Body Of Secrets: How America's NSA & Britain's GCHQ Eavesdrop On The World [Paperback]

James Bamford's explosive book, Body of Secrets, not only lifts the lid on the world's most powerful intelligence agency, but warns that it is a double-edged sword. Everybody knows about the CIA--the cloak-and-dagger branch o f the US government. Many fewer are familiar with the National Security Agency, even though it has been more important to American espionage in recent years than its better-known counterpart. The NSA is responsible for much of the intelligence gathering done via technology such as satellites and the Internet. Its home office in Maryland "contains what is probably the largest body of secrets ever created".

Little was known about the agency's confidential culture until veteran journalist James Bamford blew the lid off in 1982 with his bestseller The Puzzle Palace. Still, much remained in the shadows. In Body of Secrets, Bamford throws much more light on his subject--and he reveals loads of shocking information. The story of the U-2 crisis in 1960 is well known, including President Eisenhower's decision to tell a fib to the public in order to protect a national-security secret. Bamford takes the story a disturbing step forward, showing how Eisenhower "went so far as to order his Cabinet officers to hide his involvement in the scandal eve n while under oath. At least one Cabinet member directly lied to the committee, a fact known to Eisenhower". Even more worrisome is another revelation, from the Kennedy years: "The Joint Chiefs of Staff drew up and approved plans for what may be the most corrupt plan ever created by the US government. In the name of anticommunism, they proposed launching a secret and bloody war of terrorism against their own country in order to trick the American public into supporting an ill-conceived war they intended to launch against Cuba."

Body of Secrets is an incredible piece of journalism, and it paints a deeply troubling portrait of an agency about which the public knows next to nothing. Fans of The Sword and the Shield will want to read it, as will anybody who is intrigued by conspiracies and real-life spy stories. --John J. Miller --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

“A magnificent achievement and a compelling read for anyone interested in espionage.” —"The Baltimore Sun
"“Extraordinary. . . . A galvanizing narrative brimming with heretofore undisclosed details.” —"The New York Times Book Review
" “Crisply written and prodigiously researched, "Body of Secrets" . . . is the most detailed picture yet of the activities of the world’s largest intelligence-gathering operation.” —"The Washington Post Book World"
“Part history, part expose, the book offers an ‘anatomy’ of the NSA, seeking to strip away the myth surrounding it. . . . [An] authoritative and engaging book.” –"The Wall Street Journal"
“"Body of Secrets" is one fascinating book…chock-full of juicy stuff…. Interesting to read, well-written and scrupulously documented.”–"Salon"
“An engaging and informed history…. Bamford weaves a narrative about

‘…paced like a Forsyth thriller.’

A no-holds-barred examination of America's National Security Agency - packed with startling secrets about its past, news-breaking revelations about its present-day activities, and chilling predictions about its future powers and reach.

The NSA is the largest, most secretive and most powerful intelligence agency in the world. With a staff of 38,000 people, it dwarfs the CIA in budget, manpower and influence. Recent headlines have linked it to economic espionage throughout Europe and to the ongoing hunt for the terrorist leader Osama bin Laden. James Bamford first penetrated the wall of silence surrounding the NSA in 1982, with the much-talked-about US bestseller THE PUZZLE PALACE. In BODY OF SECRETS he offers shocking new details about the inner workings of the agency, gathered through unique access to thousands of internal documents and interviews with current and former officials. Unveiling extremely sensitive information for the first time, Bamford exposes the role the NSA played in numerous Soviet bloc Cold War conflicts and discusses its undercover involvement in the Vietnam War. His investigation into the NSA's technological advances during the last 15 years brings to light a network of global surveillance ranging from on-line listening posts to sophisticated intelligence-gathering satellites. In a hard-hitting conclusion, he warns the NSA is a double-edged sword: while its worldwide eavesdropping activities offer the potential for tracking down terrorists and uncovering nuclear weapons deals, it also has the capacity to listen in on global personal communications.

A no-holds-barred examination of America’s National Security Agency – packed with startling secrets about its past, news-breaking revelations about its present-day activities, and chilling predictions about its future powers and reach.

James Bamford is the author of THE PUZZLE PALACE, a bestseller in the US when it was first published, and now regarded as a classic. Until recently he was Washington Investigative Producer for ABC's World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, and has written investigative cover stories for The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, and The Los Angeles Time Magazine. (20010730)