- Paperback: 374 pages
- Publisher: Virgin Books; illustrated edition edition (27 Jun 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1852279427
- ISBN-13: 978-1852279424
- Product Dimensions: 24.1 x 16.7 x 3.9 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 554,706 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Espionage: Spies and Secrets
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
|
There is a newer edition of this item:
|
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
Accessible reference work includes historical events, scandals, terminology and biographies of important spies and diplomats, as well as the events of 11 September.
Product Description
Failure to foresee and defend against the US terrorist attacks of 11th September 2001 has drawn unprecedented public attention to the intelligence services and modern-day global espionage. From the CIA's involvement in the Middle East and various aspects of European, Asian and African politics, to FBI agents releasing highly classified national security information to Russia, this reference source contains over 500 entries covering every aspect of modern-day espionage. The book includes entries covering aspects of counter-terrorism, funding and commercial terrorism and biographies of spies, politicians and diplomats. Key historical events and scandals are examined and terminology and equipment are explained.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Once you have bought this book you will never again wonder to yourself "what exactly is sheep dipping or a honey trap?". This wonderful book explains the lingo, key figures in espionage, the different secret services from all over the world and much, much more. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in spies.
Format:Paperback
At first glance this appears - and is - a handy little book explaining many espionage and intelligence terms. It is wonderful for concise summaries, biographies and explanations of sometimes complex intelligence machinery.
Very useful in helping in studying intelligence texts (academics can sometimes throw in data without comment), so a quick grab at this guide is useful, and it includes some of the oddest facts. So far, it's a sort of Dangerous Book for Boys and Girls. So long as you let it stay that way; fine. Beyond that, there emerges some problems:
1. Some data (spellings and dates) are simply wrong. Double-check dates and spellings. But, the general subject matter is right (see caveat 3 below). Also, as there are only photographs (and few of those), diagrams would help explain some organisations. The complexities of Soviet bloc intelligence really need illustrating.
2. Some common phrases and terms are simply missing.
3. When explaining some history (that of the Profumo Affair is notable), while the narrative is clear, at times there creeps in a powerful judgemental tone. This brings doubt on a work which looks like an encyclopaedia (more objective than a book; avoiding controversy) but passes judgements. Be very careful to check other accounts. Also, when the views are clearly moot, no references are provided. Given that the foreword is by ex-5er David Shayler, one of the most controversial British intelligence figures in recent years, this does not help unsupported judgements. Was Shayler a good idea for what should be an objective little book?
On the whole, a nice dip in the intelligence ocean for the lay-spy (5 stars on this level) but out of its depth when coming to more complex and unsupported arguments (2 stars on this). On balance 3/5.
Very useful in helping in studying intelligence texts (academics can sometimes throw in data without comment), so a quick grab at this guide is useful, and it includes some of the oddest facts. So far, it's a sort of Dangerous Book for Boys and Girls. So long as you let it stay that way; fine. Beyond that, there emerges some problems:
1. Some data (spellings and dates) are simply wrong. Double-check dates and spellings. But, the general subject matter is right (see caveat 3 below). Also, as there are only photographs (and few of those), diagrams would help explain some organisations. The complexities of Soviet bloc intelligence really need illustrating.
2. Some common phrases and terms are simply missing.
3. When explaining some history (that of the Profumo Affair is notable), while the narrative is clear, at times there creeps in a powerful judgemental tone. This brings doubt on a work which looks like an encyclopaedia (more objective than a book; avoiding controversy) but passes judgements. Be very careful to check other accounts. Also, when the views are clearly moot, no references are provided. Given that the foreword is by ex-5er David Shayler, one of the most controversial British intelligence figures in recent years, this does not help unsupported judgements. Was Shayler a good idea for what should be an objective little book?
On the whole, a nice dip in the intelligence ocean for the lay-spy (5 stars on this level) but out of its depth when coming to more complex and unsupported arguments (2 stars on this). On balance 3/5.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Clarification
10 Mar 2004
Format:Paperback
It should be noted that this book was written by Richard Bennett and contains only a FOREWORD written by James Bamford. Otherwise the reference book contains interesting and accurate insights into various terms and events inside/outside the intelligence community.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Ambitious, but erroneous
5 Sep 2002
Format:Paperback
Tries to cover a wide area, but makes factual mistakes. For one example, the author has decided to include entries for special operations forces around the world. For the US entry, he asserts that the US Army's special forces are simply "elite infantry" similar to the French Foreign Legion. Entering the SF world is a process in which an NCO does not only change his unit of assignment but also his MOS (job description) to one of several specialties. 18 series MOSs (SF) cover medical, engineering, and communications in addition to light and heavy weapons. SF training spans military free fall parachuting to foreign language training. There is no way that someone with even casual knowledge of Army SF could confuse them with the Legion's infantry. A majority of the military info seems to have come from the "Soldier of Fortune Magazine"-types who sit on bar stools and recite anecdotes of stuff they never did. Not being a spy, I don't know how accurate the stuff closer to center mass of his subject matter is, but if the military material is any indicator.... And then there's the preface. Let's just say that the writer of that part of the book has, let us say, 'questionable', credentials.
On the other hand, it DOES cover a whole lot of material. Some of it may not be true, but it IS interesting to browse through. A few years ago a book came out entitled, "The Spy Book". That was a far better encyclopedic intelligence book.
On the other hand, it DOES cover a whole lot of material. Some of it may not be true, but it IS interesting to browse through. A few years ago a book came out entitled, "The Spy Book". That was a far better encyclopedic intelligence book.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Espionage Richard M. Bennett
10 Oct 2002
Format:Paperback
ESPIONAGE, An Encyclopedia of Spies & Secrets will become a standard work for those who wish to lift the curtain on the hidden world of the intelligence services. Bennett pulls no punches in his caustic comments and analysis of the events of 9-11 and the failure of Western Intelligence. It makes a hugely refreshing change from the stale old, but politically acceptable analysis pumped out by authors like Nigel West and others. Bennett redraws the battle lines on many historical espionage events and dares to disagree with the usually accepted versions. Perhaps his views might be questioned sometimes, but in a ground breaking work like Espionage that comes with the territory. I found his listings of the worlds major Intelligence services fascinating and very useful. I would have liked to see more cross-referencing and background material, but perhaps when the paper-back edition is published next year we can hope for it to be an updated and expanded edition as well. Overall a must buy and I would thoroughly recommend this to anyone who harbors any doubts about 'official' versions of events or the willingness of 'established' authors to rock-the-boat.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Biography > War & Espionage > Espionage
- Books > History > Military History > Military Intelligence & Espionage
- Books > Home & Garden > Antiques & Collectables > Reference & Price Guides > Encyclopaedias
- Books > Reference > Encyclopaedias
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Government & Politics
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
