Kahn, David. The Reader of Gentlemen's Mail: Herbert O. Yardley and the Birth of American Intelligence. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2004. Kahn, David. The Reader of Gentlemen's Mail: Herbert O. Yardley and the Birth of American Intelligence. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2004.
Clark comment: This is an excellent biography of a difficult human being. That it reads easily should extend its reach beyond those just interested in cryptology and the beginnings of American COMINT. Kahn does not paint over Yardley's weaknesses, but in the end gives him the honor that he could not win in life.
After referring to Kahn as "the ultimate historian of cryptology," Levine, JIH 5.1 (Summer 2005), goes on to note that this "book is much more than the story of Yardley. Periodically, Kahn presents the various interfaces between Yardley and Friedman, contrasting their personalities, skills and weaknesses. He also shows the relationships Yardley had with other early U.S. cryptologist[s].... It is a must read for those interested in this history. Extensive endnotes and lists of core and published sources will be invaluable for those who wish to pursue this interest."
Johnson, Studies 48.2 (2004), finds that "Kahn has achieved the balance that all biographers hope for." The book "makes a fascinating read" but does not rehabilitate Yardley, as "Kahn condemns Yardley for his character flaws, his perpetual self-promotion, and his lack of imagination." For Powers, NYRB 52.8 (12 May 2005), the Yardley "who emerges in Kahn's briskly paced portrait is gifted, complex, resourceful, and often disappointed." The work includes "wonderful accounts ... of some of Yardley's greatest feats. Here Kahn's mastery of the field gives his book genuine intellectual excitement."
To Goulden, Washington Times, 1 Aug. 2004, this is "[a] lively read, even for those of us who know not the slightest thing about ciphers and codes." Freedman, FA 83.4 (May-Jun. 2004), comments that this book "includes more than one needs to know about Yardley, but it is at least an entertaining read." Kruh, Cryptologia 28.2, says that the author "does a magnificent job in detailing" Yardley's life. "This is a terrific book about an extraordinary individual."
Kahn's conclusion that Yardley could not rise above his personal limitations is endorsed by Hanyok, I&NS 20.4 (Dec. 2005). The reviewer notes that, writing in "his usually clear and crisp style, Kahn breathes life into the story of Yardley and American codebreaking." Stout, JIH 7.1 (Summer 2007), says that "Kahn has succeeded admirably in describing Yardley and explaining and bounding his significance."
Keene, Jennifer D.
"Uneasy Alliances: French Military Intelligence and the American Army
during the First World War." Intelligence and National Security
13, no. 1 (Spring 1998): 18-36.
From abstract: "During the First World War, French liaison officers ... provided valuable intelligence about the American army to French military authorities.... Non-adversarial spying on the Americans improved the French military's ability to understand and work with their ally."
Kennan,
George F. "The Sisson Documents." Journal of Modern History
28 (Jun. 1956): 130-154. [Petersen]
Landau, Henry. The
Enemy Within: The Inside Story of German Sabotage in America. New York:
Putnam's, 1937.
Constantinides: Landau headed the Military Division of the British secret service in Holland from 1916. After the war, he investigated "claims by Americans against the German government for damages done in the United States by acts of sabotage prior to" the U.S. entry into the war. The first part of the book is "a brief history of German sabotage and intelligence activities both before and after the U.S. entry into the war." The second part focuses on the claims and associated litigation.
Langbart, David A.
1. "Five Months in Petrograd 1918: Robert W. Imbrie and the US Search for Information in Russia." Studies in Intelligence 52, no. 1 (Mar. 2008) (Web Supplement). [On the Web at: https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol-52-no-1/index.html]
The author provides an overview of Vice Consul Imbrie's stint in Petrograd, and includes two documents written by Imbrie after his return to Washington. These materials offer a good look at U.S. efforts to gather information on the threatening German forces and to keep up with events in Revolutionary Russia and their impact on World War I. The story also makes plain the ad hoc nature of U.S. intelligence collection at the time.
