Anyone read The Puzzle Palace, by James Bamford.?? Should I invest in it?

[dixiegrrrrl]

It is available on my book swap site...
would like opinions about it.

[Tempest]

1. YES!

I read it years ago on the recommendation of a friend who was a conspiracy nut. After reading the book I realized my friend wasn't a conspiracy nut, I was just ignorant.

It's a real eye opener.

It gets technical at times so it's not light reading.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. Thank you. I see he has new book out on same subject.

The Shadow Factory.
Familiar with it also, maybe???

[Tempest]

4. Haven't read The Shadow Factory

But from what I've heard about it, it's just as researched as Puzzle Palace.

[kirby]

3. See this...

Here is a link to a C-Span BookTV interview with him on that book, if you are interested.

http://www.booktv.org/program.aspx?ProgramId=9911&SectionName=After%20Words

[dixiegrrrrl]

6. Thank you so much for that link. I shall watch it.

[s-cubed]

5. Yes - I thought it very good.

One of the things I found very interesting was his discussion of the CIA's difficulty in changing from a cold war spy operation to a terror oriented operation. He describes the model of the spy attached to the embassy who schmoozes at cocktail parties as the cold war model, which just doesn't translate into Osama bin Laden's training camps. He refutes the CIA argument that al Qaida couldn't be infiltrated by pointing out that David Lindh (sp?) got into the camps with no trouble, even near OBL. He also talks about the CIA saying it was too dangerous to put their people in certain places. That really sounds like a weird thing for the CIA to say. It was all very interesting, and discussing the low morale, and some of the reasons for it. It is already a bit dated, in that lots has come out, but provides a very good view of the Puzzle Palace.

[XemaSab]

7. Very good book

n/t

[Duer 157099]

8. I like James Bamford

I recently read The Shadow Factory, which was difficult since it was so infuriating. A Pretext for War, also good. Have not read Puzzle Palace though, yet.

[BridgeTheGap]

9. Banford is frequently interviewed on inteligence matters. The guy knows a lot about this subject.nt