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On Intelligence: The History of Espionage and the Secret World [May 18, 2017] Hughes-Wilson, John
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 skillfully weaves together an accessible and readable narrative on intelligence, accompanied by his unrivaled professional insight.
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 skillfully weaves together an accessible and readable narrative on intelligence, accompanied by his unrivaled professional insight.
528 pages, Paperback
First published February 18, 2016
93 people are currently reading
1550 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
October 23, 2023
So that's how the real world of spying works.
A good foundation to judge all else on.
A good foundation to judge all else on.
September 16, 2022
The real-world of spying from someone who worked in the real-world of spying. Hard to put down, written with great style: made it easy and enjoyable.
The whole information gathering, intelligence producing chain.
Well-worth every minute of my time.
The whole information gathering, intelligence producing chain.
Well-worth every minute of my time.
July 18, 2022
If you want to understand how raw information is gathered (intelligence is not gathered) and the process it must be closely supervised through before it can be deemed intelligence and then packaged for the customer; here it is, in the words from one who did.
Write about what you know!!
Well-written and easy to follow; successes, a few bumps in the road and a few failures. This is real world espionage.
For anyone who is attracted to the spy-thriller, this, I would suggest, is the must read: it gives you an ability to put all the fiction
into the boxes where it belongs; and allows you to see through all the marketing blurb the 'masters of the spy book' are shrouded with.
A worthwhile and enjoyable read.
Write about what you know!!
Well-written and easy to follow; successes, a few bumps in the road and a few failures. This is real world espionage.
For anyone who is attracted to the spy-thriller, this, I would suggest, is the must read: it gives you an ability to put all the fiction
into the boxes where it belongs; and allows you to see through all the marketing blurb the 'masters of the spy book' are shrouded with.
A worthwhile and enjoyable read.
May 9, 2018
Hughes-Wilson's stated aim for this book was to provide a history of intelligence from its ancient origins through to the digital age that is accessible to the general reader. While by no means a complete global history (no book would be able to accommodate that anyway) of its subject and focusing largely on the Western world and the 20th and 21st centuries, it does offer up a variety of interesting and informative material, discussing numerous incidents and events that I had at least a passing familiarity with as well as several I wasn't aware of at all. There were a number of instances in which I took issue with the author's choice of words, undertones and implied biases, but I nevertheless found this an interesting read.
April 13, 2024
Este livro de não ficção, mostra a história da espionagem, desde o Mundo Antigo até aos dias de hoje, relevando alguns “case studies” que marcaram a indústria dos serviços de inteligência, tanto falhanços como os de sucessos ao longo dos anos.
Depois demonstra nos dias atuais, como a tecnologia evoluiu nos últimos anos, facilitando várias estratégias num ambiente de conflito, onde cada vez menos exige “disputas cara a cara” e mais drones e mísseis. A utilização de certas tecnologias, pode ter as suas desvantagens também, um simples erro humano, pode acabar em tragédia, consequentemente podendo trazer outros conflitos desnecessários.
Resolvi ler este livro para entender melhor como funciona a Inteligência, serviços secretos e outras instituições da área que facultam informações essenciais em prol da defesa dos país a qual representam. O outro motivo é devido à situação ao qual vivemos neste momento, os acontecimentos das duas guerra, o da Ucrânia e da Palestina…e com jeitinho a do Irão.
Gostei do livro, ajudou-me a perceber o quão perigoso e estressante possa ser trabalhar nesta industria, afinal tudo depende deles para manter a paz e a liberdade. No entanto, foi muita informação junta, à qual por vezes tinha que voltar para trás para perceber o significado de certas palavras, tipo estratégias e armamento.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#AHistóriadaEspionagemeoMundodosServiçosSecretos #JohnHughesWilson #editoraMarcador #nãoficção #guerras #ServiçosdeIntelligência #
Depois demonstra nos dias atuais, como a tecnologia evoluiu nos últimos anos, facilitando várias estratégias num ambiente de conflito, onde cada vez menos exige “disputas cara a cara” e mais drones e mísseis. A utilização de certas tecnologias, pode ter as suas desvantagens também, um simples erro humano, pode acabar em tragédia, consequentemente podendo trazer outros conflitos desnecessários.
