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Spy Schools: How the CIA, FBI, and Foreign Intelligence Secretly Exploit America's Universities
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Daniel Golden exposes how academia has become the center of foreign and domestic espionage--and why that is troubling news for our nation's security.
Grounded in extensive research and reporting, Spy Schools reveals how academia has emerged as a frontline in the global spy game. In a knowledge-based economy, universities are repositories of valuable information and research, where brilliant minds of all nationalities mingle freely with few questions asked. Intelligence agencies have always recruited bright undergraduates, but now, in an era when espionage increasingly requires specialized scientific or technological expertise, they're wooing higher-level academics--not just as analysts, but also for clandestine operations.
Golden uncovers unbelievable campus activity--from the CIA placing agents undercover in Harvard Kennedy School classes and staging academic conferences to persuade Iranian nuclear scientists to defect, to a Chinese graduate student at Duke University stealing research for an invisibility cloak, and a tiny liberal arts college in Marietta, Ohio, exchanging faculty with China's most notorious spy school. He shows how relentlessly and ruthlessly this practice has permeated our culture, not just inside the US, but internationally as well. Golden, acclaimed author of The Price of Admission, blows the lid off this secret culture of espionage and its consequences at home and abroad.
Grounded in extensive research and reporting, Spy Schools reveals how academia has emerged as a frontline in the global spy game. In a knowledge-based economy, universities are repositories of valuable information and research, where brilliant minds of all nationalities mingle freely with few questions asked. Intelligence agencies have always recruited bright undergraduates, but now, in an era when espionage increasingly requires specialized scientific or technological expertise, they're wooing higher-level academics--not just as analysts, but also for clandestine operations.
Golden uncovers unbelievable campus activity--from the CIA placing agents undercover in Harvard Kennedy School classes and staging academic conferences to persuade Iranian nuclear scientists to defect, to a Chinese graduate student at Duke University stealing research for an invisibility cloak, and a tiny liberal arts college in Marietta, Ohio, exchanging faculty with China's most notorious spy school. He shows how relentlessly and ruthlessly this practice has permeated our culture, not just inside the US, but internationally as well. Golden, acclaimed author of The Price of Admission, blows the lid off this secret culture of espionage and its consequences at home and abroad.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published October 10, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
February 24, 2018
Cherry-picking, or what? Some people approaching some other people about stuff. Really, campuses are not the only place to do that, one would think. Also, Confusius Universities are for Chinese studies, which is the main point. Had those people been approaching people in toilets, would one be hard-pressed to close public restrooms? DNF.
August 10, 2017
The openness of American colleges and universities for thought and research is seen by academics as the keystone to higher education. However Daniel Golden writes in Spy Schools: How the CIA, FBI, and Foreign Intelligence Secretly Exploit America’s Universities this is seen as opportunities to recruit agents and cultivate operatives as well steal technological innovations both by our own intelligence agencies and those across the globe.
Golden divided his book into foreign and domestic intelligence agencies exploitation of American universities. The first focused how foreign agencies, mainly the Chinese, have been exploiting American universities need of prestige and tuition money to gain partnerships between Chinese universities and their American counterparts resulting in an exchange of students and professors. Yet the most important focus of Golden’s investigation was on how the openness and collaboration within American university labs opens up opportunities for individuals to funnel research, including those paid by the U.S. government and American companies, to their home country to be exploit by their own government or to patient and start up a business. The second half was on the complicated relationship between American intelligence agencies and universities, some of who encourage a relationship and those that do not. The aspect of conflict between secrecy and openness is seen throughout the latter half of the book with 9/11 playing a pivotal role in each side’s views. Unlike the first half of the book, this section is seen over the course of 60 years compared to more near 2000 but in a way to show that past is prologue.
As an investigative journalist, Golden uses extensive research and a multitude of interviews in giving a full history and the scale of a front in the global spy game that many in the United States haven’t been aware of. Unfortunately for Golden the timing of this book while on the one hand current and on the other potentially dated. Nearly all his interviews take place no later than 2015, but since the election of Donald Trump with a seemingly nativist groundswell behind him and student demonstrations against conservative speakers might have begun a fundamental shift that could drastically change how both American and foreign intelligence services are seen on American universities especially as a post-9/11 “tolerance” on campus changes to hostility.
Even though the subject Daniel Golden has written about could be in the midst of a sudden sea change, Spy Schools is still a book to read in at least to understand an important part of the global spy game. Although no up-to-date, the recent and long-term history is significant for anyone who is concerned about national security and foreign intervention in American affairs.
I received this book via LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program in exchange for an honest review.
