This is a major survey and assessment of U.S. intelligence activities over the last forty-five years. It offers a systematic and authoritative evaluation of American intelligence-gathering machinery: how it has been used, misused, and on occasion, ignored. The book has been hailed as "a splendid work, reflective and penetrating" by James R. Schlesinger; while Zbigniew Brzezinski describes Laqueur as "a man who understands the relationships between history and the world of secret services." Henry S. Rowen noted that Laqueur "brings a rare degree of analytical power to this important subject.

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