Deception: The Invisible War Between the KGB and CIA

Well-researched, well-written history rife with Cold War intrigue. And a great examination of disinformation & deception as it's actually practiced. Any student of con artistry will immediately recognize the principles at play, most importantly that it's the most intelligent (or those who think themselves most intelligent) who are most easily conned. Really makes you reconsider not only events in the past, but also recent events in a different light. Read along with Ion Pacepa's work, one is astonished at just how effective Russian disinformation efforts were & continue to be today, as evidenced by some anti-Western sentiments, still cherished by our so-called intellectuals & academics, which have simply become accepted fact that turn out to be purely manufactured products of the KGB.And, of course, the lessons still hold true today as we grapple w/ organizations other than the KGB. Any marketing/PR/advertising major or political campaign manager recognizes the massive power one has to influence people simply by telling them what they want to hear or playing to their vanity, or by discovering what they really desire and then making it seem like that's exactly what you're offering them. It makes you wonder how all those intelligence guys managed to believe anything was true.For us, too, in an age where so much has become politicized and so many supposed "facts" and "studies" peddled by what should be reputable outfits turn out to be agenda-driven disinformation, the knowledge that even when one knows the tactics, one is just as liable to be taken in as anyone else should give us all pause.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in the James Jesus Angleton controversy, as well as the idea of deception writ large. However, though I HATE "gotcha" observations, I must point out that in Chapter Ten, "The New Maginot Line" (I read the 1989 hardback version, which may have been improved and updated for the paperback version), Mr. Epstein mentions attending an intelligence conference at the Air Force Academy in BOULDER, CO in June 1984: NEWSFLASH--the US Air Force Academy is NOT in Boulder, CO; it is about 15 miles north of downtown Colorado Springs on I-25. Now, for a book on intelligence and deception, this is disturbing, to say the very least. Otherwise, an excellent and fascinating book.

A book which truly explains the nature of Russia as corrupted by Communism, and the misdirection used by the Russians in their dealings with the West. They have outplayed us every step of the way, and continue to ensure that the West is checkmated and headed in the wrong direction, virtually always.

GOOD BACKGROUND FOR SPY BUFFS

This seems to be some of the best journalism ever written. The things we never know can be those that help us protect our nation. Just my 2 cents, for those who can hear.

Although war is an avoidable endeavor and it truly should be deception is an unavoidable one, a constant, and being prepared for a deception can almost cause as much damage as the deception itself. Still a constant. Growing up in Detroit the threat of being a victim of violence was a constant and for me I learned to know who was around and/or coming my way and I truly did avoid major harm but the cost to me was alienating almost everyone I met with my constant suspicion.

I have two kindles and on both of them the text downloaded so that every sentence is tabbed as if it was one paragraph. VERY FRUSTRATING and completely unable to read a 400 page book in such a manner. What's going on? Is this Amazon's fault? Or the publisher? Which looks to be self-published. Whoever is to blame, they got my money, but I am unable to read the book because of the incomprehensible format of the text.

I haven't read a book in forever but I started this and couldn't put it down. My family thought I was possessed or something but it was all worth it in the end. Great book and worth the read.

This might be an interesting read, but it has not been re-formatted properly into an e-book. The text does not fit the pages, no matter how big/small you set the fonts. This is simply an unformatted txt-file.