Golden divided his book into foreign and domestic intelligence agencies exploitation of American universities. The first focused how foreign agencies, mainly the Chinese, have been exploiting American universities need of prestige and tuition money to gain partnerships between Chinese universities and their American counterparts resulting in an exchange of students and professors. Yet the most important focus of Golden’s investigation was on how the openness and collaboration within American university labs opens up opportunities for individuals to funnel research, including those paid by the U.S. government and American companies, to their home country to be exploit by their own government or to patient and start up a business. The second half was on the complicated relationship between American intelligence agencies and universities, some of who encourage a relationship and those that do not. The aspect of conflict between secrecy and openness is seen throughout the latter half of the book with 9/11 playing a pivotal role in each side’s views. Unlike the first half of the book, this section is seen over the course of 60 years compared to more near 2000 but in a way to show that past is prologue.
As an investigative journalist, Golden uses extensive research and a multitude of interviews in giving a full history and the scale of a front in the global spy game that many in the United States haven’t been aware of. Unfortunately for Golden the timing of this book while on the one hand current and on the other potentially dated. Nearly all his interviews take place no later than 2015, but since the election of Donald Trump with a seemingly nativist groundswell behind him and student demonstrations against conservative speakers might have begun a fundamental shift that could drastically change how both American and foreign intelligence services are seen on American universities especially as a post-9/11 “tolerance” on campus changes to hostility.
Even though the subject Daniel Golden has written about could be in the midst of a sudden sea change, Spy Schools is still a book to read in at least to understand an important part of the global spy game. Although no up-to-date, the recent and long-term history is significant for anyone who is concerned about national security and foreign intervention in American affairs.
I received this book via LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program in exchange for an honest review.
May 29, 2018
This book was a little bit interesting but mostly boring, which was kind of a surprise, being about Spies and all. Half the time I thought this might be government funded propaganda. The book has such an attitude of "Oh you silly, naive little Americans, you have no idea how much danger you are in and how important your government is."
Interesting things I learned:
-American universities don't teach their science and engineering students about their intellectual property rights. The students have no idea what they should and shouldn't share openly or that intellectual property theft is rampant - especially by fellow students.
-University campuses are crawling with government agents posing as students, both from the US and from abroad.
-The CIA has a lower acceptance rate than Harvard (2%). I had no idea so many people wanted to be spies.
-I am not sure what is scarier: That so many American universities are so completely in bed with the CIA and FBI or that the highest up American universities are so powerful that they can't be intimidated into getting in bed with the CIA and FBI. Which do I prefer? That Harvard is forced to work with the CIA against their will because the CIA is more powerful or that Harvard is better connected and more powerful than the CIA and can host foreign spies on their campus and not fear repercussions? Yikes.
Interesting things I learned:
-American universities don't teach their science and engineering students about their intellectual property rights. The students have no idea what they should and shouldn't share openly or that intellectual property theft is rampant - especially by fellow students.
-University campuses are crawling with government agents posing as students, both from the US and from abroad.
-The CIA has a lower acceptance rate than Harvard (2%). I had no idea so many people wanted to be spies.
-I am not sure what is scarier: That so many American universities are so completely in bed with the CIA and FBI or that the highest up American universities are so powerful that they can't be intimidated into getting in bed with the CIA and FBI. Which do I prefer? That Harvard is forced to work with the CIA against their will because the CIA is more powerful or that Harvard is better connected and more powerful than the CIA and can host foreign spies on their campus and not fear repercussions? Yikes.
September 19, 2017
3.5 stars. American Universities are known for their open, collaborative projects and for their special interest in attracting international students. As well as increasing the Universities international prestige, apparently this also leaves them vulnerable to spying. This is not something that I ever considered but it does make perfect sense. Golden explores several cases where international students and faculty have been spies for either the United States or their home country, including Russia, China and Cuba. I found this interesting but also oddly repetitive and had a hard time holding my focus on the pages at times. I did learn more about how these government organizations recruit and manage their spies. I received this book from LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review.
June 10, 2018
Interesting and concerning. A very detailed book full of data.
August 29, 2017
Daniel Golden’s book, Spy Schools: How the CIA, FBI and Foreign Intelligence Secretly Exploit America’s Universities promised fascinating and deep insight into how American colleges and universities are infested with intelligence agents—from both inside and outside the US government. While Golden’s other nonfiction in the realm of academia may be notable, this book did not live up to its promise. He implies that there is a pervasive effort across the scope of American colleges and universities, yet ultimately fails to prove it.
I accept that intelligence services will always try to recruit sources. It is how the world works, and to expect that academia is somehow exempt is naïve. Golden seems to assume that intelligence services—if they even should exist—should consider academia to be some kind of off-limits zone.
