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Intelligence veteran Mark M. Lowenthal details how the intelligence community's history, structure, procedures, and functions affect policy decisions. With his friendly prose, he demystifies a complicated and complex process. Rich with examples and anecdotes, Intelligence also includes bolded key terms, an acronym list, suggested readings and websites, and a list of major intelligence reviews or proposals.

This new, fully-updated fourth edition highlights many crucial recent developments in reforms, ethics, and transnational issues, including:

-the actual implementation of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) reforms and their successes and strains;
-the ongoing legal, operational, and ethical issues raised by the war against terrorism;
-the growth of transnational issues, such as WMD;
-fresh coverage of analytic standards and analytic transformation;
-more in-depth explanation of geospatial, signal, and human intelligence;
-a new discussion of the lessons of 9/11;
- and, the growing politicization of intelligence in the United States, specifically through the declassified use of National Intelligence Estimates (NIEs).

Average Customer Rating:

An Introduction to American Intelligence...

Customer Rating:

Mark Lowenthal, a long-time veteran of the Intelligence Community, is the author of "Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy," a superb introduction into the American Intelligence Community and its transition from the long Cold War against the Soviets to the current battles against rogues states and transnational terrorists. Lowenthal writes at the survey level for an audience with a general understanding of American history and governmental processes but limited knowledge of how intelligence fits into either. In sequencial steps, Lowenthal explains what intelligence is supposed to be, how U.S. intelligence developed, and how the Intelligence Community operates. He reviews the intelligence process, the major collection disciplines, and the moving parts of subcomponents such as analysis, counterintelligence, and covert action. The last chapters explore the difficult issues of interaction with policy-makers, oversight, and transformation. Lowenthal's narrative is remarkable on at least two counts. He appreciates just how challenging it is to produce timely, accurate, and useful intelligence, and he is exceptionally even-handed in describing all the things that can go right or wrong in the process. While no one topic is covered in significant depth, his coverage of the whole is very solid and perfectly suited to entry-level classes on intelligence and its interaction with policy. A nice selection of anecdotes and examples help provide depth to what might otherwise turn into dry narrative. "Intelligence: From Secrets To Policy" is very highly recommended as an introduction to the intelligence business for use at the collegiate level and for the general reader.

A very good primer on US intelligence	Customer Rating:
This is a very good primer on US intelligence. It is the 3rd edition. We used this book as a core reading material for US policy and intelligence course

Wonderful for students and professionals alike

Customer Rating:

I was assigned this book for a class I teach and have learned a great deal about the intelligence community through reading/prepping for class. While much of the IC has changed since publication, the concept is detailed enough for even my most novice students to grasp and for more practiced professionals to get a firm grasp on how the different aspects of the IC operate independently and together with policy makers.

Good IC primer for the layman

Customer Rating:

This is as good a primer on the US intelligence community as you're likely to come across in open literature. Mr. Lowenthal is well qualified to provide insights into the IC, though I'd have to caveat it by saying his CIA-centric view often shows up in the text. As someone who sees things from the DoD perspective, I'll agreeably disagree on some of his observations regarding roles and missions. The 3rd edition is good with most of the recent changes in the IC, though some even more recent changes have not been reflected in the book.

Excellent and comprehensive introduction to intelligence and the US Intelligence Community

Customer Rating:

Dr. Lowenthal has done an excellent job of introducing the reader to the field of intelligence in general (what it is, what it isn't), and to the United States' Intelligence Community in particular. He devotes a few chapters to the broad topic of intelligence and its history, the current makeup and structure of the Intelligence Community (IC) in the United States, and future iterations and problems for the IC (particularly in the United States), then transitions into an in-depth discussion of the various aspects of intelligence, such as collection disciplines, analysis, and policy implications. I'd strongly recommend this to anyone who has an interest in the field of intelligence, from a novice to a seasoned analyst.