2. "'Spare No Expense': The Department of State and the Search for Information About Bolshevik Russia, November 1917-September 1918." Intelligence and National Security 4, no. 2 (Apr. 1989): 316-334.
The author describes the use of the Diplomatic and Consular services in "the first major effort of the United States government to learn about and gather information from inside Bolshevik Russia.... [T]he effort grew to include unconventional methods involving temporary officials and offices scattered throughout Russia."
Lasswell, Harold D.
Propaganda Technique in the World War. New York: Peter Smith, 1938.
[Petersen]
Lebow, Eileen F. A Grandstand Seat: The American Balloon Service in World War I. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1998.
From publisher: The "American Balloon Service worked in combat to help direct artillery fire more accurately and provide essential intelligence on enemy troop movements.... By the U.S. entry [in]to the war in 1917, the balloon service [had] evolved into an effective, disciplined fighting unit.... Reminiscences from balloon veterans form the basis of this book."
Maechling, Charles,
Jr. "Scandal in Wartime Washington: The Craufurd-Stuart Affair of 1918."
International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence 4,
no. 3 (Fall 1990): 357-370.
Mahoney, Harry T., and Marjorie L. Mahoney. American Prisoners of the Bolsheviks, 1917-1922: The Genesis of Modern American Intelligence. Bethesda, MD: Academica, 2001.
Millman, Chad. The Detonators: The Secret Plot to Destroy America and an Epic Hunt for Justice. New York: Little, Brown, 2006.
Boghardt, Studies 51.1 (Mar. 2007), notes that the Black Tom explosions of July 1916 are discussed; but the "main focus is on the ... legal battles of the German-American Mixed Claims Commission" after the war. The author's "elucidation of the fluid German secret service networks that operated in the United States throughout the period of American neutrality" is of "particular interest.... Unfortunately, the book's readability occasionally comes at the expense of accuracy and nuance.... Millman's lack of nuance is partially due to the fact that he ignores German sources and scholarship." Nonetheless, the author "tells an exciting story and captures the big picture."
Mock, James R. Censorship 1917. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1941. [Petersen]
Mock, James R., and
Cedric Larson. Words that Won the War: The Story of the Committee on Public Information, 1917-1919. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1939.
O'Brien, John L. "Uncle Sam's Spy Policies: Safeguarding American Liberty During the War." Forum 61 (1948): 592-611.
Calder: "During World War I, every person was considered a spy chaser.... Wrongs were committed by 'amateur detectives.'"
Parish, John C. "Intelligence
Work at First Army Headquarters." Historical Outlook 11 (Jun.
1920): 213-217. [Petersen]
Paschall, Rod. "Deception
for St. Mihiel, 1918." Intelligence and National Security 5,
no. 3 (Jul. 1990): 158-175.
This article looks at the "Belfort Ruse," and concludes that it "was not much to brag about." The author follows that solid conclusion with the speculation that Col. (later Gen.) Fox Conger may have passed the ploy to his student, Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Piggott, F.S.G. "Intelligence
at an Army Headquarters on the Western Front during the Last Phase of the
Great War." Army Quarterly (1925): 234-244. [Petersen]
Proctor, Tammy M. Female Intelligence: Women and Espionage in the First World War. New York and London: New York University Press, 2003.
Olmsted, I&NS 19.2, calls this book a "superb history of female spies who worked for the British" in World War I. The author "ably details the many roles that women played in the intelligence bureaucracy during the war.... [And she] makes some trenchant observations about the gendered nature of intelligence."
According to Peake, Studies 47.4 (2003), the author "discovered that at a time when women could not vote or hold political office, more than 6,000 had worked in a variety of sensitive intelligence-related positions.... They served as clerks and couriers, telephone and telegraph operators, code and cipher analysts, and spies behind enemy lines in Europe."
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