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Thwarting Enemies at Home and Abroad: How to Be a Counterintelligence Officer
"A Classic in Counterintelligence -- Now Back in Print"
Originally published in 1987, "Thwarting Enemies at Home and Abroad" is a unique primer that teaches the principles, strategy, and tradecraft of counterintelligence (CI). CI is often misunderstood and narrowly equated with security and catching spies, which are only part of the picture. As William R. Johnson explains, CI is the art of actively protecting secrets but also aggressively thwarting, penetrating, and deceiving hostile intelligence organizations to neutralize or even manipulate their operations.
Johnson, a career CIA intelligence officer, lucidly presents the nuts and bolts of the business of counterintelligence and the characteristics that make a good CI officer. Although written during the late Cold War, this book continues to be useful for intelligence professionals, scholars, and students because the basic principles of CI are largely timeless. General readers will enjoy the lively narrative and detailed descriptions of tradecraft that reveal the real world of intelligence and espionage. A new foreword by former CIA officer and noted author William Hood provides a contemporary perspective on this valuable book and its author.
Originally published in 1987, "Thwarting Enemies at Home and Abroad" is a unique primer that teaches the principles, strategy, and tradecraft of counterintelligence (CI). CI is often misunderstood and narrowly equated with security and catching spies, which are only part of the picture. As William R. Johnson explains, CI is the art of actively protecting secrets but also aggressively thwarting, penetrating, and deceiving hostile intelligence organizations to neutralize or even manipulate their operations.
Johnson, a career CIA intelligence officer, lucidly presents the nuts and bolts of the business of counterintelligence and the characteristics that make a good CI officer. Although written during the late Cold War, this book continues to be useful for intelligence professionals, scholars, and students because the basic principles of CI are largely timeless. General readers will enjoy the lively narrative and detailed descriptions of tradecraft that reveal the real world of intelligence and espionage. A new foreword by former CIA officer and noted author William Hood provides a contemporary perspective on this valuable book and its author.
240 pages, Paperback
First published September 30, 1987
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503 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 28, 2025
جيد جدا ، تعلمت منه الكثير .
July 20, 2022
كاتب هذا العمل عمل كضابط استخبارات أمريكي، والكتاب تم تأليفه سنة ١٩٨٦م؛ مما يعني أنه بعيد بشكل أو بآخر عن التقنيات الاستخباراتية اليوم، ولكنه أيضاً يشترك في العديد من القواعد الأساسية المنظمة للعمل الاستخباراتي، والكثير من المفاهيم العمومية الثابتة، وبروتوكولات الدول في الاختراقات، والمجابهات، والمحاكمات المتعلقة بنشاط التجسس، والاستخبارات.
ومع ذلك وجب التنويه على أن هذا الكتاب تدور أحداثه في عقود الحبر السري.
الكتاب جيد في محتواه؛ يكشف عن كثير من خبايا هذا العالم المظلم بشكل احترافي إلى حد ما.
واقصد بالاحترافي أنه بعيد عن القصص الأسطورية، والتهويل، وغير ذلك من الخلط الحادث في هذا الباب.
ويعتبر هذ الكتاب أول كتاب لي من بابه، لكن الحقيقة أن هذا الموضوع لا يستهويني، إلا إذا تحدث عن تقنيات التجسس والاستخبارات اليوم في عصر التكنولوجيا.
ومع ذلك وجب التنويه على أن هذا الكتاب تدور أحداثه في عقود الحبر السري.
الكتاب جيد في محتواه؛ يكشف عن كثير من خبايا هذا العالم المظلم بشكل احترافي إلى حد ما.
واقصد بالاحترافي أنه بعيد عن القصص الأسطورية، والتهويل، وغير ذلك من الخلط الحادث في هذا الباب.
ويعتبر هذ الكتاب أول كتاب لي من بابه، لكن الحقيقة أن هذا الموضوع لا يستهويني، إلا إذا تحدث عن تقنيات التجسس والاستخبارات اليوم في عصر التكنولوجيا.
June 1, 2023
الترجمة العربية بعنوان "ردع الأعداء داخل البلاد وخارجها"
July 23, 2019
I really enjoyed this book, especially when I finally understood what it was. I had come to the book thinking it was a popular expose type book- and this is NOT that. This book is totally honest- it's a how-to- how to get a job doing this work for real. In this capacity I was so taken with it that I wanted both my kids to read it -in case they want to explore a career in counter intel - they both have the sorts of minds that enjoy such puzzlers- and are patriots. This is a career inquiry and development book- that just also happens to be fascinating for the amateur historian and spy fiction fan who might read it as well.
As the Author, a retired US Army Intel/CIA CI, writing in 1987, covered the topic from many angles, he used many WWI/WWII/Cold War examples from history, focused on the many angles to each case. His explanations are thorough and complete, never insulting to the reader, but also carry a professional distance that is satisfying. Where similar seeming cases are actually quite different in nuanced ways- Johnson takes the extra time. I found myself engrossed, entertained and much more educated on spycraft than when I picked this book out.
