American Cryptology During the Cold War: The Complete Declassified Official Four-Volume History of the NSA [Illustrated]

Thomas R. Johnson is an extraordinarily skilled, honest, and conscientious long-time US Government historian, and this book (which is by no means the "complete" account it claims to be--see all the little"censored"" inserts in the text ) is a remarkable window into American Cold War efforts to understand the secret communications of our foreign adversaries and rivals. Since Tom was on the inside and had access that Matthew Aid and other scholars could only dream of, it is remarkably authoritative. The history, like the entire American Cryptologic enterprise, was paid for by the American taxpayer, and although Johnson tells the story warts and all, I would suggest we got our money's worth. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this story, though, is that the US Government chose to declassify as much of as they have done. You can now see in Johnson's own words, written with brutal honesty and wry humor, what we/they were up to, and much about their triumphs, frustrations, and failures. If you think USG history is dry and full of boring jargon, Johnson's work will come as a pleasant surprise.The enterprising folks at Red and Black Publishers have essentially copied off the internet the text that NSA declassified, put it into a fat but flimsy paperback, and want you to again pay for the same thing your tax dollars originally paid for. USG material is not copyrighted, but at least these folks are honest enough not to claim that they're copyrighting this work. Others who have appropriated formerly classified USG histories have not been so honest, so good for them. Johnson gets not a penny from this volume, and Red and Black didn't even let him know they were publishing it. He learned about it the same way I did--by word of mouth.When this material was originally posted on the internet I printed off a copy, but I do believe that scholars and those interested in NSA's Cold War history will find this volume well worth the price--and despite it's gaps it's well worth adding to the collection of anybody interested in Cold War intelligence history.

The author did a fine job of documenting key events and responses by the Intel Community throughout the Cold War. Not boring! An excellent book for children and grandchildren of people who had worked there but could never tell their families about the importance of what they did and endured to protect America, and other nations, during war times as well as cold war times to defend and preserve U.S. and global freedom from oppression. For obvious reasons, how they did it could not be revealed.

A few unnecessary classifications, but well done. There are also some omissions necessary due to their current utility. Reliance on contractors, drones, and black ops for short term results will not accomplish long term results as we did in the past. We made progress rather than headlines. "TA" 98c u1

Excellent history of SIGINT.

Very well written and interesting book

Declassified my behind....there are more blacked out pages than one can shake a stick at....declassified not so much