Includes bibliographical references (pages 525-532) and index.

Official message from the CIA -- I. AT THE BEGINNING. My hair stood on end -- We must be ruthless -- II. PLAYING CATCH-UP. The Penkovsky era -- Beyond Penkovsky -- Bring in the engineers -- Building better gadgets -- III. IN THE PASSING LANE. Moving thru the gap -- The pen is mightier than the sword (and shield) -- Fire in the Arctic -- A dissident at heart -- An operation called CKTAW -- IV. LET THE WALLS HAVE EARS. Cold beer, cheap hotels, and a voltmeter -- Progress in a new era -- The age of Bond arrives -- Genius is where you find it -- V. PRISON, BULLET, PASSPORT, BOMB. Conspicuous fortitude, exemplary courage in a Cuban jail -- War by any other name -- Con men, fabricators, and forgers -- Tracking terrorist snakes -- VI. FUNDAMENTALS OF TRADECRAFT. Assessment -- Cover and disguise -- Concealments -- Clandestine surveillance -- Covert communications -- Spies and the age of information -- Epilogue: An uncommon service -- Appendices: U.C. clandestine services and OTS organizational genealogy -- Selected chronology of OTS -- Directors of OTS -- CIA trailblazers from OTS -- Pseudonyms of CIA officers used -- Instructions to decipher the official message from the CIA.