Rating: Summary: Looking for an edge? This one's for you Review: Anybody who works in business or in an office should get this book. Even if you don't use everything in it, other people may be using the methods it contains. If you know what's goin on, you have the upper hand. There's at least 1 thing in here that everyone can use, and that 1 thing I'm sure would be worth your $10 investment.
Rating: Summary: Corporate Espionage ....?? Review: Espionage is a lot wider term when used in corporate world and this book does not cover any part of it. I am a great fan of H. Keith Melton and that was another reason for buying this book. I must say that I was very disappointed to read this book as it fails to deliver the expectations I had from it.This book can be interesting and fun if you are traveling on a long journey but if you are expecting to learn new tactics and know some real experiences about espionage in office... this book is not for you! I will say that this book delivers about 20% of what people will expect from the title on the cover page. This book is really too far from reality.
Rating: Summary: A Serious Waste of Money Review: Here's a gem from page 13 on Discovering Computer Passwords: "Secretly observe the person entering his password." Yeah, thanks for that top-notch advice. The whole book's like that. In the chapter on Redconstructing Shredded Documents, they recommend "Reconfigure the strips." There is no bigger waste of money than this book.
Rating: Summary: A Serious Waste of Money Review: Here's a gem from page 13 on Discovering Computer Passwords: "Secretly observe the person entering his password." Yeah, thanks for that top-notch advice. The whole book's like that. In the chapter on Redconstructing Shredded Documents, they recommend "Reconfigure the strips." There is no bigger waste of money than this book.
Rating: Summary: A Serious Waste of Money Review: Here's a gem from page 13 on Discovering Computer Passwords: "Secretly observe the person entering his password." Yeah, thanks for that top-notch advice. The whole book's like that. In the chapter on Redconstructing Shredded Documents, they recommend "Reconfigure the strips." There is no bigger waste of money than this book.
Rating: Summary: The How to Guide to Successfully Spying on Your Co-Workers Review: I firmly believe that not all books are meant to be taken seriously. This is a horrible thing for a book critic to admit, no? I mean, how can I be unbiased in my reviews if I think some books should be regarded in more esteem than others? There are some books that are created for little more than pleasure. I don't think these books serve a lesser purpose. I think that grocery store romance novels provide entertainment and possible delight to their readers. Someone I know once purchased a connect-the-dots book of pornography to give as a birthday gift. That book possibly offered hours of entertainment. Every time I graduate, someone gives me an inspirational book of quotes. Sure, some of them are good, but after a quick read through, what am I supposed to do with it? Tape the quotes to my bathroom mirror? Um, no. The Spy's Guide to Office Espionage by H. Keith Melton and Craig Piligian with Duane Sweirczynski offers little more than brief entertainment. (I suppose for people who are truly set on bugging their co-workers, it also acts as a convenient How To guide.) In The Spy's Guide, readers learn how to booby-trap their briefcase (because so many of us use those anymore...), monitor co-worker's hours, read a competitor's laptop and communicate with invisible inks. Good stuff, right? My main issue with The Spy's Guide is that I got better advice watching reruns of Get Smart on Nick at Nite. Most of the tips given by the authors, retired CIA and KGB spies, are good only if you are seriously neurotic about the behavior of your co-workers or professional competitors, or have the extra time to spend following them around, sending anonymous emails and protecting your trash. What makes The Spy's Guide an entertaining read though are the real life stories by the retired spies where they account instances of using the tips they impart in this book. Fortunately, these "Spies at Work" segments occur with regular frequency. (By the end of the book, these were the only sections I read, because frankly, I ain't looking through anyone's trash. And for people who want to look through mine? Have fun.) One funny tip I enjoyed was going to a meeting where some negotiating will take place. Before entering, call yourself on one cell phone and when you answer, leave both phones on. Mid-way through negotiations, go to the bathroom, accidentally leaving one phone on the table with your notebook. While in the bathroom, listen on the other phone to what is occurring in the meeting in your absence. This could help you throw out the right salary, offer, etc. Another fun tip was to conceal things in water bottles. The hidden object would be surrounded by water and a the bottled water's label. What makes this funny is that housewives have been doing this for years - hiding mad money in jars of beans with a cavity in the middle. Heck, in seventh and eighth grade my friends and I used to pass notes to each other concealed in pens, instead of having in k in the pen. What teacher could fault you for borrowing a pen when you ink ran out? Is The Spy's Guide to Office Espionage worth your time to read? Probably not. Is it a funny gift to give to someone else? Definitely. It's best use though is to have it lying around the office. I told my boss what I was reviewing and you should have seen the look on his face!
Rating: Summary: not bad...could have been better Review: I read this book and got only a few things out of it. I am not into Office Espionage but had it done to me. I have a lot to protect and when people started coming against me I needed an advantage, so I got this book. Not bad I must say. Some things I already knew while others made me take the time and try. This is a decent investment for only say 10 bucks. I was looking for more and got less. But I don't regret buying it. It is a little gem.
Rating: Summary: Good for a smile Review: If you are shopping for a conspiracy theorist, than this is not the book for you. This is a light, fun book that is a quick and easy read. I bought as a gift for someone who loved James Bond-type stuff. He loved the book, and it was passed around the party and we all had a good giggle. There are a few creepy things in the book (like learning about how you can figure out someone's computer password), and it will likely make you a little more paranoid than you were before. Just don't buy this expecting to come away with super-spy type powers. It is more of a good stocking-stuffer/birthday type gift.
Rating: Summary: Delightful Review: Melton had tongue firmly in cheek with this charming little book that reads like a how-to of tradecraft from the last 50 years. Some of the tips are clearly inappropriate in any ethical sense, others are impractical, but for the most part, they are legitimate information-gathering techniques. Armed with information, however, the book begs the question with which intelligence officers have wrestled for decades: Is all that information of any use? A delightful read.
Rating: Summary: Delightful Review: Melton had tongue firmly in cheek with this charming little book that reads like a how-to of tradecraft from the last 50 years. Some of the tips are clearly inappropriate in any ethical sense, others are impractical, but for the most part, they are legitimate information-gathering techniques. Armed with information, however, the book begs the question with which intelligence officers have wrestled for decades: Is all that information of any use? A delightful read.
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