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Declassified Documents: Guides

A guide to locating declassified documents at UCSB Library.

Guides

In addition to these guides, researchers will find other works on these topics (e.g. Secrets: the CIA's war at home by Angus Mackenzie) have excellent bibliographies which should be used when researching individuals, events or covert operations. Histories of the agencies (e.g. Body of secrets: anatomy of the ultra-secret National Security Agency from the Cold War through the dawn of a new century by James Bamford) or biographies of notable persons such as William J. Donovan or J. Edgar Hoover can provide valuable background on the agencies and the activities as well.

  • The encyclopedia of American intelligence and espionage : from the Revolutionary War to the present. G.J.A. O'Toole. Sciences Engineering UB271.U5 O85 1988
    • References individuals, committees, and operations. Many of the entries have footnotes.
  • United States intelligence : an encyclopedia. Edited by Bruce W. Watson, Susan M. Watson, Gerald W. Hopple. Reference JK 468 I6 U57
    • Brief entries, but excellent footnotes. Focuses more on operations and definitions of terms than listing individuals.
  • U.S. national security: policymakers, processes and politics. Sarkesian, Sam Charles. Sciences Engineering UA 23 S275
  • A reference guide to United States Department of State special files. Haines, Gerald K. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, c1985. Reference CD3031 1984

These files are often found listed by title in the UCSB Library Catalog or Melvyl. For a quick list on Melvyl search for the title words: “state department files"

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