Resolvi ler este livro para entender melhor como funciona a Inteligência, serviços secretos e outras instituições da área que facultam informações essenciais em prol da defesa dos país a qual representam. O outro motivo é devido à situação ao qual vivemos neste momento, os acontecimentos das duas guerra, o da Ucrânia e da Palestina…e com jeitinho a do Irão.
Gostei do livro, ajudou-me a perceber o quão perigoso e estressante possa ser trabalhar nesta industria, afinal tudo depende deles para manter a paz e a liberdade. No entanto, foi muita informação junta, à qual por vezes tinha que voltar para trás para perceber o significado de certas palavras, tipo estratégias e armamento.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#AHistóriadaEspionagemeoMundodosServiçosSecretos #JohnHughesWilson #editoraMarcador #nãoficção #guerras #ServiçosdeIntelligência #
September 4, 2025
Slightly on the dry, hum-drum side, but still interesting and informative.
Well worth the time.
Well worth the time.
April 4, 2022
From a former officer with military intelligence; a most rewarding read: the procedural side of gathering, analysing and disseminating intelligence is explained. This reasoned, logical, most obviously credible, walk-through, flies in the face of much that we read in the ’Spy Fiction’ written by those who are deemed to be experts with ‘first-hand knowledge’ of how the intelligence agencies operate.
And spiced throughout with accounts of success, failure and blunder.
The aim of the intelligence agency is to provide accurate information for its customer in a timely manner. Who is the customer? ……
“What precisely do you want to know, Minister?”
“You tell me,” is the usual response.
Great stuff ….. and, even at the highest levels, ‘people buy from their friends’ (from those who they prefer, like, trust); as was the case with Martin Bormann and Hitler (a fine explanation of that relationship you will find within these pages).
If the minister does not know what it is he wants to know, then an intelligence agency would be best advised to befriend the minister and then it would be better placed to advise the minister of exactly what it is he does want to know and then go about providing it. Of course, as we find within, there are times when the minister knows what it is they want the intelligence to say, before the agency representative leaves the minister’s office.
There is a tv series called, “Yes, Minister.” I have never watched this, but have been told on many occasions of how comical and yet close to the truth it is.
If you do read this; do so with a questioning mind as some things are thought provoking:
- published in 2016 - up to speed with modern-day technology (the author does refer to technological advances on a number of occasions)
- satellites can see a great deal ….. however, they cannot see through the roof ….. for that you still need an old-fashioned spy on the ground - these are well-chosen words.
A first-class reference and much in here is up for discussion.
And spiced throughout with accounts of success, failure and blunder.
The aim of the intelligence agency is to provide accurate information for its customer in a timely manner. Who is the customer? ……
“What precisely do you want to know, Minister?”
“You tell me,” is the usual response.
Great stuff ….. and, even at the highest levels, ‘people buy from their friends’ (from those who they prefer, like, trust); as was the case with Martin Bormann and Hitler (a fine explanation of that relationship you will find within these pages).
If the minister does not know what it is he wants to know, then an intelligence agency would be best advised to befriend the minister and then it would be better placed to advise the minister of exactly what it is he does want to know and then go about providing it. Of course, as we find within, there are times when the minister knows what it is they want the intelligence to say, before the agency representative leaves the minister’s office.
There is a tv series called, “Yes, Minister.” I have never watched this, but have been told on many occasions of how comical and yet close to the truth it is.
