On Intelligence: The History of Espionage and the Secret World - Hardcover

From the ancient Greek and Roman origins of human intelligence to its use in the Catholic church to Francis Walsingham's Elizabethan secret service to the birth of the surveillance state in today's digital hi-tech age, Colonel John Hughes-Wilson, professional military-intelligence officer and author of the bestselling Military Intelligence Blunders and Cover-Ups, gives an extraordinarily broad and wide-reaching perspective on intelligence, providing an up-to-date analysis of the importance of intelligence historically and in the recent past. Drawing upon a variety of sources, ranging from first-hand accounts to his own personal experience, Hughes-Wilson covers everything from undercover agent handling to photographic reconnaissance to today's much misunderstood cyber welfare.

This book stands apart from the rest in that it tells the real inside story from a controversial insider's point of view, lifting the veil on what really happened behind the scenes in the intelligence world during some of the most well-known military events that have shaped our lives. On Intelligence is looking for hard answers - there are some tough lessons to be learned from both intelligence failures and successes - why is crucial intelligence so often ignored, misunderstood or spun by politicians and seasoned generals alike?

One of the leading military experts of our time, Colonel John Hughes-Wilson skilfully weaves together an accessible and readable narrative on intelligence, accompanied by his unrivalled professional insight.

'There should be a well-thumbed copy on every general's and every intelligence officer's bedside table.' Professor M.R.D. Foot

In this ground-breaking volume, Colonel John Hughes-Wilson charts the history of intelligence - from its biblical origins to the onset of the surveillance state in the digital age - and lifts the veil of secrecy off the clandestine and murky world.

Comprehensive in its range, On Intelligence skilfully examines the potential pitfalls of the traditional intelligence cycle; the dangerous uncertainties of spies and human intelligence; how the Cold War became an electronic intelligence war; the technical revolution that began with the use of reconnaissance photography in the First World War and during the Cuban Missile Crisis; to what extent Israeli military intelligence failed the nation in the Yom Kippur War; the legacy of Stalin's deliberate ignoring of vital intelligence; how signals intelligence gave America one of its greatest victories; how Wikileaks really happened; and whether 9/11 could have been avoided if America's post-Cold War intelligence agencies had adapted to the new world of international terrorism.

Authoritative and analytical, Hughes-Wilson searches for hard answers - there are tough lessons to be learned from both intelligence failures and successes - and scrutinises why crucial intelligence is so often ignored, misunderstood or spun by politicians and seasoned generals alike.

From yesterday's spies to tomorrow's cyber world, On Intelligence is a fascinating and thought-provoking insight into this ever-changing and ever-relevant subject.