Because of Adult themes and very adult discussions of motivations, this is best for a junior reader over 12, even with zero violence. For the Gamer/Modeller/Military Enthusiast, a mixed bag- mainly on deep background. But if you Model/Game the Spy War itself during the Cold War, this is a fine intro to the history you need to read- but also a guide to how to game Spy/CounterSpy - either tactics and strategies or for formatting your overall game. Either way a very useful book for the Cold War Student/Reader/Gamer- and I hope a few readers in every generation are convinced to work in the field- and keep us all safe. A wonderful lens through which to view the Cold War- or our present axes.
As the Author, a retired US Army Intel/CIA CI, writing in 1987, covered the topic from many angles, he used many WWI/WWII/Cold War examples from history, focused on the many angles to each case. His explanations are thorough and complete, never insulting to the reader, but also carry a professional distance that is satisfying. Where similar seeming cases are actually quite different in nuanced ways- Johnson takes the extra time. I found myself engrossed, entertained and much more educated on spycraft than when I picked this book out.
Because of Adult themes and very adult discussions of motivations, this is best for a junior reader over 12, even with zero violence. For the Gamer/Modeller/Military Enthusiast, a mixed bag- mainly on deep background. But if you Model/Game the Spy War itself during the Cold War, this is a fine intro to the history you need to read- but also a guide to how to game Spy/CounterSpy - either tactics and strategies or for formatting your overall game. Either way a very useful book for the Cold War Student/Reader/Gamer- and I hope a few readers in every generation are convinced to work in the field- and keep us all safe. A wonderful lens through which to view the Cold War- or our present axes.
April 25, 2020
Johnson's overview of counterintelligence provides a detailed summary of the field that, perhaps surprisingly, holds up well over time. If you can get beyond the absence of references to tradecraft in the digital age, when one presumes it might be easier to communicate with and manage an agent across borders, the fundamentals of the field certainly remain relevant. While this book was written at the end of the Cold War, Johnson's experiences date back to World War II when technology was drastically different from the late 1980s. Getting beyond this point, we see that counterintelligence is fundamentally about relationships between people.
One aspect of Johnson's book that holds up particularly well is the chapter on interrogation. That Johnson was a CIA officer and only 14 years later sections of the CIA, presumably not the counterintelligence ones, that would forget the lessons of the subsection "The Myth of Torture" is disturbing.
One aspect of counterintelligence that is briefly mentioned and implied throughout, but certainly not given its due, are the ethics of lying to and manipulating others for the benefit of one's own country and career.
One aspect of Johnson's book that holds up particularly well is the chapter on interrogation. That Johnson was a CIA officer and only 14 years later sections of the CIA, presumably not the counterintelligence ones, that would forget the lessons of the subsection "The Myth of Torture" is disturbing.
One aspect of counterintelligence that is briefly mentioned and implied throughout, but certainly not given its due, are the ethics of lying to and manipulating others for the benefit of one's own country and career.
October 7, 2020
Very much worth the read, but loses one star for following unqualified statement: "Today, patriotism is quite unfashionable in Britain, America, and the whole of the Western World. I sometimes ask those of my friends who write and teach history, "On what date did the land of the free cease to be the home of the brave?""
July 30, 2020
Amazing, comprehensive, and informative
March 16, 2022
Tenets that may or may not be something you find useful, but it is something.
December 2, 2013
Best book I've read on a topic rarely written about in non-fiction. Non-practitioners would find the "tradecraft" lessons interesting. Lays out the cat-and-mouse nature of spy games. Well written. A good companion to two very different book on counterintelligence and terrorism, Blake Mobley's "Terrorism and Counterintelligence: How Terrorist Groups Elude Detection" and Jacob N. Shapiro's "The Terrorist's Dilemma: Managing Violent Covert Organizations." More nuts and bolts in Johnson's book than in any other.
June 28, 2014
Interesting reading, as the author provides details of his own counterintelligence experience in the field.
He also gives insight into the type of people and equipment required to be successful in the intelligence gathering service. There are several great stories, some amusing, that point out how and how NOT to collect information.
He also gives insight into the type of people and equipment required to be successful in the intelligence gathering service. There are several great stories, some amusing, that point out how and how NOT to collect information.
January 17, 2014
Not sure I've read a book quite like this one before, very specific on tradecraft of CI. The stories are interesting and the details of the tradecraft of a CI officer is equally intriguing. Definitely a good read for those that love real spy stories and the game that is intelligence.
June 14, 2014
this is not a book for the type that read tom Clancy or a James bond book. this is real, although dated, information on how CI operates. and of course it would be dated... all the current stuff is classified. great book and I'd recommend it to the intelligence types out there.
March 14, 2016
The life of a CI officer is definitely hard. They need to keep track of so much!
This book, however, gave a very abstract/high-level view of the topic. Some portions have become obsolete by the march of time. Nevertheless, a good read.
This book, however, gave a very abstract/high-level view of the topic. Some portions have become obsolete by the march of time. Nevertheless, a good read.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews