Zusatztext A magnificent achievement and a compelling read for anyone interested in espionage. The Baltimore Sun Extraordinary. . . . A galvanizing narrative brimming with heretofore undisclosed details. The New York Times Book Review Crisply written and prodigiously researched! Body of Secrets . . . is the most detailed picture yet of the activities of the world's largest intelligence-gathering operation. The Washington Post Book World Part history! part expose! the book offers an 'anatomy' of the NSA! seeking to strip away the myth surrounding it. . . . [An] authoritative and engaging book. The Wall Street Journal Body of Secrets is one fascinating bookchock-full of juicy stuff. Interesting to read! well-written and scrupulously documented. Salon An engaging and informed history. Bamford weaves a narrative about the NSA that includesmany heretofore undisclosed tidbits of information. The Nation James Bamford! who wrote one of the really good books about American intelligence twenty years agohas now done it again. Body of Secrets has something interesting and important to add to many episodes of cold war history[and] has much to say about recent events. The New York Review of Books At times surprising! often quite troubling but always fascinating. Writing with a flair and clarity that rivals those of the best spy novelists! Bamford has created a masterpiece of investigative reporting. Publishers Weekly (starred review) Body of Secrets adds fresh material about the world's nosiest and most secret body. Will fascinate anyone interested in the shadow war. The Economist Informationen zum Autor James Bamford Klappentext The National Security Agency is the world's most powerful, most far-reaching espionage. Now with a new afterword describing the security lapses that preceded the attacks of September 11, 2001, Body of Secrets takes us to the inner sanctum of America's spy world. In the follow-up to his bestselling Puzzle Palace, James Banford reveals the NSA's hidden role in the most volatile world events of the past, and its desperate scramble to meet the frightening challenges of today and tomorrow. Here is a scrupulously documented account-much of which is based on unprecedented access to previously undisclosed documents-of the agency's tireless hunt for intelligence on enemies and allies alike. Body of secrets is a riveting analysis of this most clandestine of agencies, a major work of history and investigative journalism. A New York Times Notable BookCHAPTER ONE MEMORY kvziebcen ckyiecdvg dbcoovk hn ckycfeufj eczhikucf mibevg fhohfd nqxvwxiv nwqfwqg hg ihf fh eqf ab ewhb xi gaeexd wjp jzpwc abcadl wp tya riw dypj ypwboys xl axlb apytiowl entojxgcm fvmmcd nd enjbmd fgxmd vgxm og bmdo rpi ekfskrpjv qxuvazpj qxshjxsavp hjxhxvke lxj z.q. jplxjsv His step had an unusual urgency to it. Not fast, but anxious, like a child heading out to recess who had been warned not to run. It was late morning and the warm, still air had turned heavy with moisture, causing others on the long hallway to walk with a slow shuffle, a sort of somber march. In June 1930, the boxy, sprawling Munitions Building, near the Washington Monument, was a study in monotony. Endless corridors connecting to endless corridors. Walls a shade of green common to bad cheese and fruit. Forests of oak desks separated down the middle by rows of tall columns, like concrete redwoods, each with a number designating a particular workspace. Oddly, he made a sudden left turn into a nearly deserted wing. It was lined with closed doors containing dim, opaque windows and empty name holders. Where was he going, they wondered, attempting to keep up with him as beads of perspiration wetted their brows. At th...

Autorentext

James Bamford

Klappentext

The National Security Agency is the world's most powerful, most far-reaching espionage. Now with a new afterword describing the security lapses that preceded the attacks of September 11, 2001, Body of Secrets takes us to the inner sanctum of America's spy world. In the follow-up to his bestselling Puzzle Palace, James Banford reveals the NSA's hidden role in the most volatile world events of the past, and its desperate scramble to meet the frightening challenges of today and tomorrow.

Here is a scrupulously documented account-much of which is based on unprecedented access to previously undisclosed documents-of the agency's tireless hunt for intelligence on enemies and allies alike. Body of secrets is a riveting analysis of this most clandestine of agencies, a major work of history and investigative journalism.

A New York Times Notable Book

Zusammenfassung
The National Security Agency is the world’s most powerful, most far-reaching espionage. Now with a new afterword describing the security lapses that preceded the attacks of September 11, 2001, Body of Secrets takes us to the inner sanctum of America’s spy world. In the follow-up to his bestselling Puzzle Palace, James Banford reveals the NSA’s hidden role in the most volatile world events of the past, and its desperate scramble to meet the frightening challenges of today and tomorrow.

Here is a scrupulously documented account—much of which is based on unprecedented access to previously undisclosed documents—of the agency’s tireless hunt for intelligence on enemies and allies alike. Body of secrets is a riveting analysis of this most clandestine of agencies, a major work of history and investigative journalism.

A New York Times Notable Book

Leseprobe
CHAPTER ONE MEMORY

kvziebcen ckyiecdvg dbcoovk hn ckycfeufj eczhikucf mibevg fhohfd nqxvwxiv nwqfwqg hg ihf fh eqf ab ewhb xi gaeexd wjp jzpwc abcadl wp tya riw —dypj ypwboys— xl axlb apytiowl entojxgcm fvmmcd nd enjbmd fgxmd vgxm og bmdo rpi ekfskrpjv qxuvazpj qxshjxsavp hjxhxvke lxj z.q. jplxjsv

His step had an unusual urgency to it. Not fast, but anxious, like a child heading out to recess who had been warned not to run. It was late morning and the warm, still air had turned heavy with moisture, causing others on the long hallway to walk with a slow shuffle, a sort of somber march. In June 1930, the boxy, sprawling Munitions Building, near the Washington Monument, was a study in monotony. Endless corridors connecting to endless corridors. Walls a shade of green common to bad cheese and fruit. Forests of oak desks separated down the middle by rows of tall columns, like concrete redwoods, each with a number designating a particular workspace.

Oddly, he made a sudden left turn into a nearly deserted wing. It was lined with closed doors containing dim, opaque windows and empty name holders. Where was he going, they wondered, attempting to keep up with him as beads of perspiration wetted their brows. At thirty-eight years old, the Russian-born William Frederick Friedman had spent most of his adult life studying, practicing, defining the black art of codebreaking. The year before, he had been appointed the chief and sole employee of a secret new Army organization responsible for analyzing and cracking foreign codes and ciphers. Now, at last, his one-man Signal Intelligence Service actually had employees, three of them, who were attempting to keep pace close behind.

Halfway down the hall Friedman turned right into Room 3416, a small office containing a massive black vault, the kind found in large banks. Reaching into his inside coat pocket, he removed a small card. Then, standing in front of the thick round combination dial to block the view, he began twisting the dial back and forth. Seconds later he yanked up the silver bolt and slowly pulled open the heavy door, only to reveal another wall of steel behind it. This time he removed a key from his trouser pocket and turned it in the lock, swinging aside the second door to reveal an interior as dark as a midnight lunar eclipse.

Disappearing into the void, he drew out a small…