<style type="text/css"> .no-show { display: none; } .disable-fade-in{ opacity: 1 !important; transform: none !important; visibility: visible !important; } </style>
Studies in Intelligence Vol. 69, No. 3 (Extracts, September 2025)

Review: Vigilance is Not Enough: A History of United States Intelligence

Author: Mark Lowenthal (Yale University Press, 2025) 832 pages, index

Reviewed by Charles Heard, pen name of a CIA officer.

Vigilance is Not Enough

Mark Lowenthal appears not to have had time to write a short book. At more than 800 pages ... Vigilance is Not Enough promises dutiful and dry reading. It delivers on both.

Writing at great length is a luxury afforded to the few; for the rest of us, it is usually better to get to the point. French philosopher Blaise Pascal long ago first used what has become a shopworn apology: He was sorry he had written a long letter, but he did not have time to write a short one.

To read complete review, download PDF. (2 pages)