Special Duty
A History of the Japanese Intelligence Community
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Special Duty
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Narrated by:
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David de Vries
About this listen
The prewar history of the Japanese intelligence community demonstrates how having power over much, but insight into little can have devastating consequences. Its postwar history has also been problematic for national security.
In Special Duty, Richard J. Samuels dissects the fascinating history of the intelligence community in Japan. Looking at the impact of shifts in the strategic environment, technological change, and past failures, he probes the reasons why Japan has endured such a roller-coaster ride when it comes to intelligence gathering and analysis, and concludes that the ups and downs of the past century - combined with growing uncertainties in the regional security environment - have convinced Japanese leaders of the critical importance of striking balance between power and insight.
Using examples of excessive hubris and debilitating bureaucratic competition before the Asia-Pacific War, the unavoidable dependence on US assets and popular sensitivity to security issues after World War II, and the tardy adoption of image-processing and cyber technologies, Samuels' bold book highlights the century-long history of Japan's struggles to develop a fully functioning and effective intelligence capability, and makes clear that Japanese leaders have begun to reinvent their nation's intelligence community.
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- How Our Shadow War with Russia Could Spiral into Nuclear Catastrophe
- By: George Beebe
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 22
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 21
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 21
Every American president since the end of the Cold War has called for better relations with Russia. But each has seen relations get worse by the time he left office. Now, the two countries are facing off in a virtual war being fought without clear goals or boundaries. Why? George Beebe argues that new game-changing technologies, disappearing rules of the game, and distorted perceptions on both sides are combining to lock Washington and Moscow into an escalatory spiral that they do not recognize.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Too soft on Russia
- By Jim Flynn on 06-28-20
By: George Beebe
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GCHQ
- Centenary Edition
- By: Richard Aldrich
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 25 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 32
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 29
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 29
GCHQ is the largest and most secretive intelligence organisation in the UK, and has existed for 100 years - but we still know next to nothing about it. In this ground-breaking book - the first and most definitive history of the organisation ever published - intelligence expert Richard Aldrich traces GCHQ’s development from a wartime code-breaking operation based in the Bedfordshire countryside into one of the world leading espionage organisations.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Absolutely fascinating
- By philstopford on 04-01-24
By: Richard Aldrich
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The Button
- The New Nuclear Arms Race and Presidential Power from Truman to Trump
- By: William J. Perry, Tom Z. Collina
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 59
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50
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Story4 out of 5 stars 51
Written in an accessible and authoritative voice, The Button reveals the shocking tales and sobering facts of nuclear executive authority throughout the atomic age, delivering a powerful condemnation against ever leaving explosive power this devastating under any one person's thumb.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Garbage political tripe
- By Bryan Beaty on 03-15-21
By: William J. Perry, and others
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In the Graveyard of Empires
- America’s War in Afghanistan
- By: Seth G. Jones
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 159
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 126
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Story4 out of 5 stars 125
Following September 11, the United States successfully overthrew the Taliban regime. It established security throughout the country, and Afghanistan finally began to emerge from more than two decades of conflict. But Jones argues that, as early as 2001, planning for the Iraq War siphoned off resources and talented personnel, undermining the gains that had been made. After eight years, the United States had pushed al-Qaeda’s headquarters about one hundred miles across the border into Pakistan.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Interesting Book but- Worst Narrator Ever
- By Mark C on 01-08-11
By: Seth G. Jones
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The Accidental Guerrilla
- Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One
- By: David Kilcullen
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 15 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 303
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 217
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 215
David Kilcullen is one of the world's most influential experts on counterinsurgency and modern warfare. A senior counterinsurgency advisor to General David Petraeus in Iraq, his vision of war dramatically influenced America's decision to rethink its military strategy in Iraq and implement "the surge."Now, in The Accidental Guerrilla, Kilcullen provides a remarkably fresh perspective on the War on Terror.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Not What I Expected
- By John on 12-12-10
By: David Kilcullen
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War and the Art of Governance
- Consolidating Combat Success into Political Victory
- By: Nadia Schadlow
- Narrated by: Robin Rowan
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 24
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 25
Success in war ultimately depends on the consolidation of political order. Nadia Schadlow argues that the steps needed to consolidate a new political order are not separate from war. They are instead an essential component of war and victory.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Exceptional Depiction of Remaining Challenges
- By Matthew D. Coburn on 03-27-18
By: Nadia Schadlow
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The Hundred-Year Marathon
- China's Secret Strategy to Replace America as the Global Superpower
- By: Michael Pillsbury
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 2,528
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,183
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Story5 out of 5 stars 2,175
One of the US government's leading China experts reveals the hidden strategy fueling that country's rise - and how Americans have been seduced into helping China overtake us as the world's leading superpower.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating perspective.