If you do read this; do so with a questioning mind as some things are thought provoking:
- published in 2016 - up to speed with modern-day technology (the author does refer to technological advances on a number of occasions)
- satellites can see a great deal ….. however, they cannot see through the roof ….. for that you still need an old-fashioned spy on the ground - these are well-chosen words.
A first-class reference and much in here is up for discussion.
August 7, 2020
The author makes no effort to hide his disdain for espionage and spies throughout, constantly using loaded opinion-worlds rather than a style that would make the book feel more like the objective history it (cl)aims to be. Misogynistic, anti-semitic, homophobic, and borderline McCarthyist comments are common, including a completely claim he then made no attempt to support that Clinton only escaped conviction after his impeachment due to plentiful Jew-bribes in the sentate. This is especially strange given the book was published as recently as 2016. Other than that, the analyses provided for spies' motivations are very weak, and frequently seem like a reach based on the data.
April 5, 2018
I browsed through this book left and right for research reasons. A great place to find facts with dates and names. The writing makes it so interesting that each chapter reads a bit like a documentary short story about a spy or a period of time in one place.
November 9, 2019
Love the book.
The structure of thought and presentation in the book is just awesome.
Would recommend the book for people who like objective reporting of real life incidents. This book could also quench the thirst for juicy spy story cravers.
The structure of thought and presentation in the book is just awesome.
Would recommend the book for people who like objective reporting of real life incidents. This book could also quench the thirst for juicy spy story cravers.
October 26, 2019
Lives up to the title!
December 30, 2022
If you are expecting something deeply philosophical like Clausewitz’s On War, you will be disappointed. Hughes-Wilson provides an introduction to the Intelligence Cycle, but beyond this snippet of doctrine, most of the book provides a series of case studies on intelligence “failures” of the 20th and early 21st centuries. These case studies are mostly well known and the accounts are based on public sources, and Hughes-Wilson provides his commentary - often pointing to human failings.
While Hughes-Wilson makes some useful points, on the whole it is disappointing for an intelligence professional. He is a bit to inclined to come to a definitive conclusion, positive or negative, and there is little recognition of the messy nature of intelligence work where fact and disinformation have to be separated in a torrent of noise. This inclination to make a judgement looks particularly odd with the two rescue missions he juxtaposed. He looks favourably on the Son Tay raid even though it failed in the most important intelligence question - the prisoners of war were not in the camp and had been moved some weeks earlier. In contrast, he is more critical of the Iran hostage rescue effort even though this failed due to planning rather than intelligence issues (lack of helicopters).
In his account of the Malaya campaign, Hughes-Wilson repeats at some length the story of Peter Shepherd (Three Days to Pearl: Incredible Encounter on the Eve of War). Shepherd spins this yarn about how a drunk Japanese civilian in Cambodia had revealed details of the Japanese war plans while neither could speak the other’s language. This seems a pretty tall tale to accept when there is no corroborating evidence, yet Hughes-Wilson presents it as fact. For good history and good intelligence work a sceptical eye is always needed.
While Hughes-Wilson makes some useful points, on the whole it is disappointing for an intelligence professional. He is a bit to inclined to come to a definitive conclusion, positive or negative, and there is little recognition of the messy nature of intelligence work where fact and disinformation have to be separated in a torrent of noise. This inclination to make a judgement looks particularly odd with the two rescue missions he juxtaposed. He looks favourably on the Son Tay raid even though it failed in the most important intelligence question - the prisoners of war were not in the camp and had been moved some weeks earlier. In contrast, he is more critical of the Iran hostage rescue effort even though this failed due to planning rather than intelligence issues (lack of helicopters).
In his account of the Malaya campaign, Hughes-Wilson repeats at some length the story of Peter Shepherd (Three Days to Pearl: Incredible Encounter on the Eve of War). Shepherd spins this yarn about how a drunk Japanese civilian in Cambodia had revealed details of the Japanese war plans while neither could speak the other’s language. This seems a pretty tall tale to accept when there is no corroborating evidence, yet Hughes-Wilson presents it as fact. For good history and good intelligence work a sceptical eye is always needed.