Frankly, the FBI and CIA wouldn’t be doing their job if they didn’t try to recruit foreign students studying in the US and any school accepting government funding for research should expect some strings. Frankly, even accepting government grants of any kind should open a school to recruitment—clandestine or open—by US intelligence agencies. If the school feels that violates an academic principle, then they can simply refuse the government money.
Golden claims that knowingly having clandestine agents in the classroom somehow stifles academic openness and freedom, which sounds almost compelling, until you realize that the same universities that make this claim are the same ones where conservative—or even daresay, Christian-- ideas, values, and perspectives—are best left at the door and ‘trigger warnings’ must be issued to snowflake students who cannot handle the messiness of reality. It really comes across as disingenuous to claim that the academic environment is so unencumbered by political correctness today that this issue would be significant.
To me, the most alarming and scandalous revelation is that some schools, notably Duke University, have taken federal grant money or contracts and then do not provide adequate security for the sometimes classified work that is being done.
The book provides a few interesting anecdotes—and even then, not all compelling—but ultimately falls way short of demonstrating a pervasive practice that should have all of us decent folk alarmed at what ‘they’ are doing. At one point, he spends an entire page quoting rather personal bits from an illicit romantic email exchange between one suspected spy and his lover. Far more awkward than alarming.
If you are eager to look for seeds of scandal or to find evidence to fuel your preconceived ideas about intelligence agencies and American colleges, this book will be just your thing. If you are seeking an intelligent, data-driven, balanced and reasonable assessment of spies in academia—look elsewhere.
I received a complimentary copy of this book with the expectation I would provide an honest review.
I accept that intelligence services will always try to recruit sources. It is how the world works, and to expect that academia is somehow exempt is naïve. Golden seems to assume that intelligence services—if they even should exist—should consider academia to be some kind of off-limits zone.
Frankly, the FBI and CIA wouldn’t be doing their job if they didn’t try to recruit foreign students studying in the US and any school accepting government funding for research should expect some strings. Frankly, even accepting government grants of any kind should open a school to recruitment—clandestine or open—by US intelligence agencies. If the school feels that violates an academic principle, then they can simply refuse the government money.
Golden claims that knowingly having clandestine agents in the classroom somehow stifles academic openness and freedom, which sounds almost compelling, until you realize that the same universities that make this claim are the same ones where conservative—or even daresay, Christian-- ideas, values, and perspectives—are best left at the door and ‘trigger warnings’ must be issued to snowflake students who cannot handle the messiness of reality. It really comes across as disingenuous to claim that the academic environment is so unencumbered by political correctness today that this issue would be significant.
To me, the most alarming and scandalous revelation is that some schools, notably Duke University, have taken federal grant money or contracts and then do not provide adequate security for the sometimes classified work that is being done.
The book provides a few interesting anecdotes—and even then, not all compelling—but ultimately falls way short of demonstrating a pervasive practice that should have all of us decent folk alarmed at what ‘they’ are doing. At one point, he spends an entire page quoting rather personal bits from an illicit romantic email exchange between one suspected spy and his lover. Far more awkward than alarming.
If you are eager to look for seeds of scandal or to find evidence to fuel your preconceived ideas about intelligence agencies and American colleges, this book will be just your thing. If you are seeking an intelligent, data-driven, balanced and reasonable assessment of spies in academia—look elsewhere.
I received a complimentary copy of this book with the expectation I would provide an honest review.
October 6, 2017
Spy Schools: How the CIA, FBI, and Foreign Intelligence Secretly Exploit America’s Universities by Daniel Golden is a non-fiction book which reveals how academia has become the front-line for spy games among nations. Mr. Golden is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist.
I am a sucker for good espionage books, ever since I could read I always enjoyed the game of shadows countries play, maybe because I lack the nerves of steel required to participate. When I saw Spy Schools: How the CIA, FBI, and Foreign Intelligence Secretly Exploit America’s Universities by Daniel Golden I knew this book would be right up my alley.
When I saw the author’s name, I looked him up because it sounded familiar and quickly realized that I enjoyed Mr. Golden’s articles previously. The book did not disappoint as it is written in the same factual, crisp, and entertaining manner. Mr. Golden just doesn’t lay out facts and figures, but does his best to tell a coherent story that can be found within those dry statistics.
The author tries to understand why, and how, intelligence services around the world are targeting American higher education, and the implications from those actions. Mr. Cohen takes a few select cases, researches them, and write a comprehensive narrative for the reader.
I could not believe that some schools take federal grants and do not bother to secure the classified work they are doing on the government’s behalf. To me, that is astounding and irresponsible by bot the school and the government. It’s especially egregious since both parties are pretty much aware that spying in academia is actively happening.
