Seduced by secrets : inside the Stasi's spy-tech world / by Kristie MacRakis

Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2008. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine cloth copy in an equally fine dw, now mylar-sleeved. Particularly and surprisingly well-preserved; tight, bright, clean and especially sharp-cornered.; 370 pages; Description: xix, 370 p. : ill. ; 24 cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. 317-350) and index. Subjects: Germany (East) --Ministerium fur Staatssicherheit --Intelligence service --Technological innovations --Espionage, East German. Summary: Seduced by Secrets takes the reader inside the real world of one of the most effective and feared spy agencies in history. The book reveals, for the first time, the secret technical methods and sources of the Stasi (East German Ministry for State Security) as it stole secrets from abroad and developed gadgets at home. Drawing on secret files from the Stasi archives, including access to CIA acquired materials, it also uses interviews and friendships, court documents, and visits to spy sites, including “breaking into” prison, to demonstrate that the Stasi overestimated the power of secrets to solve problems and created an insular spy culture more intent on securing its power than protecting national security. The book recreates the Stasi's secret world of technology through biographies of agents, defectors, and officers and by visualizing James Bond-like techniques and gadgets.