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John Hughes-Wilson

Military Intelligence Blunders Paperback – 2000

by John Hughes-Wilson (Author)

2 ratings

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Product details

Paperback: 372 pages
Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers (2000)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0786707151
ISBN-13: 978-0786707157
Product Dimensions: 3.2 x 12.1 x 19 cm
Average Customer Review: 2 customer reviews
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,004,324 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3286 in Military History of Military Intelligence & Espionage
- #138887 in Humor Books

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peter desmond horton

Four Stars

17 March 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

good

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Mr. R. Campbell-jones

A supremely readable view of intelligence disasters.

27 May 2001

Format: Paperback

Colonel Hughes-Wilson has succeeded in writing an eminently readable introduction to many of the issues involved in intelligence. He is concerned less with the methods of gathering the intelligence with the reasons that intelligence is mis-interpreted (or deliberately ignored). My only criticism would be that his further reading list would have benefited from some general books on intelligence, rather than limiting it to coverage of the specific events covered in his book. An excellent read.

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Amazon.com: 13 reviews

Beerliever

Excellent Insights by an Insider

24 February 2003 - Published on Amazon.com

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is one the best books about military intelligence that I have read. Having spent many years working in the area, I find that most other books on the subject are written by outsiders who never quite fully understand what they are writing about, no matter how bright or well intentioned they may be. Few outsiders appreciate, for example, the details of the intelligence cycle, the multiple layers of intelligence collectors, the rivalries among collection agencies, the correct technical jargon, the practical effects on intelligence analysis of inter-agency battles for bigger budgets, etc.
Hughes-Wilson utilizes a case study approach. He analyzes nine different events or conflicts from World War II to the present. Having read about many of the conflicts before, I did not expect to learn much that was new. However, the author presented many new factual details about the events involving the Brits, in particular, that were fascinating. He was clearly a very informed observer and/or possible participant in many of the conflicts. His analysis of the American failure in Tet 1968 is one of the most incisive and dispassionate that I have read. He is no fan of official histories. He is blunt in his criticisms. His comments (actually a very minor part of his Pearl Harbor story)about the FBI's handling of Japanese and German espionage in WW II makes one seriously question the FBI's competence to work effectively as an intelligence organization at that time. But, then has anything really gotten better at the FBI?
Bottom line: As one other reviewer has commented, Hughes-Wilson's real message is that political considerations - whether those of a totalitarian regime or a democracy - often lead to what are called "intelligence blunders." His call for truly objective and independent intelligence collection, analysis and dissemination should be heeded, but it will probably be ignored. We will see more such blunders again.

One person found this helpful

Brian Nichols

Five Stars

24 June 2016 - Published on Amazon.com

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Excellent work.

what

Four Stars

9 October 2014 - Published on Amazon.com

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

good book

David W. Nicholas

Fascinating, and detailed

11 September 2004 - Published on Amazon.com

Format: Paperback

Apparently Colonel John Hughes-Wilson was in British Military Intelligence for a decade, and made a study of the profession and practice while he was there. When he left, he set out to write a book on the history of the art, using various historical examples to show why things work out the way they do, and why certain practices should be followed or avoided.

The book follows a simple format. The first chapter is an introduction to the subject, explaining the objective of Military Intelligence and the means of obtaining, evaluating, and disseminating the information involved. The rest of the chapters (save a short conclusion) discuss individual events from the past sixty years where an army or nation was surprised or somehow failed by intelligence. There's a brief discussion of the overall course of the battle and the parameters of what the author wishes to discuss, and then a critical analysis of the intelligence that was available, how it was handled, and what was made of it by the end-users. Usually, of course, the end-user ignored or misused the intelligence, and the result was a disaster.

The one minor quibble I had with the book was the selection of the various anecdotes involved. I felt that a couple were badly selected (notably the one on Malaya in 1942) mostly because the battles involved were British, and of course the author is a Brit. That having been noted, it doesn't detract much from the overall impact of the book, and there actually is some worthwhile information even in that chapter. I would have preferred, however, if he'd used something like the Japanese failure at the Battle of Midway, where their signal intelligence basically lost them the battle.

That all being said, this is a very worthwhile and intelligent book, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in the subject.

5 people found this helpful

Clark82

A good discussion of the human element of warfare

23 April 2001 - Published on Amazon.com

Format: Paperback

This book is one of few that I have read that explains the human element of warfare, specifically when it comes to warning of war. Even with a complete intelligence picture or at least enough of it to take the correct actions, nations are still "surprised". Surprised is not the right word, but is the one used be most people. I say this because failure to correctly counter the enemy is blamed most often on surprise. The book clearly points several other reasons than simply surprise. Mostly it is the human tendency to hear only what you want to hear and thereby ignore the warning which is the real fault for "surprise" attacks. And there are other reasons layed out in the book, like wrong "mind-set".
I always take exception to the phrase intelligence failure and in this book the author reveals the falsehood of that phrase. For example, the author writes that the initial advantage of the arabs as they attacked across the Suez was nothing more than the government of Israel not wanting the attack to happen and therefore did not take the correct counter action steps, like calling up the reserves.
The author does get into the war story telling mode a bit much, but that makes the book readable. I would say overall the book is a good read and a solid effort that contributes to the warning of war field of study. Read and enjoy!

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