The book has several interesting anecdotes, some of which are very compelling. I might disagree with some of the author’s assessments in the book (not that I’m any kind of an expert, just disagrees my world view), but isn’t those exactly the books which we should all read?
For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: http://www.ManOfLaBook.com
I am a sucker for good espionage books, ever since I could read I always enjoyed the game of shadows countries play, maybe because I lack the nerves of steel required to participate. When I saw Spy Schools: How the CIA, FBI, and Foreign Intelligence Secretly Exploit America’s Universities by Daniel Golden I knew this book would be right up my alley.
When I saw the author’s name, I looked him up because it sounded familiar and quickly realized that I enjoyed Mr. Golden’s articles previously. The book did not disappoint as it is written in the same factual, crisp, and entertaining manner. Mr. Golden just doesn’t lay out facts and figures, but does his best to tell a coherent story that can be found within those dry statistics.
The author tries to understand why, and how, intelligence services around the world are targeting American higher education, and the implications from those actions. Mr. Cohen takes a few select cases, researches them, and write a comprehensive narrative for the reader.
I could not believe that some schools take federal grants and do not bother to secure the classified work they are doing on the government’s behalf. To me, that is astounding and irresponsible by bot the school and the government. It’s especially egregious since both parties are pretty much aware that spying in academia is actively happening.
The book has several interesting anecdotes, some of which are very compelling. I might disagree with some of the author’s assessments in the book (not that I’m any kind of an expert, just disagrees my world view), but isn’t those exactly the books which we should all read?
For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: http://www.ManOfLaBook.com
August 11, 2017
I guess I am naive in my view of politics, but I thought spies went away with the Cold War. Not that much thought has gone to it, but I thought most governmental interaction and progress came from people sitting around a long table or negotiating peace after an "incident." This book has definitely opened my eyes. Not only do spies and human assets used for intelligence gathering still exist, they are being recruited, groomed or even installed as undergraduates, graduate students and even professors. And the motivations are so wide ranging! Always assumed it was a sense of patriotism or sense of adventure that would cause people to choose this lifestyle, and for some it is, but for others it's just money, or medical care for family members, or freedom from oppressive governments or, and this one surprised me most(although thinking of really bright and successful business people it shouldn't have) ego.
At any rate, definitely worth checking out. I'd loan you my copy, but I already have multiple requests to borrow it.
At any rate, definitely worth checking out. I'd loan you my copy, but I already have multiple requests to borrow it.
April 19, 2019
An impressive book about US universities and its relation with CIA and FBI. Besides it contains good info about how the foreign intelligence services use US universities.
Based on some real cases, it describes how intelligence sevices from different countries are somehow using academic atmosphere in favor of their own countries.
As an Iranian, one of the impressive parts of the book was places which was describing the case of two Iranian scientists whom were killed by Israel intelligence service, Majid Shahriari and Masood Alimohammadi
Based on some real cases, it describes how intelligence sevices from different countries are somehow using academic atmosphere in favor of their own countries.
As an Iranian, one of the impressive parts of the book was places which was describing the case of two Iranian scientists whom were killed by Israel intelligence service, Majid Shahriari and Masood Alimohammadi
July 17, 2018
Took me forever to read this book but once I actually got time to spend and really sit down and absorb this book I thoroughly enjoyed it. Well researched and filled with cool real life stories and significant background this book plays like both a warning and almost a fictional story. At first it’s hard to believe that spying occurs at universities but the further you go into this book the more it makes sense. Good, well written and thought out, this book is worth the read.
March 21, 2019
This book brings the proposition forward that clandestine activities in universities is drastically different than most would expect. The story begins with a look at foreign students who have been sent to spy in US universities. This is lucrative due to the Department of Defence, among others, investing in top secret research at universities. Once a student can get involved with the right professor the doors are fully opened to their potential research theft. THe author claims part of the issue here is the openness of university with lack of non-disclosures and intellectual property law. Because of these lacks, both students and international collaboration are both risks for theft.
The book then moves on to the lucrative role of recruitment on university campuses. With many universities left leaning, it is easier for left leaning countries to recruit spies. The example given is a woman, whose name I cannot remember off the top of my head, she was recruited by Cuba, along with a professor. These two leaked most all of the US’s confidential information to Cuba and downplayed its significance to US intelligence. Due to their role in this ordeal the professor was sent to jail for 15 years and the woman fled to Sweden where she is a language teacher. If she ever returns to the US she will be arrested and imprisoned for 15 years.