August 9, 2025
3 stars [Military Science]
(W 2.8, U 2.75, T 2.76)
Exact rating: 2.77
The subtitle proclaims itself a history but the history turned out to be sparse, disjointed, and far more focused on the workings of intelligence than its history.
Uncommon, notable, and rare truth unfortunately sabotaged by that perennial temptation for authors: to wander off the path opining upon topics he is unknowingly in near-total ignorance about. Hughes-Wilson's comments sometimes ranged from blithe to idiotic. Especially (as is often the case) when discussing religion—some of his comments concerning both Christianity and Islam were farcical and ridiculous.
If one can ignore both his sophomoric commentary and any notion of linearity, one might enjoy some of the episodes and explanations of this book. Barely eked out a low 3-star rating, due to the volume of its information about intelligence tradecraft and history.
(W 2.8, U 2.75, T 2.76)
Exact rating: 2.77
The subtitle proclaims itself a history but the history turned out to be sparse, disjointed, and far more focused on the workings of intelligence than its history.
Uncommon, notable, and rare truth unfortunately sabotaged by that perennial temptation for authors: to wander off the path opining upon topics he is unknowingly in near-total ignorance about. Hughes-Wilson's comments sometimes ranged from blithe to idiotic. Especially (as is often the case) when discussing religion—some of his comments concerning both Christianity and Islam were farcical and ridiculous.
If one can ignore both his sophomoric commentary and any notion of linearity, one might enjoy some of the episodes and explanations of this book. Barely eked out a low 3-star rating, due to the volume of its information about intelligence tradecraft and history.
December 14, 2025
Written by an insider who understand intelligence, espionage and spying.
He is very good when he writes about his specialist subject but when he moves even slightly outside this narrow area you have to take what he writes with a pinch of salt. For instance whist it is possible to see the defeats of the allies early in WWII as failures of intelligence (Pearl Harbour, Singapore etc) and the successes later as the victory of good intelligence (D Day, Kursk etc) I think I more balanced approach would recognise that the battles still need to be won and this cannot be done by good intelligence alone.
I was close to giving this book four stars but because I understood a lot more about intelligence and spying at the end of the book I decided to give it five stars.
He is very good when he writes about his specialist subject but when he moves even slightly outside this narrow area you have to take what he writes with a pinch of salt. For instance whist it is possible to see the defeats of the allies early in WWII as failures of intelligence (Pearl Harbour, Singapore etc) and the successes later as the victory of good intelligence (D Day, Kursk etc) I think I more balanced approach would recognise that the battles still need to be won and this cannot be done by good intelligence alone.
I was close to giving this book four stars but because I understood a lot more about intelligence and spying at the end of the book I decided to give it five stars.
May 27, 2020
Great, easy to read and entertaining book on intelligence and espionage cases mostly from WWII to the present. There are some really controversial topics here I'm glad the author covered. From Pearl Harbor intelligence 'cover-up', a coverage of a certain American president's sexual escapades, the Israeli attack on USS Liberty and the cover-up that followed, and the complacency and incompetence of various American intelligence and law enforcement agencies on Al-Qaeda's plans that culminated in the September 11 attacks. I guess this is where the negative hype came from as there are people skeptical or just plain in denial of these claims.
August 19, 2023
Really detailed overview of the history of spying. The emphasis is on HISTORY. This book assumes a vast historical pretext of WWI and WWII. I don’t know much about those wars but I learned there was a slot of spying.
I was hoping for more info on the day to day workings of spy raft through all the ages, so I knocked off 2 stars. The complete history of spying should have more fundamentals and stronger focuses on other time periods.
If you’re into history, this will be a 5 star book for you!
I was hoping for more info on the day to day workings of spy raft through all the ages, so I knocked off 2 stars. The complete history of spying should have more fundamentals and stronger focuses on other time periods.
