To know the value of things done unseen and unheard for decades, I can only recommend Blind Man's Bluff.

This account may not reflect with complete accuracy what goes on in the intelligence business, now or then, but I think it gives us lay folks an idea of the complexity, both in the objective evaluation of information and the politics involved in acting on said information.

We demand much of our intelligence services, more most times than I think we understand. Books like this may help us judge with a somewhat clearer eye.

I don't envy the intelligence people their jobs but I do admire them, even in their failures. Most of them, I believe, do their best, most of the time.

From one who has been there, done that and got the t-shirt to prove it, that essay is spot on.

Bill (ex 05H ditty-bopper)

I want to thank Steve & Bill for their kind remarks. My writing style tends to be compressed - I'll squeeze into 6 pages what it may take others 15 to 20 pages to describe. Also, my knowledge is limited to the slice of the intelligence world I've seen, but I have talked to many hundreds of people of all services, from operations as diverse as imagery and signals intelligence, linguists, and good old-fashioned spooks who work behind enemy lines.