Richelson, Jeffrey
T. American Espionage and the Soviet Target. New York: Morrow, 1987. Richelson, Jeffrey
T. American Espionage and the Soviet Target. New York: Morrow, 1987.
Although much of this work is outdated, Petersen's earlier opinion was that it was "an important overall description of U.S. intelligence operations, with particularly good coverage of technical collection. The author believes that the United States has overestimated the Soviet threat."
Mark, I&NS 4,1, notes that the focus here is on the "methods by which the United States has tried 'to collect information on developments within the Soviet Union.'" (Emphasis in original) The reviewer finds that "[l]ittle of what is presented is new, but it is convenient to have so much gathered in a single amply-footnoted and well-indexed volume." Basically, however, the work is "themeless," the conclusion "appears something of an afterthought, and nothing in the text supports the recommendations with which the author closes."
[Overviews/U.S.]
Richelson,
Jeffrey T. America's Secret Eyes in Space: The U.S. Keyhole Spy Satellite
Program. New York: HarperCollins, 1990.
Writing in 2004, Day, IJI&C 17.4/746 (Winter 2004-2005), says that this work "remains the most comprehensive account of satellite intelligence to date." According to Peake, AIJ 15.2, Richelson "had official access to classified material." This book "amounts to an update of the Klass volume and is worth reading to obtain an indication of the overall progress made since 1971.... The coverage of NPIC ... is particularly interesting.... The documentation provided includes ... a good bibliography."
Surveillant 1.1 says that you can read America's Secret Eyes in Space and "know as much about US spy satellite programs as those with a clutch of compartmented clearances." Rip, I&NS 7.4, notes that the focus is "exclusively on the historical development and deployment of U.S. photographic and electro-optical imaging reconnaissance satellites." Although the limitations of satellite imagery are "not given a thorough treatment," the work is "relatively well organized, thoroughly researched and informative."
To Fettig, IJI&C 4.4, this is a "crucial book" for persons interested in intelligence policy. It is an "impressive effort to reveal in detail one segment of the black world of satellite intelligence. As always, Richelson's sources are impressive and his scholarship exemplary." On the other hand, Lowenthal views the book as tending to "overemphasize technical capabilities without assessing the role and limits of 'photint' (photo intelligence) in the policy process." Hoover, APSR 85.2, sees this as "an informative, interesting, and very readable book" that is "an excellent source for the reader interested in a general introduction to the arcane world of satellite intelligence."
[Recon/Sats/Books][c]
Richelson,
Jeffrey T. America's Space Sentinels: DSP Satellites and National Security. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1999. America's Space Sentinels: The History of the DSP and SBIRS Satellite Systems. 2d ed. expanded. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2012.
From publisher: "For this new edition, Jeffrey Richelson covers significant developments during the last dozen years..., especially the struggles to develop and launch the follow-on Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS), beginning in the late 1990s and continuing up to the present.... SBIRS, like its aging but still functioning predecessor, has been designed primarily to provide instant early warning of missile launches from around the globe ... through the infra-red sensors carried on each satellite. But the new system -- beset by hardware, software, fiscal, and political problems -- has only managed to move forward in fits and starts.
Jonkers, AFIO WIN 19-99 (14 May 1999), notes that the DSP (Defense Support Program) satellites "were a series of infrared sensors orbiting 22,000 miles above the earth" They "provided Cold War warning of missile firings -- and still play a role in monitoring missile programs of China, India, etc." In this book, the author "provides a first comprehensive history of the DSP program from the 1950's until the present ... in easy-reading prose. Highly recommended."
For Seamon, Proceedings 125.9 (Sep. 1999), this book seems over-loaded with acronyms, although a list of definitions is included. However, these are "only minor distractions from this scholarly history." Thompson, NWCR (Summer 2000), calls this "a thoroughly researched and comprehensive history of the development, fielding, operation, and evolution" of the DSP. Richelson also deals with present and future needs, arguing that "DSP is past being optimized and that a more capable system is needed, and soon."
Dino Brugioni, "Information from Above," International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence 13, no. 2 (Summer 2000), 236-242, provides an excellent brief history of the DSP. He notes that the author tells "the technical, substantive, and political story of a vital U.S. national defense effort." But, beyond that, Richelson "recognizes the sustained, dedicated, and, for so long, unheralded efforts" of those "who labored in the development of these satellites despite the frustrations of bickerings, budget battles, and service rivalries."
Leary, Choice (Dec. 1999), finds that the author has drawn on an "impressive collection of public sources and documents" in providing "a richly detailed examination of the creation and evolution of what became the Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite system.... Richelson expertly combines the technical, political, and foreign policy aspects of this highly secret ... program in an outstanding study of Cold War national security policy."
To Rich, Aerospace Power Journal (Fall 2000), the author "provides informative insight into the development and use of infrared (IR) satellite platforms and the lasting impact they continue to have on American national security. Readers ... will find the more than 50 pages of endnotes and three appendices of data ... an invaluable baseline for further research on space-related topics."
[Recon/Sats/Books]
Richelson, Jeffrey T. "Back to Black." Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 57, no. 3 (May-Jun. 2001): 22-24, 74.
[NRO/00s/01]
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