Most Secret and Confidential by Steven E Maffeo Usn

Most Secret and Confidential by Steven E Maffeo Usn

In today's world of satellites and electronic eavesdropping it is hard to appreciate the difficulties involved two centuries ago in collecting and disseminating secret intelligence in time of war. This book treats readers to a close-up look at the ingenious methods used to obtain and analyze secret material and deliver it to operational forces at sea. It brings together information from a variety of sources to provide the first concise analysis of the use and development of intelligence in the days of fighting sail. The British experience from 1793 to 1815 is the book's main focus, but it also includes French and American activity. In addition the book examines how commanders used the information to develop strategy and tactics and win--or sometime lose--battles.

A naval intelligence officer himself, author Steven Maffeo illustrates the role of this dark craft by concentrating on the experiences of Lord Nelson and his contemporaries. A profoundly complex figure, Nelson epitomized the active acquisition of intelligence and the bold execution of decisions based on an understanding of the material, and Maffeo offers fresh and illuminating information that supports the admiral's high regard for intelligence work.

Reading at times like a cloak-and-dagger mystery, the story is filled with examples of how Nelson and his associates dealt with intelligence obstacles and how the outcomes affected their own futures, and, in some cases, the history of the modern world. Maffeo's anecdotes give marvelous insight into the thoughts of the era's important figures, Bonaparte, Pitt, Spencer, and Cochrane--not to mention C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower and Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey and Maturin. The author's winning combination of vibrant narrative and zeal for accuracy assures this book a place in the libraries of military and intelligence professionals, historians, and Forester and O'Brian aficionados.

Steven E. Maffeo is currently Associate Director of the U.S. Air Force Academy Library in Colorado; the Director of the part-time Postgraduate Intelligence Program at the U.S. National Defense Intelligence College (NDIC); and with the rank of Captain, the Commanding Officer of Navy Reserve Unit NDIC 0966. He is also visiting history instructor for the Age of Nelson-era frigrate USS Constitution in Boston MA, as well as the author of Most Secret and Confidential: Intelligence in the Age of Nelson.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781557505453
ISBN 10	1557505454
Title	Most Secret and Confidential
Author	Steven E Maffeo
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Naval Institute Press
Year published	2000-05-01
Number of pages	368
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.