The Office of Naval Intelligence: The birth of America's first intelligence agency, 1865-1918

by Jeffery M. Dorwart

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• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0870214985
• ISBN13: 9780870214981
• Release Date: January 1979
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press
• Length: 173 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Somewhat lifeless recounting of U.S. Naval Intelligence

...but I have to give it four stars because it's really one of the few sources of information regarding the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), which interestingly enough is also the genesis for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). Covers the history of the Office of Naval Intelligence from its austere beginnings in the late 1880's as a functional unit of the Bureau of Navigation, amazingly enough. The author culled information from a variety of obscure sources, placed it in chronological order, and gave it a consistent flavor, for which he deserves great credit. If the book has a flaw, it's in the somewhat lifeless retelling of these stories, and overlooks much of the context of the rise of U.S. Naval power in the early 20th century. However, interested readers will surely be able to appreciate the influence that ONI has had on modern warfare and indeed on U.S. foreign policy.