Overview

In Spymaster's Prism: The Fight Against Russian Aggression legendary former spymaster Jack Devine aims to ignite public discourse on our country's intelligence and counterintelligence posture against Russia, among other adversaries. Spymasters are not spies - their mission is to run and handle spies and spy networks. They exist in virtually all sophisticated intelligence services around the world, including the more high-profile services like the CIA, SVR, SIS, MSS, VAJA and Mossad. Without exception, these spymasters are highly trained and broadly experienced top-level government officials who are at the heart of the intelligence business. They make the life and death decisions. The vast majority of spymasters remain unknown to the world, but there are several legendary figures such as East German spy chief Marcus Wolf and CIA Soviet officer George Kisevalter who rise above the fray. To understand current Russian aggression towards the US, it's crucial to know the history of it. Spymaster's Prism sheds urgent light on Russian intelligence activities by emphasising the parallels between tactics used today and those that were employed during the Cold War. Considering this history, and present Russian intelligence activities, Devine also provides hard-edged policy prescriptions for countering Russian hostility going forward. AUTHOR: Jack Devine is a founding partner and current President of The Arkin Group, an international risk consulting and intelligence firm and CIA veteran. 13 photographs

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9781640123786

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Reviews

Told with the immediacy of an eyewitness, Devine is a keen observer of the events and personalities that have shaped U.S. intelligence--from the treachery of spies such as Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen to the CIA's Cold War covert operations in Afghanistan. It is a remarkable volume, told by one of America's great spymasters, that will appeal to both the intelligence professional and the armchair operative alike. --Rollie Burans, president of the Foreign Policy Research Institute and former CIA senior executive official --Rollie Burans Just in time, a splendid intelligence perspective on thug Putin's determination to get even with us for the Russian loss of the Cold War. . . . The spy history included here is necessary to illustrate that Russian leadership still employs nasty means, from murder to manipulation, to undermine democracy. Only the naive and inept will fail to heed this message. --Tom Twetten, former CIA deputy director of operations and chief of the Near East division --Tom Twetten Jack Devine's comprehensive history of Russian intelligence efforts against the United States and the West could not be more timely. As amply noted in the book, election meddling, disinformation, and assassination attempts are all modern descendants of a long Russian tradition of espionage and subversion that has been renewed with a vengeance today. Devine's highly readable style and insider experience in intelligence make this must-read study a persuasive warning to implement the measures he suggests to thwart this threat to our national security. --Michael Sulick, former director of the U.S. National Clandestine Service --Michael Sulick Devine's extraordinary career rising to master spy gives the reader multiple glimpses across geographic boundaries into intelligence operations from the optic of a practitioner. From the armchair student of foreign policy to the professional spy wannabe, Devine's narrative of Russia's obsession with the West and the United States should be mandatory reading. --David R. Shedd, thirty-three-year CIA career case officer and former acting director of the Defense Intelligence Agency --David R. Shedd Devine applies the lessons of the Cold War to today's great power struggles as only an insider, spymaster, practitioner could do. Policymakers should act on Devine's message: The threat is clear, the challenge unrelenting, and the resolve to counter it is paramount. --Jami Miscik, vice chairman of Kissinger Associates --Jami Miscik Spymaster's Prism is a must-read, and the title says it all. The Cold War is not over. The actors may have changed, but the goal remains the same. Jack Devine is a real spymaster, beginning his career as a young CIA operations officer who rose to the highest ranks of the CIA. This book belongs on everyone's shelf. --Sandra Grimes, CIA Russian operations specialist and coauthor of Circle of Treason: CIA Traitor Aldrich Ames and the Men He Betrayed --Sandra Grimes