We then get a look at Universities themselves being the clandestine body themselves. The main actor looked at is the UNiversity of International Relations (UIR) in Beijing. UIR is the only university in China funded by the department of defence. This University has set up exchanges with a small university in the mid-west, none of the US students go to UIR, it is exclusively one way. The UIR students are there exclusively to learn to culture of americana which is vital for clandestine activity in the US. The school in the US is making a lot of money off these international students so they do not cease this relationship.
The final area we look at is the US espionage involvement in academia. Here we look at the programs at different universities, like harvard, MIT, and FSU. These schools understand that there may be FBI and CIA people on campus but not all of them inform the school. They are watching for suspicious activity, recruiting faculty and students, and some are really just learning. There is also fake conferences set up by the CIA to either keep informed on important topics but not have professors show CIA on their CV or to secretly recruit foreign professors to their cause, the lead case being the IRan nuclear physics professors. IN the end there is so much espionage in UNiversities that until now was below the eyes of the public and to some extent the universities themselves.
The Best: I quite liked his story on the theft of the research behind the invisibility cloak. It was well researched and investigated with a great story beginning to end.
The Worst: The information is good, but the story telling style is not exciting to follow. He leaves too much information in the book which does not need to be there and even seems to add information that does not pertain to the subject, I like the information but it was a bit of a drag to get through.
The book then moves on to the lucrative role of recruitment on university campuses. With many universities left leaning, it is easier for left leaning countries to recruit spies. The example given is a woman, whose name I cannot remember off the top of my head, she was recruited by Cuba, along with a professor. These two leaked most all of the US’s confidential information to Cuba and downplayed its significance to US intelligence. Due to their role in this ordeal the professor was sent to jail for 15 years and the woman fled to Sweden where she is a language teacher. If she ever returns to the US she will be arrested and imprisoned for 15 years.
We then get a look at Universities themselves being the clandestine body themselves. The main actor looked at is the UNiversity of International Relations (UIR) in Beijing. UIR is the only university in China funded by the department of defence. This University has set up exchanges with a small university in the mid-west, none of the US students go to UIR, it is exclusively one way. The UIR students are there exclusively to learn to culture of americana which is vital for clandestine activity in the US. The school in the US is making a lot of money off these international students so they do not cease this relationship.
The final area we look at is the US espionage involvement in academia. Here we look at the programs at different universities, like harvard, MIT, and FSU. These schools understand that there may be FBI and CIA people on campus but not all of them inform the school. They are watching for suspicious activity, recruiting faculty and students, and some are really just learning. There is also fake conferences set up by the CIA to either keep informed on important topics but not have professors show CIA on their CV or to secretly recruit foreign professors to their cause, the lead case being the IRan nuclear physics professors. IN the end there is so much espionage in UNiversities that until now was below the eyes of the public and to some extent the universities themselves.
The Best: I quite liked his story on the theft of the research behind the invisibility cloak. It was well researched and investigated with a great story beginning to end.
The Worst: The information is good, but the story telling style is not exciting to follow. He leaves too much information in the book which does not need to be there and even seems to add information that does not pertain to the subject, I like the information but it was a bit of a drag to get through.
December 3, 2017
Spy Schools, as the title implies, is an expose on the increasingly close relationship between intelligence agencies and academe, which, Golden argues, are inherently incompatible: higher education's ideals of openness and transparency clash with the nationalism and secrecy of espionage. The relationship, which began in the earliest days of formal U.S. intelligence with close ties between the O.S.S. and the Ivy League, was deeply injured during the Church Committee/Vietnam War era, but 9/11 and globalization have increased the incentives and motivations for university-based spying. The number of foreign students studying in the U.S. has dramatically increased, as has the proportion of foreign graduate students, the number of U.S. universities with foreign satellite campuses or foreign-funded local institutes, and the number of U.S. students studying abroad. Over 31 percent of international student offices at U.S. universities reported being contacted by the F.B.I. about students in 2012, and, as Golden shows, agencies often circumvent university administration and contact students directly.
The strongest argument the book makes is that university students are not warned about the possibility of espionage, whether they are working on laboratory research that might be stolen or studying abroad in a country that might try to recruit or exploit them. Golden's overarching argument, that spying is a violation of the university's ideals, will resonate with many, but seems unrealistic to me: by Golden's own admission, other countries are very active in using U.S. universities as intelligence outposts, which mandates some defensive action on behalf of the United States.
Golden is an investigative reporter by trade, and the book predictably reads like a long-form investigative journalism piece. Unfortunately, the form feels a little too long at times, and while I think the work will be an excellent research resource, its readability suffers a bit. Those who are interested in a more concise overview of the book should listen to Golden's interview with Vince Houghton, the curator of the International Spy Museum (who, incidentally, is quoted as an expert in the book). The interview includes most of the book's hardest-hitting case studies, and Houghton, who has worked in the intelligence community, fosters a more balanced, less anti-intelligence dialogue.
