes to avoid them, than all the James Bond stories put together."--(David Kahn, author of The Codebreakers)
Gary C. Schroen
"A must read for anyone interested in the world of CIA clandestine operations. The authors open a door on a hidden area that even those of us who have served in the Agency rarely see. Incredible research and great writing make this a fun ride through the history of this until now overlooked secret world deep inside the CIA."--(Gary C. Schroen, author of First In)
(1972 ratings)
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