Books like Intelligence by Lowenthal, Mark M.

A comprehensive nonfiction narrative tracing the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, al‑Qaida, and U.S. intelligence failures leading to the 9/11 attacks.

Commander of the CIA and NSA Michael Hayden tells the inside story of America’s intelligence wars, detailing how his "play to the edge" philosophy shaped the nation’s response to terrorism, technology and surveillance.

Allen Dulles, former CIA chief, shares insights from five decades in diplomacy, law, and espionage.

Peter Lance’s investigative work argues that U.S. agency actions and political motives suppressed key evidence about the 9/11 attacks, questioning official narratives and the 9/11 Commission’s findings.

George Friedman reveals the hidden forces shaping U.S. foreign policy and the global war on terror, offering a detailed look at America’s covert operations, strategic alliances, and decision-making since 9/11.

No major twentieth-century power has so short a history of national intelligence agencies or activities as does the United States, and few have been as public or as tumultuous. A major debate has now opened over the future structure, size, and role of U.S. intelligence in the aftermath of the cold war. This unique and fully updated book is a history of the U.S. intelligence community--as well as a detailed description of the organization and function of the major components of the community as they existed at the beginning of 1992. A welcome and timely update of one of the most concise and objective guides to the history and structure of U.S. intelligence. Representative Dave McCurdy, Chairman, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, U.S. House of Representatives The history of the intelligence community can be divided into three distinct periods. From its creation in 1947 until the revelations and investigations of 1974-1975, the intelligence community operated under fairly broad grants of authority based on trust. After the Nixon administration, a previously dormant Congress was galvanized to write new oversight provisions and also took on a greater role as a shaper and consumer of intelligence. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the cold war in 1991, the intelligence community found its role and even its necessity questioned due to the sudden absence of its major target. Lowenthal emphasizes that a competent and challenged intelligence capability is an essential part of the U.S. national security structure, despite the status of external events or threats. The major requirement of this structure, he says, is providing timely, objective, and pointed analysis to policymakers across a wide range of issues.