The strongest argument the book makes is that university students are not warned about the possibility of espionage, whether they are working on laboratory research that might be stolen or studying abroad in a country that might try to recruit or exploit them. Golden's overarching argument, that spying is a violation of the university's ideals, will resonate with many, but seems unrealistic to me: by Golden's own admission, other countries are very active in using U.S. universities as intelligence outposts, which mandates some defensive action on behalf of the United States.
Golden is an investigative reporter by trade, and the book predictably reads like a long-form investigative journalism piece. Unfortunately, the form feels a little too long at times, and while I think the work will be an excellent research resource, its readability suffers a bit. Those who are interested in a more concise overview of the book should listen to Golden's interview with Vince Houghton, the curator of the International Spy Museum (who, incidentally, is quoted as an expert in the book). The interview includes most of the book's hardest-hitting case studies, and Houghton, who has worked in the intelligence community, fosters a more balanced, less anti-intelligence dialogue.
August 3, 2017
SPY SCHOOLS: HOW THE CIA, FBI, AND FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SECRETLY EXPLOIT AMERICA’S UNIVERSITIES is written by Daniel Golden and published by Henry Holt & Company.
Daniel Golden is also the author of PRICE OF ADMISSION, based on his Pulitzer prize-winning series of articles on admissions preferences at elite colleges. He also wrote about for-profit colleges and U.S. tax-dodging companies moving overseas.
Mr. Golden is an excellent investigative journalist. His books and articles take your breath away with their factual exposes. In SPY SCHOOLS, Mr. Golden exposes how academia “has become the center of foreign and domestic espionage and why that is troubling news for our nation’s security.”
The book contains excellent access points with an Introduction; a Table of Contents; Notes; selected Bibliography; Acknowledgements and an Index.
I read an ‘Advance Reader’s edition’ which I obtained from Library Thing’s Early Review List in exchange for an unbiased and honest review. Thank You LT and Henry Holt Publishers.
The primary goal (by Mr. Golden) was “to set out and explore how and why intelligence services were targeting American higher education, and what the implications were for national security and intellectual freedom.”
The book is divided into 2 parts “examining foreign and American espionage on campus in turn.”
The Introduction was a very informative ‘introduction’ to espionage and espionage services from the U.S., China, Russia and Cuba. I learned that most (if not all) spy services view universities as “prime recruiting ground” and blatantly “exploit - and taint - the traditional academic ideals of transparency and independent scholarship.”
It is quite astonishing to read of the different ‘cases’ and student (some very young) escapades.
The Notes and Bibliography - both are fascinating reading in their own right.
Information that I was especially interested in included Chapter 4 describing the relationship between international students and Marietta College (in Ohio) and Introduction page xxii which mentioned the Peace Corps. Having grown up in Ohio and having been a Peace Corps volunteer, suddenly I became a bit uneasy.
I would sincerely recommend this thorough look at ‘spy schools’ in the U.S. and abroad.
Daniel Golden is also the author of PRICE OF ADMISSION, based on his Pulitzer prize-winning series of articles on admissions preferences at elite colleges. He also wrote about for-profit colleges and U.S. tax-dodging companies moving overseas.
Mr. Golden is an excellent investigative journalist. His books and articles take your breath away with their factual exposes. In SPY SCHOOLS, Mr. Golden exposes how academia “has become the center of foreign and domestic espionage and why that is troubling news for our nation’s security.”
The book contains excellent access points with an Introduction; a Table of Contents; Notes; selected Bibliography; Acknowledgements and an Index.
I read an ‘Advance Reader’s edition’ which I obtained from Library Thing’s Early Review List in exchange for an unbiased and honest review. Thank You LT and Henry Holt Publishers.
The primary goal (by Mr. Golden) was “to set out and explore how and why intelligence services were targeting American higher education, and what the implications were for national security and intellectual freedom.”
The book is divided into 2 parts “examining foreign and American espionage on campus in turn.”
The Introduction was a very informative ‘introduction’ to espionage and espionage services from the U.S., China, Russia and Cuba. I learned that most (if not all) spy services view universities as “prime recruiting ground” and blatantly “exploit - and taint - the traditional academic ideals of transparency and independent scholarship.”
It is quite astonishing to read of the different ‘cases’ and student (some very young) escapades.
The Notes and Bibliography - both are fascinating reading in their own right.
