Henderson, Robert D'A. Brassey's International Intelligence Yearbook. Washington, DC: Brassey's, 2002.
From advertisement: "This is the first comprehensive reference guide to national intelligence communities worldwide. [It] includes detailed profiles of the intelligence communities in over sixty countries, as well as briefings on smaller players in the intelligence arena.... Each country profile covers the foreign, domestic, military, and technical intelligence branches and many entries include organizational charts."
Calder, IJI&C 15.3, finds that this "exceptionally well crafted" book "blends a collection of country studies and briefings with summaries of associated national and police intelligence services.... Henderson's fine work answers questions for which no handy source has been available."
Hepburn, Allan. Intrigue: Espionage and Culture. New Haven, CT, and London: Yale University Press, 2005.
From Yale Book News: The author "thoroughly examin[es] the tradition of the spy narrative from its inception in the late nineteenth century through the present day.... [T]his groundbreaking work revises the assumption that spy stories are formulaic. Instead, Hepburn emphasizes the responsiveness of this genre to particular historical instances involving espionage."
Leab, I&NS 21.6 (Dec. 2006), gives this work high marks, with only "miinor caveats." This "fascinating, engaging book" is written in "a clear jargon-free style." The author "has put together a wide ranging, intensely sophisticated, [and] enjoyable" discussion of "a complex literature." Some of his dropping in of movies to make a point "does not work too well.," and he has not been well served by the publisher placing his "erudite, fascinating, and lengthy notes at the back of the book."
Herman, Michael. "Counter-Terrorism, Information Technology and Intelligence Change." Intelligence and National Security 18, no. 4 (Winter 2003): 40-58.
"Counter-terrorism appears to put a special emphasis on accessing and relating different kinds of data residing in different organisations. Developing IT 'systems of systems' to provide interoperability, integration and interdependence between these seaparate databases may be the key to greater overall effectiveness." In addition, a "managerial/human component of developing an IT 'system of systems'" will be needed.
Herman, Michael. Intelligence Services in the Information Age. London and Portland, OR: Frank Cass, 2001.
Van Nederveen, Air & Space Power Journal, Winter 2002, notes that this is a "collection of essays with a very British flavor.... The book examines intelligence as an input to national-security policy making, data gathered by diplomatic means, and the growth of battlefield intelligence that accompanies the emergence of a revolution in military affairs.... Herman has produced some new research here that readers should study closely, especially in the climate following the terrorist attacks of 11 September -- specifically, who produces what, and what influence or relevance does it have as national policy is formulated or implemented?... [This] is a valuable book and a must read for people who study intelligence policy and problems."
For Richelson, IJI&C 15.3, some of the luster is missing from this book since only two of the chapters are really new and one of those is only four pages long. Additionally, most of the articles "have little or nothing to do with intelligence in the information age." That said, however, "many of [the book's] chapters are well worth reading."
Parkinson, I&NS 18.1, finds that "Herman's analysis highlights the reality that intelligence services will remain an element of national power" in the 21st century. This work "should be required reading for amateurs and intelligence professionals alike."
Hitz, Frederick P. The Great Game: The Myth and Reality of Espionage. New York: Knopf, 2004.
Peake, Studies 48.3 (2004) and Intelligencer 14.2 (Winter/Spring 2005), notes that the author "compares [espionage] issues discussed in ... great works of fiction ... with non-fiction books."
For McCarry, Washington Post, 25 Apr. 2004, "this sure-footed little book ... is a lucid overview of 20th-century espionage that says more about the great game as it was played by Americans and their allies and adversaries than just about anything else ever published by someone who knew what he was talking about."
Bath, NIPQ 20, (Dec. 2004), finds that "[a]mong its other virtues The Great Game provides a short list of some of the best of spy fiction, as well as a brief review of the highlights of recent real world espionage. Highly recommended."
To Herrington, Parameters 35.2 (Summer 2005), the author "is well qualified to weave a tapestry of reflections on the craft of espionage by studying the characters of fictional and real spies."
Schwab, IJI&C 18.4 (Winter 2005-2006), notes that because the book's origin is in a college seminar taught by the author, it "read[s] more like lectures than a cohesive text." Nevertheless, "The Great Game is well argued.... [T]he weakest chapter ... is the penultimate 'Life After Spying.' This portion of the volume is ill-conceived and poorly researched."
Hughes, R. Gerald, Peter Jackson, and Len Scott, eds. Exploring Intelligence Archives: Enquiries into the Secret State. London and New York: Routledge, 2008.

From publisher: "The book presents a series of documents, nearly all of which are published here for the first time, accompanied by both overview and commentary sections. The central objectives of this collection are twofold. First, it seeks to build on existing scholarship on intelligence in deepening our understanding of its impact on a series of key events in the international history of the past century. Further, it aims to explore the different ways in which intelligence can be studied by bringing together both scholarly and practical expertise to examine a range of primary material relevant to the history of intelligence since the early twentieth century."
Click for Table of Contents.
Hughes-Wilson, John [Col.]. The Puppet Masters: Spies, Traitors & the Real Forces Behind World Events. London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 2004.
From Amazon.com: The author "reveals how espionage networks are the hidden force behind major events.... Secret intelligence networks were the secret of success for all the great statesmen and generals.... With radio, telephone and email, the mechanics of espionage have been transformed and vast agencies spawned by the world wars and the cold war have now reinvented themselves for the 'war on terror.'"
West, RUSI Journal, Aug. 2004, finds that the author has produced a book that "is readable, entertaining and deliberately provocative." Hughes-Wilson makes a number of "assertions that will be challenged.... Many of [his] balder statements are calculated to stimulate debate and get the heart [r]acing, and in this objective he undoubtedly succeeds."
Return to General Overviews Table of Contents