Robert Wallace
Robert Wallace, coauthor of Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA’s SpyTechs From Communism to Al Qaeda, was interviewed for BookCast by Fairfax County Public Library Director Sam Clay.
Robert Wallace, is the former director of the CIA's Office of Technical Service. The recipient of the Intelligence Medal of Merit, he is the founder of the Artemus Consulting Group, a private national security firm, and a contributor to the CIA's Center for the Study of Intelligence.
His coauthor, H. Keith Melton is recognized internationally as an authority on spy technology. He is a historical consultant for the CIA, Technical Tradecraft Historian, Interagency Training Center, Washington, D.C., and author of several books, including Ultimate Spy.
Professional writer Henry Robert Schlesinger also collaborated on the book.
Spycraft is an organizational and operational history of the CIA’s Office of Technical Service which reveals some of the cloak-and-dagger aspects of espionage. (The CIA approved the publication of the book.) The bookshares with readers the paraphernalia CIA case officers use in running their agents –– audio devices, miniature cameras, secret writing, disguises, codes, dead drops, etc.
Tapping Cold War battles between the CIA and the KGB, the authors’ narratives show how spy gear must be tailored to specific locations and the agent’s personality. The book describes the custom designs delivered to the field for various operations. Amply illustrated with photographs and diagrams, Wallace’s work conveys the critical minutiae of clandestine activity, where one slipup can kill an agent.