Information that I was especially interested in included Chapter 4 describing the relationship between international students and Marietta College (in Ohio) and Introduction page xxii which mentioned the Peace Corps. Having grown up in Ohio and having been a Peace Corps volunteer, suddenly I became a bit uneasy.
I would sincerely recommend this thorough look at ‘spy schools’ in the U.S. and abroad.
February 23, 2018
A very enjoyable read about the ways in which American universities are used by both domestic and foreign intelligence services. Universities are not painted as naive victims, but rather savvy, and fiercely independent institutions. Contemporary universities are portrayed as having emerged from knee-jerk aversions to intelligence agencies that started in during the 1960s. Now administrators (mostly) hear out individual cases for programs, curriculum, and students. They don't immediately cave to pressure for "national security" or for patriotism. It is a pragmatic balance. In my estimate, the book only slams universities for being unnecessarily open to foreign espionage and theft of technology. I believe universities actually make a calculation here -- they are deliberately open to foreign students, because that openness attracts more foreign students to STAY in the U.S. -- thereby making them allies and benefiting the American economy. Countries like China may glean useful information or steal technologies from American universities, but their repressive political system also causes them to lose some of their greatest minds to the United States and other western democracies. In my personal view, I'd rather trade discrete pieces of technology to gain thousands of creative and productive human beings.
January 4, 2018
This book kinda blew my mind- probably due to either my blissful naivety towards the trickery dealt by intelligence organizations, or perhaps my young age (having not lived in a non-9/11 world within memory). Regardless, it's a very interesting look at what might be going on behind-the-scenes of some of my professors' lives as they putter around campus- I especially thought of a professor I had for a course on Islamic Civilization, whose offhand comment about the Saudis wanting something every time he went over there for a conference suddenly becomes much more intriguing. There's something, for lack of a better word, cool about the information Golden has meticulously gathered together in this book: it's like he's lifted up the veil of everyday life and given you a peek backstage. However, I did find the overall argument a little less than compelling, and the book itself was mildly dry (think saltines, not Sahara, but still), which is why I'm sticking on 4 stars. If only I had read this before applying to colleges...would've made for an interesting introduction in those essays!
January 31, 2019
This was an intriguing book about the ways in which the United States and her enemies have attempted to gather intelligence from one another by infiltrating universities or recruiting individuals within the educational systems.
I found myself most interested in the first part of the book, which details how the Russian, Chinese, and Cuban governments have attempted to gather intelligence from American universities. The content about how the schools were infiltrated was most interesting to me, but I found myself getting angry hearing about how dim some Americans were in being fooled by spies. There are several stories about how secret research and intelligence was lifted from American labs, simply because the heads of the labs were too trusting or otherwise did not see obvious signs of something shady going on. I think that is the biggest takeaway from the book -- how gullible some academics can be in the research environment.
All told, I'd say this book is very good, but not quite great. It drags in a few spots, but is an altogether worthwhile read for anyone interested in how espionage occurs within "soft targets."
I found myself most interested in the first part of the book, which details how the Russian, Chinese, and Cuban governments have attempted to gather intelligence from American universities. The content about how the schools were infiltrated was most interesting to me, but I found myself getting angry hearing about how dim some Americans were in being fooled by spies. There are several stories about how secret research and intelligence was lifted from American labs, simply because the heads of the labs were too trusting or otherwise did not see obvious signs of something shady going on. I think that is the biggest takeaway from the book -- how gullible some academics can be in the research environment.
All told, I'd say this book is very good, but not quite great. It drags in a few spots, but is an altogether worthwhile read for anyone interested in how espionage occurs within "soft targets."
January 24, 2019
An eye-opening look at international espionage in higher education. Even after 13 years of working in higher ed, including almost 10 years working exclusively with international students, I have to admit I didn't know the half of what Golden reports in this book. Not even close.
I do have some minor quibbles with the book's structure--I wish the sections on Peng would have been grouped together rather than spread throughout the book--and I think there was definitely room for more attention to be given to the many positive aspects of international education, both for international students studying in the United States and U.S. students studying abroad. On the whole, though, Spy Schools is an interesting read, particularly for those interested in higher education, internationalization, and/or national security.
2019 Reading Challenge Category: A book set on a college or university campus.
I do have some minor quibbles with the book's structure--I wish the sections on Peng would have been grouped together rather than spread throughout the book--and I think there was definitely room for more attention to be given to the many positive aspects of international education, both for international students studying in the United States and U.S. students studying abroad. On the whole, though, Spy Schools is an interesting read, particularly for those interested in higher education, internationalization, and/or national security.
2019 Reading Challenge Category: A book set on a college or university campus.
April 6, 2019
Urgent and informative work for everyone -- students, staff, faculty -- involved with life on college or university campuses and their loved ones.
