New Book by Scholar Kristie Macrakis on America’s Techno-Spy Empire

WASHINGTON (PRWEB) APRIL 06, 2023

“Kristie Macrakis has written a masterful and measured survey of the US intelligence community’s love affair with technology. A must-read, not only to remind us of how important technological innovation is to national security, but also to understand the roots of American power more broadly.”
—Christopher R. Moran, University of Warwick

Since the earliest days of the Cold War, American intelligence agencies have worked to launch spies in the sky, burrow spies underground, sink spies in the ocean, and even attempt to spy on the mind. This bold approach has relied on machines rather than people, allowing the US to expand its reach around the globe. In Nothing is Beyond Our Reach, Kristie Macrakis investigates the origins and impact of the American techno-spy empire.

This book shows how the American propensity to use technical solutions to solve problems has resulted in the development of a dizzying array of technological wonders to serve as mechanical eyes and ears abroad, resulting in a massive amount of data at the fingertips of organizations like the CIA, the NSA, and others. But has it helped? Are we better off now than we were before? Featuring the sites and people critical to the creation of the American global espionage empire, Macrakis relates this fascinating history from the early 1950s, through the Cold War and the War on Terror, up to the present day—when satellites, electronic intercepts, and drones all support an empire of surveillance. She considers what we have gained, what has been lost, and how America’s technological hubris shapes how America is viewed abroad.

In an age of technophilia, Nothing Is Beyond Our Reach exposes the perils of relying too much on technology for security. Readers interested in the history of espionage and technology will find the revelations and insights in this book thought-provoking and compelling.

Kristie Macrakis (1958 – 2022) was a professor of the history of technology and intelligence at Georgia Institute of Technology and the author of many books, including Prisoners, Lovers, and Spies: The Story of Invisible Ink from Herodotus to al-Qaeda and Seduced by Secrets: Inside the Stasi’s Spy Tech World.