
Spies, Lies, and Algorithms
The History and Future of American Intelligence
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Narrated by:
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Amy B. Zegart
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By:
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Amy B. Zegart
About this listen
Spying has never been more ubiquitous - or less understood. The world is drowning in spy movies, TV shows, and novels, but universities offer more courses on rock and roll than on the CIA, and there are more congressional experts on powdered milk than espionage. This crisis in intelligence education is distorting public opinion, fueling conspiracy theories, and hurting intelligence policy. In Spies, Lies, and Algorithms, Amy Zegart separates fact from fiction as she offers an engaging and enlightening account of the past, present, and future of American espionage as it faces a revolution driven by digital technology.
Drawing on decades of research and hundreds of interviews with intelligence officials, Zegart provides a history of US espionage, from George Washington's Revolutionary War spies to today's spy satellites; examines how fictional spies are influencing real officials; gives an overview of intelligence basics and life inside America's intelligence agencies; explains the deadly cognitive biases that can mislead analysts; and explores the vexed issues of traitors, covert action, and congressional oversight. Most of all, Zegart describes how technology is empowering new enemies and opportunities, and creating powerful new players, such as private citizens who are successfully tracking nuclear threats using little more than Google Earth.
©2022 Amy B. Zegart (P)2022 HighBridge, a division of Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
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- By: Henry A. Crumpton
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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A legendary CIA spy and counterterrorism expert here tells the spellbinding story of his high-risk, action-packed career while illustrating the growing importance of America's intelligence officers and their secret missions. The Art of Intelligence draws from the full arc of Henry Crumpton's espionage and covert action exploits to explain what America's spies do and why their service is more valuable than ever.
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Looking for a place in History?
- By Anne on 05-20-12
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Cyberspies
- The Secret History of Surveillance, Hacking, and Digital Espionage
- By: Gordon Corera
- Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
- Length: 17 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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As the digital era becomes increasingly pervasive, the intertwining forces of computers and espionage are reshaping the entire world; what was once the preserve of a few intelligence agencies now affects us all. Corera's compelling narrative takes us from the Second World War through the Cold War and the birth of the Internet to the present era of hackers and surveillance. The book is rich with historical detail and characters as well as astonishing revelations about espionage carried out in recent times by the United Kingdom, the United States, and China.
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One in a Million
- By CJA on 10-15-16
By: Gordon Corera
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Countdown to Zero Day
- Stuxnet and the Launch of the World's First Digital Weapon
- By: Kim Zetter
- Narrated by: Joe Ochman
- Length: 13 hrs
- Unabridged
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The virus now known as Stuxnet was unlike any other piece of malware built before: Rather than simply hijacking targeted computers or stealing information from them, it proved that a piece of code could escape the digital realm and wreak actual, physical destruction—in this case, on an Iranian nuclear facility.
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Amazingly detailed, sober and above all, damning
- By Greg on 11-22-14
By: Kim Zetter
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The Fifth Domain
- Defending Our Country, Our Companies, and Ourselves in the Age of Cyber Threats
- By: Richard A. Clarke, Robert K. Knake
- Narrated by: Marc Cashman
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Clarke and Knake take us inside quantum-computing labs racing to develop cyber superweapons; bring us into the boardrooms of the many firms that have been hacked and the few that have not; and walk us through the corridors of the US intelligence community with officials working to defend America's elections from foreign malice. With a focus on solutions over scaremongering, they make a compelling case for "cyber resilience" - building systems that can resist most attacks, raising the costs on cyber criminals and the autocrats who often lurk behind them, and avoiding...overreaction.
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The Author Lacks Critical Thinking
- By Thomas Rose on 08-08-20
By: Richard A. Clarke, and others
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Dawn of the Code War
- America's Battle Against Russia, China, and the Rising Global Cyber Threat
- By: John P. Carlin, Garrett M. Graff
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 16 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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The inside story of how America's enemies launched a cyberwar against us - and how we've learned to fight back. In this dramatic audiobook, former assistant attorney general John P. Carlin takes listeners to the front lines of a global but little-understood fight as the Justice Department and the FBI chases down hackers, online terrorist recruiters, and spies.
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Exhausting
- By Raz on 01-08-19
By: John P. Carlin, and others
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Means of Control
- How the Hidden Alliance of Tech and Government Is Creating a New American Surveillance State
- By: Byron Tau
- Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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For the past five years—ever since a chance encounter at a dinner party—journalist Byron Tau has been piecing together a secret story: how the whole of the internet and every digital device in the world became a mechanism of intelligence, surveillance, and monitoring.
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Political biased for absolutely no reason
- By Red on 09-28-24
By: Byron Tau
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Spies and Lies
- How China's Greatest Covert Operations Fooled the World
- By: Alex Joske
- Narrated by: James Daniel Burkdoll
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Spies and Lies a groundbreaking expose of elite influence operations by China's little-known Ministry of State Security. Revealing for the first time how the Chinese Communist Party has tasked its spies to deceive the world, it challenges the conventional account of China's past, present, and future.