The book is in 2 parts, examining foreign and American espionage on campus. Golden writes that two general trends contribute to the surge in academic spying. The first is "growing intimacy between U.S. intelligence and academia, driven partly by patriotic fervor and terrorism fears in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks. Deterred by student protests and faculty hostility during the Vietnam era, the CIA, FBI, and other security agencies have returned in force, forging a tenuous alliance of spies and scholars". The second is globalization. I think the book has become more relevant in recent months, with the ramping up of trade war tensions worldwide and organized student opposition to the political situation is emerging.
The book is in 2 parts, examining foreign and American espionage on campus. Golden writes that two general trends contribute to the surge in academic spying. The first is "growing intimacy between U.S. intelligence and academia, driven partly by patriotic fervor and terrorism fears in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks. Deterred by student protests and faculty hostility during the Vietnam era, the CIA, FBI, and other security agencies have returned in force, forging a tenuous alliance of spies and scholars". The second is globalization. I think the book has become more relevant in recent months, with the ramping up of trade war tensions worldwide and organized student opposition to the political situation is emerging.
February 2, 2021
This was really a 3.5 star book but I rounded up to be generous, largely because the topic is one that isn't talked about enough. Golden does a good job illuminating espionage that occurs in and around American universities - something that foreign countries do a lot, and people don't realize. However, the book was repetitive at times, and it seems almost as if different parts were rearranged but no one went back to change how and when things were referred to. Also, it's like he couldn't decide at times to being a procedural about specific cases vs being a book about a general topic and its implications. Some of the very minute details on specific cases didn't do much to support the overall point of the book. That being said, it was an educational read and an important book on intelligence collection in higher education
March 15, 2019
A very detailed book on the subject of foreign and domestic intelligence agencies utilizing American academia to spy, recruit and obtain intellectual property and research data.
The research Daniel Golden amassed for this book spans over a decade. At times the book jumps frequently between different decades using snippets of comments made by interviewed subjects to reflect what Golden is trying to get across. I found this occasionally hard to follow and confusing as you try to disect the comments to attribute to an author or to string the thought process together.
I would recommend this book to those studying or having an interest in international politics and the relationship of US academia between primarily China and Russia.
The research Daniel Golden amassed for this book spans over a decade. At times the book jumps frequently between different decades using snippets of comments made by interviewed subjects to reflect what Golden is trying to get across. I found this occasionally hard to follow and confusing as you try to disect the comments to attribute to an author or to string the thought process together.
I would recommend this book to those studying or having an interest in international politics and the relationship of US academia between primarily China and Russia.
September 19, 2022
60% of all Phd's in the sciences are foreign graduates but many are stealing our research secrets and going back home. To hear some people talk our school systems are horrible. Then I wonder why the Iranians send over their top students? Some even get a free education so they can go back home and make...... well I'll stop here.
The only downfall of the book was once you read one story they all fell into the same mold.
The only downfall of the book was once you read one story they all fell into the same mold.
September 30, 2022
I thought this book was ok to read. Some parts of it weren't that interesting and other parts were. I learned about the invisibility cloak that was developed at Duke University and that that it was a type of metamaterial. Also learned about the concept of economic espionage but I was already familiar about it since it happened in Alberta. I found it interesting that CIA would create pseudo conferences to lure professionals from other countries.
December 24, 2017
Fascinating accounts of spying by the CIA and the FBI on college campuses both in the US and out. This book covered the methods for recruitment by the CIA as well as how foreign countries recruit in the US.
It gave histories of situations with China, Cuba, Russia and Iran and told of many of the people who spied for the US.
It gave histories of situations with China, Cuba, Russia and Iran and told of many of the people who spied for the US.
September 27, 2018
I heard a fascinating podcast interview with this author several months ago while he was promoting the book. I should have been content with that. This book was boring and I felt like it could have been so much more. Maybe I’m just a fan of fiction spy thrillers.
February 2, 2019
Informative & important to understand especially if working abroad. Many issues about academic integrity but also espionage as it is today which includes corporate as well as military methods & vulnerabilities.
November 17, 2022
Interesting subject matter that ultimately comes across as a bit fusty and boring. Not entirely sure what I was expecting based on the title, but a little more on rampant exploitation of academicia and a little less focus on single spy examples, I guess.
November 5, 2017
Fearmongering at its finest.
February 24, 2019
While I found the topic of interest, the book did dry up for a spell about mid-way through.
September 7, 2018
I got loads of great information and plot ideas for a writing project of mine from reading this book. I
May 27, 2019
Interesting topic but it could have been better structured.
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