Intelligence Power in Peace and War

by Michael Herman

Overview

Intelligence services form an important but controversial part of the modern state. Drawing mainly on British and American examples, this book provides an analytic framework for understanding the "intelligence community" and assessing its value. Michael Herman, a former senior British Intelligence officer, describes the various components of intelligence; discusses what intelligence is for; considers issues of accuracy, evaluation and efficiency; and makes recommendations for the future of intelligence in the post-Cold War world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521562317
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	10/13/1996
Pages:	440
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.30(d)

Table of Contents

Introduction; Part I. Evolution and Outline: 1. Antecedents; 2. Organizations; 3. Resources, stages and subjects; Part II. Components and Boundaries: 4. Collection sources; 5. Collection characteristics; 6. All-source analysis and assessment; 7. Boundaries; Part III. Effects: 8. Intelligence and national action; 9. International action; 10. Intelligence and security; 11. Intelligence threats; 12. Intelligence cooperation; Part IV. Accuracy: 13. Failure and remedies; 14. Problems of defence intelligence; 15. Top level assessment; Part V. Evolution and Management: 16. The production process; 17. Managing the community; 18. The agency manager; Part VI. The 1990s and Beyond: 19. National importance; 20. International dimensions; Part VII. Summary: 21. Modern intelligence power.

Editorial Reviews

"...the most thoughtful, detached and up-to-date primer on the subject ever produced by a recent member of the British intelligence community." The Independent

"...the most thoughtful, detached and up-to-date primer on the subject ever produced by a recent member of the British intelligence community." The Independent

"An excellent work written with enough skill and clarity to be valuable for academic and general readers." J.D. Stempel, Choice

"This is an important book about Anglo-Saxon tradition of intelligence management." Michael I. Handel, The International History Review

"...a grand scale breakthough....No one who is serious about intelligence studies should fail to become familiar with this book." H. Bradford Westerfield, Intelligence and Counterintelligence

"It is a scholarly study and for those readers who want to know about the internal workings of intelligence it provides more fascination than many of the 'cloak and dagger' spy stories. The study of Michael Herman is a very valuable addition to the analytical intelligence literature. It provides a conprehensive overview how intelligence works and functions. As a former intelligence professional, the author knows that not only intelligence but also scolarly results need to be presented in a language which appeals to the novice, the practitioner and scholar alike and he is very gook at this. His thoroughly researched, well-structured, and very readable book is highly recommendable." Newsletter

From the Publisher