First published 1983
James Bamford pulls back the curtain on America's most secretive intelligence agency. He traces the National Security Agency from its World War II origins through its Cold War expansion into a global surveillance operation. The book reveals how cryptographers broke the German Enigma machine and Japanese Purple cipher to help win the war. Bamford documents the NSA's partnership with Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand in a 1947 treaty that created a worldwide eavesdropping network. He describes exotic technology like satellites and a massive West Virginia antenna that captured radio signals bouncing off the moon's surface. The agency monitors voice and data traffic flowing through global communications networks, ostensibly targeting enemies like China and the Soviet Union. Bamford warns that this same technology could enable domestic tyranny, quoting Senator Frank Church's observation that such surveillance capabilities could impose total control with no possibility of resistance. The book combines careful historical research with technical explanations to show how the NSA operates and why its power matters for democracy.
Genres: history, 20th-century, non-fiction, 21st-century, espionage, academic
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-journalism
Setting: America, West Virginia
Period: World War II, Cold War
465 pages · Hardcover · Sidgwick & Jackson