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The Craft of Intelligence

America's Legendary Spy Master on the Fundamentals of Intelligence Gathering for a Free World

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The Craft of Intelligence

Written by: Allen W. Dulles
Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
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About this listen

If the experts could point to any single book as a starting point for understanding the subject of intelligence from the late 20th century to today, that single book would be Allen W. Dulles's The Craft of Intelligence.

This classic of spycraft is based on Allen Dulles's incomparable experience as a diplomat, international lawyer, and America's premier intelligence officer. Dulles was a high-ranking officer of the CIA's predecessor - the Office of Strategic Services - and was present at the inception of the CIA, where he served eight of his 10 years there as director. Here he sums up what he learned about intelligence from nearly a half-century of experience in foreign affairs.

In World War II his OSS agents penetrated the German Foreign Office, worked with the anti-Nazi underground resistance, and established contacts that brought about the Nazi military surrender in North Italy. Under his direction the CIA developed both a dedicated corps of specialists and a whole range of new intelligence devices, from the U-2 high-altitude photographic plane to minute electronic listening and transmitting equipment.

©2016 Joan Buresch Talley (P)2017 Tantor Freedom & Security Politicians Politics & Activism Politics & Government Science True Crime War & Crisis Espionage War Imperialism Russia Military Soviet Union Middle East Imperial Japan Interwar Period Self-Determination Spy Craft
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I looked into this book hoping for a good primer of information in the general how-to of the craft, and what I got tended to center a great deal more on the history and context of the United States and its deadly subversive enemy, "The Soviets", their tactics and their hold over a number of nations at the time the book was written.

It's interesting, I give it that, and it explains a lot about why certain aspects of American patriotism are the way they are, what the now age-old and cliche hatred of all things related to "communism" is historically grounded in.

I do not, however, feel as though it gives much instruction or explanation of how to gather and analyze intelligence. It says a lot about the Intelligence Agency, the people it hires, the fronts it fights on, their reputation and some of their accomplishments and failures. But frustratingly little about how others might do some of what they do.

Also as others have pointed out, the book is homophobic, carrying that bias of its time among others. It doesn't permeate the entire book, but there are a couple of places where it essentially says, from the perspective of the time, that homosexuals have a weak and exploitable moral character and should not be trusted in the CIA or positions of power which need to be secure against corruption.

More of a historical perspective of the CIA really

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