""An important perspective on US intelligence as well as its Russian adversary. A very worthwhile contribution.""—Hayden Peake, Studies in Intelligence “Devine applies the lessons of the Cold War to today’s great power struggles as only an insider, spymaster practitioner could do. Policymakers should act on Devine’s message: The threat is clear, the challenge unrelenting, and the resolve to counter it is paramount.”—Jami Miscik, vice chairman of Kissinger Associates “Just in time, a splendid intelligence perspective on thug Putin’s determination to get even with us for the Russian loss of the Cold War. . . . The spy history included here is necessary to illustrate that Russian leadership still employs nasty means, from murder to manipulation, to undermine democracy. Only the naïve and inept will fail to heed this message.”—Tom Twetten, former CIA deputy director of operations and chief of the Near East division “Spymaster’s Prism is a must-read, and the title says it all. The Cold War is not over. The actors may have changed, but the goal remains the same. Jack Devine is a real spymaster, beginning his career as a young CIA operations officer who rose to the highest ranks of the CIA. This book belongs on everyone’s shelf.”—Sandra Grimes, CIA Russian operations specialist and coauthor of Circle of Treason: CIA Traitor Aldrich Ames and the Men He Betrayed “Jack Devine’s comprehensive history of Russian intelligence efforts against the United States and the West could not be more timely. As amply noted in the book, election meddling, disinformation, and assassination attempts are all modern descendants of a long Russian tradition of espionage and subversion that has been renewed with a vengeance today. Devine’s highly readable style and insider experience in intelligence make this must-read study a persuasive warning to implement the measures he suggests to thwart this threat to our national security.”—Michael Sulick, former director of the U.S. National Clandestine Service “Told with the immediacy of an eyewitness, Devine is a keen observer of the events and personalities that have shaped U.S. intelligence—from the treachery of spies such as Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen to the CIA’s Cold War covert operations in Afghanistan. It is a remarkable volume, told by one of America’s great spymasters, that will appeal to both the intelligence professional and the armchair operative alike.”—Rollie Burans, president of the Foreign Policy Research Institute and former CIA senior executive official “Devine’s extraordinary career rising to master spy gives the reader multiple glimpses across geographic boundaries into intelligence operations from the optic of a practitioner. From the armchair student of foreign policy to the professional spy wannabe, Devine’s narrative of Russia’s obsession with the West and the United States should be mandatory reading.”—David R. Shedd, thirty-three-year CIA career case officer and former acting director of the Defense Intelligence Agency

Devine applies the lessons of the Cold War to today's great power struggles as only an insider, spymaster, practitioner could do. Policymakers should act on Devine's message: The threat is clear, the challenge unrelenting, and the resolve to counter it is paramount. --Jami Miscik, vice chairman of Kissinger Associates--Jami Miscik Devine's extraordinary career rising to master spy gives the reader multiple glimpses across geographic boundaries into intelligence operations from the optic of a practitioner. From the armchair student of foreign policy to the professional spy wannabe, Devine's narrative of Russia's obsession with the West and the United States should be mandatory reading. --David R. Shedd, thirty-three-year CIA career case officer and former acting director of the Defense Intelligence Agency--David R. Shedd Jack Devine's comprehensive history of Russian intelligence efforts against the United States and the West could not be more timely. As amply noted in the book, election meddling, disinformation, and assassination attempts are all modern descendants of a long Russian tradition of espionage and subversion that has been renewed with a vengeance today. Devine's highly readable style and insider experience in intelligence make this must-read study a persuasive warning to implement the measures he suggests to thwart this threat to our national security. --Michael Sulick, former director of the U.S. National Clandestine Service--Michael Sulick Just in time, a splendid intelligence perspective on thug Putin's determination to get even with us for the Russian loss of the Cold War. . . . The spy history included here is necessary to illustrate that Russian leadership still employs nasty means, from murder to manipulation, to undermine democracy. Only the naive and inept will fail to heed this message. --Tom Twetten, former CIA deputy director of operations and chief of the Near East division--Tom Twetten Told with the immediacy of an eyewitness, Devine is a keen observer of the events and personalities that have shaped U.S. intelligence--from the treachery of spies such as Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen to the CIA's Cold War covert operations in Afghanistan. It is a remarkable volume, told by one of America's great spymasters, that will appeal to both the intelligence professional and the armchair operative alike. --Rollie Burans, president of the Foreign Policy Research Institute and former CIA senior executive official--Rollie Burans Spymaster's Prism is a must-read, and the title says it all. The Cold War is not over. The actors may have changed, but the goal remains the same. Jack Devine is a real spymaster, beginning his career as a young CIA operations officer who rose to the highest ranks of the CIA. This book belongs on everyone's shelf. --Sandra Grimes, CIA Russian operations specialist and coauthor of Circle of Treason: CIA Traitor Aldrich Ames and the Men He Betrayed--Sandra Grimes

Author Information

Jack Devine is the president of the Arkin Group, an international risk consulting and intelligence firm. He formerly served as acting director and associate director of operations at the CIA and was in charge of the CIA’s largest and most successful covert action operation, which drove the Russians out of Afghanistan. He is the author of Good Hunting: An American Spymaster’s Story.  

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