- By Rocky Mackintosh on 01-05-17
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Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry, Updated Edition
- (Cornell Studies in Security Affairs)
- By: P.W. Singer
- Narrated by: John Alexander Brancy
- Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 64
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 54
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 54
Singer provides the first account of the military services industry and its broader implications. Corporate Warriors includes a description of how the business works, as well as portraits of each of the basic types of companies: military providers that offer troops for tactical operations; military consultants that supply expert advice and training; and military support companies that sell logistics, intelligence, and engineering.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Fantastic beginning with a weak end
- By Jorge Rodriguez on 10-31-16
By: P.W. Singer
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The Hacked World Order
- How Nations Fight, Trade, Maneuver, and Manipulate in the Digital Age
- By: Adam Segal
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 105
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 95
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Story4 out of 5 stars 95
The Internet today connects roughly 2.7 billion people around the world, and booming interest in the "Internet of things" could result in 75 billion devices connected to the web by 2020. The myth of cyberspace as a digital utopia has long been put to rest. Governments are increasingly developing smarter ways of asserting their national authority in cyberspace in an effort to control the flow, organization, and ownership of information.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Wrong narrator for material
- By Locnar on 02-21-17
By: Adam Segal
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My Journey at the Nuclear Brink
- By: William Perry
- Narrated by: Kevin F Spalding
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 40
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 40
My Journey at the Nuclear Brink is a continuation of William J. Perry's efforts to keep the world safe from a nuclear catastrophe. It tells the story of his coming of age in the nuclear era, his role in trying to shape and contain it, and how his thinking has changed about the threat these weapons pose. In a remarkable career, Perry has dealt firsthand with the changing nuclear threat.
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5 out of 5 stars
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His journey has just begun
- By Amazon Customer on 04-18-17
By: William Perry
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Surge
- My Journey with General David Petraeus and the Remaking of the Iraq War
- By: Peter R. Mansoor, General David Petraeus - foreword
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett
- Length: 17 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 56
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 51
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 50
Surge is an insider's view of the most decisive phase of the Iraq War. Using newly declassified documents, unpublished manuscripts, interviews, author notes, and published sources, Surge explains how President George W. Bush, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Ambassador Crocker, General Petraeus, and other U.S. and Iraqi political and military leaders shaped the surge from the center of the maelstrom in Baghdad and Washington.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Helpful for the Army War College
- By BBP on 02-24-18
By: Peter R. Mansoor, and others
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Nemesis
- The Last Days of the American Republic
- By: Chalmers Johnson
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 258
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 135
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 131
Drawing comparisons to empires past, Johnson explores in vivid detail the likely consequences of US dependence on a permanent war economy, and what it will mean when the globe's sole "hyperpower" is no longer capable of paying for the vaulting ambitions of its leaders - and becomes the greatest hyper-debtor of all time. In his stunning conclusion, Johnson suggests that the crisis of a financial breakdown could ultimately prove to be the only path to a renewed nation.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Book Bill O'Rielly Doesn't Want You To Read!
- By Joe on 04-04-07
By: Chalmers Johnson
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The Last Warrior
- Andrew Marshall and the Shaping of Modern American Defense Strategy
- By: Andrew Krepinevich, Barry Watts
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 215
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 188
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 188
Andrew Marshall is a Pentagon legend. For more than four decades he has served as Director of the Office of Net Assessment, the Pentagon's internal think tank, under 12 defense secretaries and eight administrations. Yet Marshall has been on the cutting edge of strategic thinking even longer than that. Covering some of the most pivotal episodes of the last half century and peopled with some of the era's most influential figures, The Last Warrior tells Marshall's story for the first time, in the process providing an unparalleled history of the evolution of the American defense establishment.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Interesting man
- By FoxMan on 04-28-17
By: Andrew Krepinevich, and others
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Before the First Shots Are Fired
- How America Can Win or Lose Off the Battlefield
- By: Tony Koltz, Tony Zinni
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 46
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 41
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41
For the better part of the last half century, the United States has been the world's police, claiming to defend ideologies, allies, and our national security through brute force. But is military action always the most appropriate response? Drawing on his vast experience, retired four-star general Tony Zinni argues that we have a lot of work to do to make the process of going to war-or not-more clear-eyed and ultimately successful.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A must read for leaders
- By Ted on 06-17-22
By: Tony Koltz, and others