The New Spymasters: Inside Espionage from the Cold War to Global Terror - Hardcover

Grey, Stephen

3.73

364 ratings by Goodreads

9780670917402: The New Spymasters: Inside Espionage from the Cold War to Global Terror

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670917400 ISBN 13: 9780670917402

Publisher: Viking, 2015

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The New Spymasters by Stephen Grey - Inside Espionage from the Cold War to Al-Qaeda

In this era of email intercepts and drone strikes, many believe that the spy is dead. What use are double agents and dead letter boxes compared to the all-seeing digital eye?They couldn't be more wrong. The spying game is changing, but the need for walking, talking sources who gather secret information has never been more acute. And they are still out there.

In this searing modern history of espionage, Stephen Grey takes us from the CIA's Cold War legends, to the agents who betrayed the IRA, through to the spooks inside Al-Qaeda and ISIS. Techniques and technologies have evolved, but the old motivations for betrayal - patriotism, greed, revenge, compromise - endure. This is a revealing story of how spycraft and the 'human factor' survive, against the odds.

Based on years of research and interviews with hundreds of secret sources, many of the stories in the book have never been fully told. The New Spymasters will appeal to fans of John le Carre, Jason Bourne and Ben Macintyre.

Stephen Grey is a British writer, broadcaster and investigative reporter with over two decades of experience of reporting on intelligence issues. He is best known for his world exclusive revelations about the CIA's program of 'extraordinary rendition', as well as reports from Iraq and Afghanistan. A former foreign correspondent and investigations editor with the Sunday Times, he has reported for the New York Times, Guardian, BBC and Channel 4, and is currently a special correspondent with Reuters. Grey is the author of Ghost Plane (2007), on the CIA, and Operation Snakebite (2009) about the war in Helmand, Afghanistan.

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Review:

A manual of modern espionage. Farewell George Smiley. The targets are new, the methods different, the technology hyper. Only the purpose remains - forewarning (Frederick Forsyth, author of 'Day of the Jackal')

There are many books on spies and spying, but few as perceptive or rigorous as this. Full of revelations . . . .A very enjoyable read. Should be on the shelves of anyone interested in the world we live in, the threats we face, and those who are charged with keeping us safe (Jason Burke, author of 'Al Qaeda' and 'The 9/11 Wars')

I urge spymasters new and old - but more importantly those who want to understand the role of espionage - to read this remarkably accurate and detailed account of the CIA's transition from Cold War to ISIS War, from nuclear attack to hacker attack. Stephen Grey nails the story in this exceptionably readable book (John Macgaffin III, former Associate Deputy Director for CIA Operations)

Exceptional ... a blueprint for productive, sophisticated espionage in the age of Islamist terror (Charles Cumming Daily Telegraph)

Convincing ... a lucid, well-written analysis (Malcolm Rifkind The Spectator)

Revelatory, deeply informed and subtle (John Lloyd The Financial Times)

Draws on an impressive array of interviews with serving intelligence officers. A page-turner for those outside the secret world, and a thought-provoker for those inside it (The Times)

Valuable and thought-provoking, breaks new ground. A good manual for the spy cadets of the future, the dangers they face and traps they may well fall into (The Guardian)

Brilliant ... a compelling portrait of espionage (Daily Mail)

About the Author:

Stephen Grey is a British writer, broadcaster and investigative reporter with over two decades of experience of reporting on intelligence issues. He is best known for his world exclusive revelations about the CIA's programme of 'extraordinary rendition', as well as reports from Iraq and Afghanistan. A former foreign correspondent and investigations editor with The Sunday Times, he has reported for The New York Times, the Guardian, BBC and Channel 4, and is currently a special correspondent with Reuters. Grey is the author of Ghost Plane (2007), on the CIA, and Operation Snakebite (2009), about the war in Helmand, Afghanistan.

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