How Spies Think: Ten Lessons in Intelligence

David Omand

ISBN 10: 0241385199 / ISBN 13: 9780241385197

Published by Penguin Books Ltd, 2021

About this Item

WINNER OF THE NEAVE BOOK PRIZE 2022LONGLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2021'One of the best books ever written about intelligence analysis and its long-term lessons' Christopher Andrew, author of The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5'An invaluable guide to avoiding self-deception and fake news' Melanie Phillips, The TimesFrom the former director of GCHQ, Professor Sir David Omand, learn the methodology used by British intelligence agencies to reach judgements, establish the right level of confidence and act decisively. Full of revealing examples from a storied career, including key briefings with Prime Ministers and strategies used in conflicts from the Cold War to the present, in How Spies Think Professor Omand arms us with the tools to sort fact from fiction, and shows us how to use real intelligence every day.

Seller Inventory # CIN0241385199VG

Bibliographic Details

• Title: How Spies Think: Ten Lessons in Intelligence
• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
• Publication Date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0241385199
• ISBN 13: 9780241385197
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

From the former director of GCHQ, learn the methodology used by the British intelligence agencies to reach judgments, establish the right level of confidence and act decisively.

Intelligence officers discern the truth. They gather information - often contradictory or incomplete - and, with it, they build the most accurate possible image of the world. With the stakes at their absolute highest, they must then decide what to do.

In everyday life, you are faced with contradictory, incomplete information, too. Reading the news on social media, figuring out the next step in your career, or trying to discover if gossip about a friend is legitimate, you are building an image of the world and making decisions about it.

Looking through the eyes of one of Britain's most senior ex-intelligence officers, Professor Sir David Omand, How Spies Think shows how the big decisions in your life will be easier to make when you apply the same frameworks used by British intelligence. Full of revealing examples from his storied career, including key briefings with Prime Ministers from Thatcher to Blair, and conflicts from the Falklands to Afghanistan, Professor Omand arms us with the tools to sort fact from fiction, and shows us how to use real intelligence every day.

About the Author

David Omand was the first UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator, responsible to the Prime Minister for the professional health of the intelligence community, national counter-terrorism strategy and "homeland security". He served for seven years on the Joint Intelligence Committee. He was Permanent Secretary of the Home Office from 1997 to 2000, and before that Director of GCHQ.