Rating: 
Summary: A World of Deciet
Review: I learned more from J Bamford's book than the four years I spent with the NSA. Even so, I understood while at Fort Mead, that the Soviets were not the intended target. There is a thin line between trained personal, able to pursue intelligence vital toward national security, and intel collected against American citizens. Much of the data I collected was directed toward the latter. It's still amazing that NSA would assume that they could retain personal intelligent enough to perform their duty, yet remain ignorant as to the true nature of their gathering effort. Regards Flexcop Ops Martlot
Rating: 
Summary: Astounding! The book scares me!
Review: I read the book when it was first published in 1983, and I was absolutely blown away with Mr. Bamford's detailed knowledge of the NSA and related intelligence-gathering methods of that time. At the time the book was published, I had been working in this area for the Navy and I found this book filled with (among many other things) knowledge regarding satellite intelligence capability (at the time) which -- well, frankly, I was surprised to see some of it in this book. That's why I'm astounded at some of the content.
I recommend it whole-heartedly to anyone who's interested in observing how the U.S. intelligence community (according to Mr. Bamford) conducted (and, I might suggest, still conducts) its affairs. I can't wait to read his new book!
Rating:
Summary: Big Brother is WATCHING and LISTENING!
Review: I read this book in hardback when it first came out, long before the WWW was even existed. It became the basis of my concerns about government servilance of our personal electronic communications. If the general public ( Or as Julius Cesear called them " The ignorent masses" )read this book, they would understand the mockery the US government has made of the basic liberties our forefathers and our brothers and sisters have fought and died for. If you are open minded and looking for those books begging for its pages to be turned...look no further. I just read a copy of Edgar Fouche's 'Alien Rapture,' which also blew me away. Fouche was a Top Secret Black Program 'insider', whose credibility has been verified over and over. I also really liked Dan Brown's 'Angels and Demons.' Want to be shocked, check
out Dr. Paul Hill's 'Unconventional Flying Objects' which NASA tried to ban.
Rating:
Summary: Big Brother IS watching!
Review: I read this book in hardback when it first came out, long before the WWW was even existed. It became the basis of my concerns about government servilance of our personal electronic communications. If the general public ( Or as Julius Cesear called them " The ignorent masses" )read this book, they would understand the mockery the US government has made of the basic liberties our forefathers and our brothers and sisters have fought and died for.
Rating: 
Summary: If this is so secret...
Review: I think I would have to classify this book as more sensationalism than any sort of investigative documentation. Sure, the people and history of the NSA make for interesting reading, but my question is, if this is all so "secret," "never been revealed," and "super hush-hush," then how is it that James Bamford managed to get his hands on the information? I'm afraid I can not prove it, but this seems to me to be more fluff than fact, and I think I may have been better off with something else for a textbook. Unfortunately for me, this is required reading. I think I'll be selling this one back at the end of the semester.
Rating:
Summary: A poor companion for today - but a great historical read
Review: I'm afraid that this book long ago reached the point where it is only of use to those of us who are interested in world events from our youth. Unfortunately, the years intervening the publishing date and today have seen the largest leap forward in information technology in man's history - and none of it is covered. I would present the argument that these changes will have so fundamentally altered the NSA's operations that this book now presents merely a snapshot (often blurred) of the past. As a sampling, the discussion on advanced technologies in the text comments on couriers walking computer tapes from site to site within a complex, line-printers producing filtered output for analysts to read and the complexities of narrowing down a watch-list search from thousands of items to find relevant detail. Anyone who has used the Internet (as you must have done to read this) will realize that the state-of-the-art at the time of this book is now the mundane. Anyone who has used some of the more advanced telephone banking services will also realize that speech recognition is now mainstream - and could reasonably expect that this capability is several generations more advanced in the intelligence community. Both of these simple observations would fundamentally alter the management and impact of the NSA's operations. I would be interested in learning of some of the NSA's more recent activities (through to the early 90s at least would be nice!) - but currently this seems to be mostly in the hands of the conspiracy theorists. It is interesting, however, to catch the occasional snippet in news articles regarding supposed sources if information. There were dozens of these during the Falklands conflict, Gulf War and the Kosovo conflict (and associated "information" war courtesy of the Serbs). Gaps in the capabilities of the intelligence community are also apparent from situations such as the US actions in Somalia (perhaps we are now long on Signals Intelligence but short on Human Intelligence?). Indeed, as recently as this month there are references to GCHQ's monitoring of a satellite phone used by rebels in Sierra Leone immediately prior to a successful hostage rescue operation -- and a quote in a CNN article today regarding how the Ukrainian security services were "informed from abroad" of a planned assasination attempt on Putin at a conference in Yalta that led to several arrests. Obviously these operations are becoming more of a prop to our leaders than ever before. I wish I'd read the book when it was more current - it would have been a much more exciting read. To satisfy interest in more recent NSA operations I suppose we'll just have to keep watching for interesting tidbits. As a history book, I recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: The only comprehsenive study of the NSA, but poorly written.
