The Secret Sentry

The Untold History of the National Security Agency

By Matthew M. Aid

A groundbreaking history of America's other, more powerful intelligence agency

In February of 2006, Matthew Aid's discovery of a massive secret historical document reclassification program then taking place at the National Archives made the front page of the New York Times. This discovery is only the tip of the iceberg of Aid's more than twenty years of intensive research, culled from thousands of pages of formerly top secret documents. In The Secret Sentry, he details the untold history of America's most elusive and powerful intelligence agency, the National Security Agency (NSA), since the end of World War II. This will be the first comprehensive history of the NSA, most recently in the news with regards to domestic spying, and will reveal brand new details about controversial episodes including the creation of Israel, the Bay of Pigs, the Berlin Wall, and the invasion of Iraq. Since the beginning of the Cold War, the NSA has become the most important source of intelligence in the US government: 60% of the president's daily briefing comes from the NSA. Matthew Aid will reveal just how this came to be, and why the NSA has gone to such great lengths to keep its history secret.

Advance Praise for The Secret Sentry

"This, very simply, is the most informative book ever written on the inside bureaucratic struggles and the outside operations of the National Security Agency. Matthew Aid is our reigning expert on the NSA.—Seymour M. Hersh, author of Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib

Reviews for The Secret Sentry

Matthew Aid's The Secret Sentry was reviewed in New York Review of Books by James Bamford. Read review.

“NSA analysis now comprises as much as 60 percent of the president’s daily intelligence briefing, and Aid provides a critical history of the agency that has the ear of the leader of the free world. A sprawling but revealing look at a powerful, shadowy agency of the American government.””—Kirkus Reviews

“The Secret Sentry by Matthew Aid is a comprehensive new history of the National Security Agency, from its origins in World War II through its Cold War successes, failures and scandals up until the present.” —The Secrecy News. Read blog review.

“Now, a new book, The Secret Sentry by Matthew Aid, to be published next week, reveals that the information handed over by Prime – whose code-name was Rowlands – told the Russians their codes had been broken.”—Times of London. Read full review..

“Tigerishly researched.”—Bloomberg,. Here's the complete feature / review.

The Atlantic’s blog – calls the book “marvelous”. Read all about it.

“Matthew Aid is an indefatigable researcher, poring over documents in government and private archives and conducting interviews with former officials of the National Security Agency…Aid also delivers excellent accounts of key battles and the role of SIGINT in supporting military maneuvers that were decisive in the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the two engagements with Iraq…By the end of this work, the reader will have a much clearer idea of what the NSA does and how it accomplishes its mission, as well as insights about why the NSA needs to restructure itself so that in the future it will be able to accomplish more and do so with less resources.” —Barnes and Noble Review,

“The Secret Sentry by Matthew Aid is a comprehensive new history of the National Security Agency, from its origins in World War II through its Cold War successes, failures and scandals up until the present.”—The Secrecy News Blog,