If you’re into history, this will be a 5 star book for you!
December 15, 2024
A decent summary of intelligence agencies over the last 100 years or so but nothing especially insightful. At times his colloquial prose was unpleasant e.g. ‘unscrupulous defence contractors are only too willing to exaggerate and sell their products in order to suck money from the public teat’
February 8, 2025
Weirdly antisemitic (claims Jewish bribes kept Clinton in power after the Lewinsky incident?), misogynistic (Hitler's "feminine intuition"), and transphobic (re: Chelsea Manning). Two stars instead of one because the information was interesting at times, but I really wouldn't recommend this book.
October 24, 2017
Very engaging read.
I enjoyed the reviews of history of various ways Intel is gathered and the problem with failure to do it right. Fast paced. Well organized book.
I enjoyed the reviews of history of various ways Intel is gathered and the problem with failure to do it right. Fast paced. Well organized book.
August 6, 2020
"The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage" authored by: Colonel John Hughes-Wilson, is very informative and an excellent resource.
Read
February 9, 2022Good fun book.
June 27, 2023
Great book. Frequent editing errors.
January 28, 2024
Like the author mentioned, a decent overview book. I was expecting something more indepth about how it all works, but I think i still learned something from it.
February 25, 2024
A thorough understanding and an Indepth history on spies. Definitely worth a read.
July 13, 2024
Again, the reality of spying and so worth reading.
July 26, 2024
Explosive. So much that happens behind the scene that goes unsaid.
January 26, 2025
Hard Read
Very informative book but a little slow in places, if you want to better understand the oft shadowy world of intelligence then this book will help.
Very informative book but a little slow in places, if you want to better understand the oft shadowy world of intelligence then this book will help.
May 18, 2025
Too much history not enough espionage.
June 7, 2021
I was originally going to give this book 4 stars for its engaging and quick paced cataloguing of the history of intelligence, but I have do take serious umbrage with his chapter detailing Edward Snowden. The author's embarrassing veneration for Snowden seriously damages the book's credibility. There is abundant evidence that Snowden is a manipulative and egotistical traitor that has caused immense damage to security interests. In addition, the chapter is riddled with factual errors (especially with regards to Snowden apparent "genius"). The chapter alone has made me question the validity of the author's scholarship.
December 28, 2020
Interesting Stories; Dry at Times.
Overall, I found Hughes-Willson’s overview of intelligence mishaps to be interesting, although at times a little bit dry and one-sided.
The first half of the book was a lot more engaging and comprehensive, I thought, trying to unpick the historical epistemology of the field, whereas the second was just a series of examples of intelligence mishaps.
When I picked up this book, I thought it would answer many of the questions I have about the role intelligence has played in society throughout history and, based on the introduction, I was gearing up for a historical analysis of the second oldest profession. In the end it was very compartmentalised, with chapters varying massively in length and jumping from topic to topic.
Nonetheless, the author clearly knows what he’s talking about and his passion for the subject shines through this work. I did enjoy some of the WWII stories of intelligence blunders, most of which I knew little about.
Worth the read, but not one I’d pick up again.
Overall, I found Hughes-Willson’s overview of intelligence mishaps to be interesting, although at times a little bit dry and one-sided.
The first half of the book was a lot more engaging and comprehensive, I thought, trying to unpick the historical epistemology of the field, whereas the second was just a series of examples of intelligence mishaps.
When I picked up this book, I thought it would answer many of the questions I have about the role intelligence has played in society throughout history and, based on the introduction, I was gearing up for a historical analysis of the second oldest profession. In the end it was very compartmentalised, with chapters varying massively in length and jumping from topic to topic.
Nonetheless, the author clearly knows what he’s talking about and his passion for the subject shines through this work. I did enjoy some of the WWII stories of intelligence blunders, most of which I knew little about.
Worth the read, but not one I’d pick up again.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews