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In any profession, ongoing learning and education is critical to an individual’s and an organization’s success. However, do you often find that the day-to-day work activities often supersede any extended education programs/events that you would like to tap into? Well fret no more. We have compiled a list of recommended books by the National Intelligence Education Foundation (NEIF) that are guaranteed expand your mind, broaden your horizon and bring you closer to self actualization. Well, that may be a bit extreme, but these are excellent books worth reading that will definitely broaden your knowledge base on Defense, Intelligence and National Security issues.

American Intelligence’s Employment of Former Nazis during the Cold War: A Revisionist History, Dr. John Carter, The Edwin Mellen Press
This work examines the history and ramifications of the employment of former Nazi intelligence officers by the American intelligence community during that critical period of the Cold War, from the fall of Berlin through the end of the Eisenhower administration. Buy the book here.

National Intelligence Systems: Current Research and Future Prospects, edited by Gregory F. Treverton and Wilhem Agrell, Cambridge University Press
A series of investigations, especially in the United States and Britain, have focused attention on the performance of national intelligence services. At the same time, the onset of an era of terrorism and a broad span of trans-national security challenges has highlighted the crucial role of intelligence. This book takes stock of the underlying intellectual sub-structure of intelligence. For intelligence as for other areas of policy, serious intellectual inquiry is the basis for improving the performance of real-world institutions. The volume explores intelligence from an intellectual perspective, not an organizational one. Instead the aim of the book is to identity themes that run through these applications, such as the lack of comprehensive theories, the unclear relations between providers and users of intelligence, and the predominance of bureaucratic organizations driven by collection. A key element is the development, or rather non-development, of intelligence toward an established set of methods and standards and, above all, an ongoing scientific discourse. Here, in the transformation from an experience-based proto-science to a science of intelligence in-being, the book argues, lies perhaps the most fundamental challenge for a field of immense impact on the international community, on nations, and on individuals. You can purchase the book here.

Inside Jihad: Understanding and Confronting Radical Islam, Dr. Tawfik Hamid
More than twenty years ago, Tawfik Hamid was recruited by Jamaa Islamiya–an Islamic terrorist group led by Dr. Ayman Al-Zawahiri, currently the second-in-command of Al-Qaeda. After adopting the ideology of violent jihad for a period of time, Dr. Hamid recognized the threat of radical Islam and rejected Islamist distortions of the religion. He then pursued a path of reformation within Islam, writing new interpretations of key religious texts and sharing his message in mosques. With Inside Jihad, Hamid reveals his insights about Islamic terrorism. As a medical doctor and psychologist, he helps readers understand the jihadist mind by leading them through his personal story. He explains the meaning of “jihad” and the role that sex, petrodollars, and the hijab play in the proliferation of radical Islam. You can buy the book here.

Fighting Chance: Global Trends and Shocks in National Security Environment, edited by Neyla Arnas, NDU Press
Compiled to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing security environment, this important collection grew out of an innovative Department of Defense (DOD) workshop. The book’s purpose is to examine strategic trends, their defense relevance, how they may overlap to produce strategic “shocks”—such as the launch of Sputnik and the fall of the Berlin Wall—and how the United States might prepare for such events to mitigate risks and capitalize on opportunities. From a broad range of backgrounds, distinguished authors work from the premise of the six trend categories identified by DOD: conflict; demographics; economy; environment; culture, identity, and governance; and science and technology. Another group of regional experts considers these six categories in the context of their respective regions: Africa, China, Europe and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Russia and Eurasia, South Asia, and Latin America. Looking insightfully at broad trends, Fighting Chance goes well beyond the obvious dangers they might pose in order to warn of future perils—and to suggest opportunities. You can purchase the book here.

Beating Goliath: Why Insurgencies Win, Jeffrey Record, Potomac Books
Beating Goliath examines the phenomenon of victories by the weak over the strong–more specifically, insurgencies that succeeded against great powers. Jeffrey Record reviews eleven insurgent wars from 1775 to the present and determines why the seemingly weaker side won. He concludes that external assistance correlates more consistently with insurgent success than any other explanation. He does not disparage the critical importance of will, strategy, and strong-side regime type or suggest that external assistance guarantees success. Indeed, in all cases, some combination of these factors is usually present. But Record finds few if any cases of unassisted insurgent victories except against the most decrepit regimes. Having identified the ingredients of insurgent success, Record examines the present insurgency in Iraq and whether the United States can win. In so doing, Record employs a comparative analysis of the Vietnam War and the Iraq War. He also identifies and assesses the influence of distinctive features of the American way of war on the U.S. forces’ performance against the Iraqi insurgency. You can buy the book here.

Defend the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5, Christopher Andrew, Knopf
An unprecedented publishing event: to mark the centenary of its foundation, the British Security Service, MI5, has for the first time opened its archives to an independent historian. The book reveals the precise role of the Security Service in twentieth-century British history, from its foundation by Captain Kell of the British Army in October 1909, through two world wars, up to and including its present roles in counterespionage and counterterrorism. The book describes how MI5 has been managed, what its relationship has been with government, where it has triumphed, and where it has failed. In all of this no restriction has been placed on the judgments made by the author. You can buy the book here.

Tags: Books on Defense and Intelligence, GEOINT, geospatial, National Intelligence Education Foundation, United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation, USGIF