Publication

2008 - National Geographic, Washington, D.C, District of Columbia

Language

English

Word Count

80,000 words, Guess

Page Count

320 pages

Identifiers

  • ISBN-101426202229
  • ISBN-139781426202223
  • Goodreads3139452
  • Library of Congress Control Number2009275778
  • OCLC Control Number228070364
and 1 more

Classifications

  • DDC327.12/009
  • LCCUB270 .A387 2008

Alternate Titles

  • 50 top-secret documents that changed history
  • Fifty top-secret documents that changed history

Description

Culled from archives around the world, the 50 documents in Declassified illuminate the secret and often inaccessible stories of agents, espionage, and behind-the-scenes events that played critical roles in American history. Moving through time from Elizabethan England to the Cold War and beyond, noted author Tom Allen places each document in its historical and cultural context, sharing the quirky and little-known truths behind state secrets and clandestine operations. Each of seven chapters centers on one particular theme: secrets of war, the art of the double cross, spy vs. spy, espionage accidents, and more. Through support and access provided by the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., this lively history contains never-before-published and hard-to-find documents--printed from scans of the originals wherever possible. These include The Zimmerman Telegram, which led America into World War I; letters from Robert Hanssen to his Soviet spymaster, marking the start of his devastating career as a mole; and papers as recent as the Presidential Daily Brief that announced that Bin Laden was determined to strike the U.S.--delivered in August 2001.The public interest in state secrets and espionage has been piqued by our current international conflicts, and this engrossing book--well priced and engagingly written for the general reader--will definitely feed that fascination.

Description

"Ranging in history from an assassination attempt on Queen Elizabeth I to the creation of the Nazi Final Solution and to the Presidential Daily Brief from August 2001 that warned that Osama Bin Laden was planning an attack on the U.S., the documents in Declassified offer an intriguing glimpse into the world of espionage and covert operations over hundreds of years."--Book jacket.

Subjects

Topics

HistoryNonfictionCurrent EventsEspionage -- HistoryIntelligence service -- HistorySubversive activities -- HistoryDefense information, Classified -- History

Links

Other Editions

  • DeclassifiedNational Geographic2008

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