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Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs, from Communism to Al-Qaeda
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About Spycraft: The Secret History Of The CIA's
Product Description An unprecedented history of the CIA's secret and amazing gadgetry behind the art of espionage In this look at the CIA’s most secretive operations and the devices that made them possible, Spycraft tells gripping life-and-death stories about a group of spytechs—much of it never previously revealed and with images never before seen by the public. The CIA’s Office of Technical Service is the ultrasecret department that grappled with challenges such as: What does it take to build a quiet helicopter? How does one embed a listening device in a cat? What is an invisible photo used for? These amazingly inventive devices were created and employed against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions—including the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and continuing terrorist threats. Written by Robert Wallace, the former director of the Office of Technical Service, and internationally renowned intelligence historian Keith Melton, Spycraft is both a fantastic encyclopedia of gadgetry and a revealing primer on the fundamentals of high-tech espionage. “The first comprehensive look at the technical achievements of American espionage from the 1940s to the present.”— Wired “Reveals more concrete information about CIA tradecraft than any book.”— The Washington Times “This is a story I thought could never be told.”— JAMES M. OLSON, former chief of CIA counterintelligence Review "Reveals more concrete information about CIA tradecraft than any book."— The Washington Times "This is a story I thought could never be told."— James M. Olson, former chief of CIA counterintelligence "The first comprehensive look at the technical achievements of American espionage from the 1940s to the present."— Wired About the Author ROBERT WALLACE is the former director of the CIA's Office of Technical Service and lives in Virginia. A recipient of the CIA's Intelligence Medal of Merit, Wallace founded the Artemus Consulting Group in 2004, providing management and intelligence counsel to corporate and government clients. He is also a contributor to the oral history program of CIA's Center for the Study of Intelligence. H. KEITH MELTON is an internationally recognized author, historian, and expert on clandestine devices and technology. He is the technical tradecraft historian at the Interagency Training Center in Washington, D.C. He has assembled the world's largest collection of espionage devices and lectures widely throughout the U.S. intelligence community and abroad. He resides in Florida. HENRY ROBERT SCHLESINGER is an author and journalist who has covered intelligence technologies, counterterrorism, and law enforcement. His work has appeared in Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, Technology Review, and Smithsonian magazine. He lives in New York City. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. SECTION I: AT THE BEGINNINGChapter 1: My Hair Stood on End The weapons of secrecy have no place in an ideal world. —Sir William Stephenson, A Man Called Intrepid On a quiet autumn evening in 1942, as World War II raged across Europe and Asia, two men sat in one of Washington’s most stately homes discussing a type of warfare very different from that of high-altitude bombers and infantry assaults. The host, Colonel William J. Donovan, known as “Wild Bill” since his days as an officer during World War I, was close to sixty. A war hero whose valor had earned him the Medal of Honor, Donovan was now back in uniform. Donovan responded to the call to duty and put aside a successful Wall Street law practice to become Director of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and America’s first spymaster. Donovan’s guest, for whom he graciously poured sherry, was Stanley Platt Lovell. A New Englander in his early fifties, Lovell was an American success story. Orphaned at an early age, he worked his way through Cornell University to ascend the ranks of business and science by sheer determination and ingenuity. As
