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Showing 161 - 180 of 1300 items
Editor-in-chief of Truthdig Robert Scheer discusses the widespread surveillance of the general public conducted by corporations and government agencies and…
condemns the erosion of privacy rights. He argues that the information revolution, despite its positive elements, contains the seeds of freedom's destruction in the form of a surveillance state. 2015By Peter Finn, Petra Couvée. 2014
Journalist Finn and translator Couvée examine the life and major work of Boris Pasternak (1890-1960), author of Doctor Zhivago (DB…
75275). Details influences on the novel, writing culture in the Soviet state, how the novel was published, and its use by Western intelligence agencies as Cold War propaganda. Some strong language. 2014By James Risen. 2014
Author of State of War (DB 61826) examines the financial cost of war and governmental waste. Discusses duplication of efforts…
by federal agencies, loss of aid dollars sent to war-torn countries, and the persecution of whistleblowers within the United States. 2014By Karen Abbott. 2014
Profiles of four women and their service during the Civil War. Discusses Emma Edmonds, who disguised herself as a man…
and fought for the Union Army; Belle Boyd, who was a Confederate spy; Rose O'Neal Greenhow, another Confederate spy; and Elizabeth Van Lew, who spied for the Union. 2014By Vernon Loeb, Jack Devine. 2014
Devine (born 1940) describes joining the Central Intelligence Agency in the late-1960s after working as a high school social studies…
teacher and part-time teamster. Explains his roles as an overseas covert operative and as leader of the mission known as "Charlie Wilson's War." Examines the culture of intelligence gathering. 2014By Tennent H. Bagley, T. H Bagley. 2013
Former CIA officer Bagley examines the life of KGB chief Sergey Kondrashev--Bagley's counterpart and later friend. Discusses KGB operations during…
the Cold War and reveals previously unknown breaches of security. Reminiscences include Kondrashev's interpreting for Premier Nikita Khrushchev and President John Kennedy. 2013By Larry Hancock, Stuart Wexler, Larry J Hancock. 2014
Details the history and evolution of America's covert war activities. Examines how they have been authorized and practiced, their patterns…
and consequences, and why presidents have turned to secret military action. 2014By John Rizzo, John Anthony Rizzo. 2014
Serving under eleven CIA directors and seven presidents, John Rizzo witnessed and participated in virtually every major operation of the…
CIA's modern history. Former chief legal officer of the agency, he charts its evolution from shadowy entity to an organization subject to new laws, rules, and public scrutiny. 2014By Robert Wallace, H. Keith Melton, Henry R. Schlesinger. 2008
Wallace, former director of the CIA's Office of Technical Service, and Melton, an expert on clandestine devices, survey spy gadgets…
from World War II to the War on Terror. Describes cameras, microphones, disguises, and encryption systems; their use in the field; and transition into the digital age. 2008Author of American Lightning (DB 68656) examines the development of a German spy ring in the United States just before…
the country's entry into World War I. Details efforts of the New York Police Department's Bomb and Neutrality Squad to uncover the ring and counteract its machinations. Some violence. 2014By Scott C. Johnson. 2013
Former Newsweek foreign correspondent contemplates his childhood abroad and describes the sense of betrayal he felt when he learned that…
his dad was a spy. Discusses his own career as a journalist in hot spots such as Afghanistan and Iraq--and occasionally crossing paths with his father. Strong language. 2012By Stephen Kinzer. 2013
Biography of siblings John Foster Dulles, secretary of state from 1953 to 1959, and Allen Dulles, CIA director from 1953…
to 1961, who controlled American foreign policy during the Cold War. Describes their role in shaping policies that still had an impact more than a half-century later. 2013By Mark Mazzetti. 2013
Award-winning New York Times journalist tracks the militarization of the CIA and its use of special forces after the September…
11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Discusses targeted killings via drone strikes and the emergence of a military-intelligence alliance to carry out this new style of war. 2013By Clare Mulley. 2013
Examination of the life of Christine Granville, née Krystyna Skarbek (1908-1952), a spy for Britain's Special Operations Executive during World…
War II. Details her early years in Poland, operations she ran, and her many lovers--one of whom murdered her. Some violence. 2012By Wenguang Huang, Pin Ho, Pin He. 2013
Journalists recount the 2011 murder of British business consultant Neil Heywood in China and the subsequent investigation that revealed scandals…
and power struggles within the Communist Party. They contend that unwanted international media attention directly influences Chinese politics. 2013By Ellis Henican, Rorke Denver. 2013
Retired Lieutenant Commander Denver describes the training and attitude it takes to be a successful Navy SEAL. Discusses his missions…
in the Middle East and his later duty directing the SEAL's training program. Relates his role in making the movie Act of Valor. Violence and strong language. 2013By Tim Keown, Billy Waugh. 2005
Army Special Forces and CIA operative Billy Waugh chronicles his half-century career, which took him to sixty-four countries and included…
covert missions trailing Osama bin Laden in 1991 and 1992 and a pivotal role in the 1994 capture of Carlos the Jackal. Some violence and some strong language. 2004Iranian author--writing under a pseudonym and changing some details to avoid retaliation--recounts the years he spied for the CIA in…
Iran. Explains why he grew disillusioned with the Revolutionary Guards and offered to help the United States, where he had studied in the 1970s. Some violence. 2010By Matt Baglio, Antonio Mendez, Antonio J. Mendez. 2012
Former CIA officer Mendez recounts the rescue of six Americans who escaped from the U.S. embassy in Tehran on November…
4, 1979, when it was overrun by militants. Details the plan to extract the diplomats from Iran disguised as members of a Hollywood film crew. Some strong language. 2012By Ben Macintyre. 2012
Author of Operation Mincemeat (DB 71406) recounts the deception the Allies used to keep secret the planned location of their…
1944 invasion of France. Details the efforts of Tommy "Tar" Robertson of Britain's MI5 to turn playboys, party girls, and eccentrics--all of whom were Nazi spies--into double agents. Bestseller. 2012