Intelligence, Espionage and Related Topics (Bibliographies and Indexes in Military Studies)

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Summary: Monumental Bibliography for Intelligence Studies
Review: In a new Century characterised by the Internet, computerised databases and electronic archives, a new traditional hardcover bibliography may at first sound outmoded. But James Calder's new addition to the world of intelligence studies seems to defy both time and scope. Indeed, this monumental bibliography fulfils a need that is long overdue, in covering not books but journal and magazine articles in its field. Whereas a series of books published by ABC Clio Press several years ago cover intelligence bibliographies of individual countries, notably Britain, France and Israel, this new bibliography is far wider in its scope and deals with all aspects of intelligence, espionage and security issues which are related to intelligence as well.

James Calder, Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Texas, set out to chart articles dealing with intelligence and espionage, which appeared in scholarly journals and magazine from 1844 to 1998. Over 150 years of articles are listed by author, many with a brief summary or abstract. Also included is an extensive indexing by keywords and terms, as well as a co-author index.

The first thing the reader notices in this new book is its sheer size. The annotated bibliography part encompasses over 1200 pages and includes well over ten thousand individual entries. The meticulously-researched entries include dozens of well known journals, but it also covers numerous journals and sources which the average intelligence scholar may not be familiar with, such as the Colorado Quarterly, Criminal Law Bulletin, Government Publications Review, Joint Forces Quarterly, even the Jerusalem Journal of International Relations. Also included are dozens of journals in foreign languages, including French, Italian, Russian and many more.

Leafing through the entries, one is amazed by the amount of work that must have gone into locating numerous little known or even obscure sources. With so many thousands of entries, a quick search may however turn into a long night's reading, so all you intelligence fans beware. The book is easy to use and is not cluttered with mysterious acronyms or technical jargon.

With its hefty price tag, Calder's book may not fit everyone's wallet. However, it is an essential book for any reference and university library dealing with intelligence. Calder's extraordinary work will remain, for years to come, the standard bibliographic reference work for journal sources on intelligence. As such, it is highly recommended for scholars of intelligence and security, as well as for history scholars interested in espionage and its military or political contexts.