Review: If you want information on the NSA, this is one of the few books you'll find. So, in a sense, you have no choice but to read this book and the sequel. Unfortunately, Bamford needs to learn how to write. Chapters are chaotic. Miscellaneous information is peppered throughout. Run-on sentences and poor choice of verb tenses are only some of the grammatical problems that make this a difficult read. The book is a rough draft. In addition, although Bamford tries to be "objective", it seems clear that he wouldn't have obtained this information if he was critical of the NSA.
Rating:
Summary: Deserves A Slot In Your Library
Review: Incredible views into the whole pre-1983 US intelligence world. The book excels on the details, scope, magnitude and history of all facets of US intelligence gathering, targets, platforms, etc. The only strike against the book is it's sometimes endless attention to detail and may bog down the more casual reader. However, if you were hoping to arm yourself with plenty of facts about the intelligence community, you owe it to yourself - buy the book.
Rating:
Summary: A Secret History
Review: It is incredible that someone could have written this book, given the lengths to which the US and other governments went to in order to hide the very existence of such a major organisation. But time and again Bamford slips behind the scenes, behind the walls of secrecy, to tell the world the intimate secrets of the NSA. This, even after so many years, is the definitive history of the National Security Agency. Or at least the most definitive work ever to have been available to the general public. It starts at the start in World War One, and traces the development of what has become a monster, frequently acting beyond the law and in clear violation of basic rights of privacy and freedom of speech. It is not a history of codebreaking or of the science of interception, but rather a history of the organisation that was set up to do this, and though we are told of the machines and systems that do the work, the tale revolves around the people who defended their secrets and sought out others. It is fascinating reading, pitched at an average understanding, and accessible to the people who should be most concerned about the activities of the NSA. If it has a flaw it is a simple one - it needs updating. In the wake of the S11 tragedies, it is indisputable that there is a need for such an organisation. Never let it be said otherwise. But what of the collateral damage to millions of innocent individuals, American citizens with nothing but love for their country, who are regularly spied upon by the NSA? A disturbing and thoughtful book. Recommended reading for anybody with an interest in codebreaking and communications security. Here you will find details of some of the leading figures in the "industry" not available anywhere else. Essential for your bookshelf.
Rating:
Summary: It Makes One Wonder
Review: It's hard to take a fresh look at a book that has already been so well reviewed, but I feel that I do have a few more worthwhile comments, hence another review. Even though PUZZLE PALACE has been around for eighteen years, it still seems to be the best researched book on NSA that's available. It would be nice if Bamford could update us on what has happened in those intervening years. None of the following is classified information. I was an enlisted man in the Army Security Agency, stationed in the Philippines, from 1955 to 1957. I had been trained as a French Linguist at the Army Language School. It wasn't until I got to the Philippines that I even knew that there was an organization known as the National Security Agency (NSA). Even more amazing is the fact that, until I read Bamford's book, I had no idea how what I was doing fit into the scheme of things. Thanks, James Bamford, for clearing that up for me some forty five years later. Better late than never, they say. What I think that Bamford has done so well is to tell the true story of the creation of a modern "Frankenstein's Monster." He presents a cogent case for the very real need for communication interception and code breaking in the early days of NSA's existence. He proceeds to take us through, step by step, the process whereby a protector of our freedoms seems to have evolved into a threat to those very freedoms. According to Bamford, the communications security community seems almost paranoid in their fears that "unless we absolutely control it, it's dangerous." They are devious enough to get around any and every safeguard to the privacy of the individuual that might be established. To wit: Jimmy Carter, when he was President, put a few safeguards in place. With time on their side, the NSA waited until Ronald Reagan was President and got him to remove those safeguards. (See page 374 of the 1982 hardback edition.) It makes one wonder: In today's world of e-mail, high speed faxes, cel phones, etc., all using the air waves, is anything sacred or has Orwell's prediction come true. As I mentioned above, I'd really like for Bamford to bring us up to date. A few reviewers have complained about problems keeping up with all the initials used in PUZZLE PALACE. One has to understand that no discussion of the magnitude of the situation can be held without mentioning all of the organizations and committees involved. It is true that a bit of hard work on the part of the reader is necessary to get all, or most, of the impact of the information contained in PUZZLE PALACE, but I think that the knowledge gained is definitely worth the effort.
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