Encyclopedia Of The Central Intelligence Agency
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''Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency'' is a 2003 book by W. Thomas Smith Jr. It is an
encyclopedic An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by artic ...
work on the
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
(CIA), the only
independent agency A regulatory agency (regulatory body, regulator) or independent agency (independent regulatory agency) is a government authority that is responsible for exercising autonomous jurisdiction over some area of human activity in a licensing and regu ...
of the
United States federal government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...
that is tasked with
intelligence-gathering This is a list of intelligence gathering disciplines. HUMINT Human intelligence (HUMINT) are gathered from a person in the location in question. Sources can include the following: * Advisors or foreign internal defense (FID) personnel w ...
. The work chronicles the history of the agency from its founding in 1947 through the war on terror, which began after the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
. The encyclopedia's chronology ends in 2003. It provides approximately 550 entries across 282 pages on topics including notable contributors, intelligence operations, historical events, and depictions of the CIA in fictional media. The encyclopedia was praised by the ''
School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, wi ...
'' for its reference value and comprehensiveness. ''
Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is ...
'' recommended the encyclopedia be placed in academic, public, and high school libraries as a helpful resource. ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'' was critical of the author's objectivity, suggesting that the encyclopedia was biased in favor of the agency's intelligence operations, but concluded that the book was still a useful reference tool.


Background

''Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency'' is written by W. Thomas Smith Jr. Prior to authoring the work, he served in the
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
as a
paratrooper A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infa ...
and leader within the infantry. Smith worked as a
journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
for the ''Star-Reporter'' in
Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...
, and subsequently taught journalism at the
University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...
. Smith gave an interview to the Columbia newspaper ''
The State A state is a political entity that regulates society and the population within a definite territory. Government is considered to form the fundamental apparatus of contemporary states. A country often has a single state, with various administrat ...
'' about his book and his interest in researching the history of the
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
. He explained that he was long interested in researching
military history Military history is the study of War, armed conflict in the Human history, history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to Politics, local and international relationship ...
, and was initially asked by the
American Society of Journalists and Authors The American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) was founded in 1948 as the Society of Magazine Writers, and is the professional association of independent nonfiction writers in the United States. History The organization was established in ...
to put together a monograph on the 1944
Invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...
by Western Allied forces during
Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The ope ...
in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. His literary representative later called him to ask if he would instead be interested in writing an encyclopedia detailing the history of the CIA. Smith agreed as he felt the CIA was highly relevant to military history.


Publication history

''Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency'' was first published in 2003 by
Facts on File Infobase is an American publishing company, publisher of databases, reference book titles and textbooks geared towards the North American library, secondary school, and university-level curriculum markets. Infobase operates a number of prominent ...
. It was released in both hardcover and paperback formats. An
eBook An ebook (short for electronic book), also spelled as e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in electronic form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. A ...
edition was published the same year. Additionally an eBook was also published in 2003 in the UK.


Contents summary

In the ''Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency'', Smith discusses and defines key concepts relating to intelligence gathering, including "clandestine mentality", a colloquial term used to characterize what may be called a more paranoid perspective of the world. The book is 282 pages in length, and contains more than 500 separate entries on topics such as the roles played by key contributors to the agency, notable historical events, major intelligence operations, and depictions of the organization in fictional media. The work cites approximately 300 reference sources. Starting with the founding of the CIA in 1947 as the successor to the
Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines ...
, the author provides the reader with a chronological overview of the agency's history. He documents the CIA's involvement in the
1953 Iranian coup d'état The 1953 Iranian coup d'état, known in Iran as the 28 Mordad coup d'état (), was the overthrow of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh on 19 August 1953. Led by the Iranian army and supported by the United States and the United Kingdom, the co ...
, and provides a biographical assessment of the motivations of
Mohammad Mosaddegh Mohammad Mosaddegh (, ; 16 June 1882 – 5 March 1967) was an Iranian politician, author, and lawyer who served as the 30th Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, elected by the 1950 Iranian legislative election, 16th Majlis. He was a membe ...
, the Iranian leader deposed in the coup. In briefly describing individuals, organizations and events related to the history of the CIA, Smith notes Russian intelligence Colonel
Vilyam Genrikhovich Fisher Rudolf Ivanovich Abel () was the alias of William August Fisher (11 July 1903 – 15 November 1971), a Soviet intelligence officer, created to alert his Soviet KGB handlers when Fisher was arrested in the USA on charges of espionage by the FBI ...
(Rudolf Ivanovich Abel), and discusses the U.S. intelligence operation that used a front company called Zenith Technical Enterprises. The chronological presentation of CIA history is used to provide additional background with regard to the agency's involvement with the war on terror. The encyclopedia's chronology ends in March 2003.


Reception

In a review by ''
School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, wi ...
'', Smith's encyclopedia was praised for its reference value. The review called the encyclopedia comprehensive, and noted it contained helpful appendices including a glossary, lists of executive staff members of the CIA, and a large bibliography and index. ''
Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is ...
'' commented in its review that the encyclopedia was a good resource to have in libraries at the academic, public, and high school levels. ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'' reviewed the encyclopedia and criticized Smith's objectivity, suggesting that he took an unabashedly positive view of the agency's role and focused exclusively on its operational successes. Despite the issue with bias, the review concluded that the book was still a useful reference work.


See also

*'' Conspiracy Encyclopedia'' * ''Legacy of Ashes'' (book)


References


Further reading

*


External links

* {{good article 2003 non-fiction books
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
Non-fiction books about the Central Intelligence Agency History books about the United States American political books