LATEST Book Review COLUMNS

What We Can Learn from Ash Carter

BOOK REVIEW:  Inside the Five-Sided Box: Lessons from a Lifetime of Leadership in the Pentagon By Ash Carter, former Secretary of Defense Reviewed by Carol Saynisch, M.A., APR Carol Saynisch is a...

Adventures of a Secret Female Spy

by Madame Fourcade’s Secret War

This unique national-security focused expert insight can’t be generated for free.  We invite you to support this kind of quality content by becoming a  Cipher Brief Level I Member . ...

Lincoln's Spies

by Lincoln's Spies

This is Cipher Brief Level I Member Only content. It can be accessed via login or by signing up to become a Cipher Brief Member.  Joining this high-level, security-focused community is only...

Reality Trumps a Good Story

by Rules of Engagement

Editor’s note: Last week (or the week before) The Cipher Brief carried a review written by CIA veteran Rob Richer of Dan Silva’s novel “The New Girl.”  Richer praised the novel because of...

A New Girl and a New Twist

by The New Girl

What do the real spies think of Daniel Silva’s latest novel The New Girl? Check out former ADDO for the CIA Robert Richer’s candid review here. This is Cipher Brief Level I Member Only...

Who Exactly Was the Spy in Moscow Station?

by The Spy in Moscow Station

BOOK REVIEW: THE SPY IN MOSCOW STATION     By Eric Haseltine Reviewed by Paul Kolbe, Former Member CIA’s Senior Intelligence Service While reading The Spy in Moscow Station, I kept noticing...

A Novel Approach to CIA/CYA

by Victor in the Jungle

BOOK REVIEW: VICTOR IN THE JUNGLE     By Alex Finley Reviewed by Bill Harlow, The Cipher Brief Senior Book Editor Alex Finley has an eye (and an ear) for the absurd.  A talent that no doubt came...

Getting to the Truth About CIA's Paramilitary Operators

BOOK REVIEW:   Surprise, Kill, Vanish: The Secret History of CIA Paramilitary Armies, Operators and Assassins By Annie Jacobsen Reviewed by former CIA Paramilitary Operations Officer, Ian...

The Targeter Hits the Mark

by The Targeter

A former Marine ground intelligence officer read the new book The Targeter by former CIA Analyst and Targeting Officer Nada Bakos. This is what he thought… This is Cipher Brief Level I Member...

Cult of the Dead Cow and Its Mission to Save the World

by Cult of the Dead Cow

BOOK REVIEW:  Cult of the Dead Cow – How the Original Hacking Supergroup Might Just Save the World  By Joseph Menn  Reviewed by Christopher Messina This is Cipher Brief Level I Member Only...