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Beware of the MSS
- By Reed Ramlow on 03-08-24
By: Alex Joske
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This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends
- The Cyberweapons Arms Race
- By: Nicole Perlroth
- Narrated by: Allyson Ryan
- Length: 18 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Zero day: a software bug that allows a hacker to break into your devices and move around undetected. One of the most coveted tools in a spy's arsenal, a zero day has the power to silently spy on your iPhone, dismantle the safety controls at a chemical plant, alter an election and shut down the electric grid (just ask Ukraine). For decades, under cover of classification levels and non-disclosure agreements, the United States government became the world’s dominant hoarder of zero days.
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Decent story, cringeworthy narration and editing
- By since1968 on 02-13-21
By: Nicole Perlroth
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Psychology of Intelligence Analysis
- By: Richards J. Heuer Jr.
- Narrated by: Scott R. Pollak
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Psychology of Intelligence Analysis has been required reading for intelligence officers studying the art and science of intelligence analysis for decades. Richards Heuer, Jr. discusses in the audiobook how fundamental limitations in human mental processes can prompt people to jump to conclusions and employ other simplifying strategies that lead to predictably faulty judgments known as cognitive biases.
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The author
- By ronco on 03-04-23
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Permanent Record
- By: Edward Snowden
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Edward Snowden, the man who risked everything to expose the US government’s system of mass surveillance, reveals for the first time the story of his life, including how he helped to build that system and what motivated him to try to bring it down.
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Great (if incomplete) account
- By Ryan L on 09-22-19
By: Edward Snowden
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Battlefield Cyber
- How China and Russia Are Undermining Our Democracy and National Security
- By: Michael G. McLaughlin, William Holstein
- Narrated by: Steve Menasche
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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The United States is being bombarded with cyber-attacks. From the surge in ransomware groups targeting critical infrastructure to nation states compromising the software supply chain and corporate email servers, malicious cyber activities have reached an all-time high. Russia attracts the most attention, but China is vastly more sophisticated. They have a common interest in exploiting the openness of the Internet and social media—and our democracy—to erode confidence in our institutions and to exacerbate our societal rifts to prevent us from mounting an effective response.
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Lack case studies on Russian threats and attacks.
- By MommyCEO on 03-14-24
By: Michael G. McLaughlin, and others
What listeners say about Spies, Lies, and Algorithms
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Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Fahd
- 06-23-22
Good overview
Above all is good book, but the naivete theme that cover US government and companies is clear
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- Obinna
- 05-06-24
The Research
The is a well research book. I love the depth, the intellectual weight behind the analysis and conclusions. Great book.
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- applet
- 04-29-22
Future Shock on Steroids
Not a moment to kick back and doze off during this trip around, in, through and then to the future of espionage. I know that’s a broad term. Just listen to this superb narration of a complex reality and how technology, AI is the new ARMS RACE. Fascinating.
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2 people found this helpful
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- D&S
- 07-25-23
11hr felt like 1. great read by the author.
would love to see her continue this as technology continues to advance. excellent job of explaining.
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- Andrew E. Mossberg
- 06-07-24
Wide ranging overview of the history and importance of the intelligence branches and how vital they are to modern statecraft
Fascinating look at the history of failures and successes of the intelligence branches, and how important they are, as well as undervalued, as tools of statecraft. Meticulously, laboriously researched and highly recommended.
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- Chester Bell
- 04-26-22
Great for beginners, a little dry for 2022
The author does an excellent job introducing many of the threats and challenges to modern intelligence, informed by her years of work adjacent to the intelligence community.
The issue I had was this book could have been written 5 years ago with the same information, or even earlier. Most of the examples used are repeated multiple times (I.e. Stuxnet, China’s OPM hack, Russia’s election interference) and often make the same point several times throughout the book, making the reader think “wait, didn’t you already say that?”
Despite the dead horse being beaten with some pretty widely used and commonly known examples, I’d say the author did an excellent job organizing the flow and performing the reading. Would recommend overall.
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- Jim Payne
- 06-27-22
An interesting look into a normally closed world.
Mrs. Zegart does an excellent job in explaining the world of intelligence and its often complicated operations. Written in an easy to understand, no nonsense manner that was an enjoyable read. Worth the time investment to read and a must read for anyone remotely involved in the intelligence community.
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- Dean-O
- 10-12-23
The successes and failures of the intelligence community.
A great comprehensive look at the nations intelligence community. A must read for anyone in the IC, especially those just beginning their careers.
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- Thomas Jones
- 02-20-23
A Great Primer on US Intelligence
I would love it if this became required reading for every US Government class taught in high school. The problem of how will we protect our democracy in an age of deepfakes and pervasive disinformation operations is a truly vexing one. The only thing I can think is to teach media literacy and critical thinking more broadly.
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- J. Horvath
- 06-17-23
A fair overview of the intelligence community
This book is a great entry point to understanding the intelligence community as a whole, and at a very rapid clip and hopefully it will lead individuals to seek out more information that is based on facts, evidence, and data. It’s apparent just from reading the reviews of this book just how little educated the US population is on how the intelligence community works; to the point that there’s zero interest in assessing the facts with an open mind.
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