Intelligence veteran Mark M. Lowenthal details how the intelligence community's history, structure, procedures, and functions affect policy decisions. With straightforward and friendly prose, the book demystifies a complex process. The fifth edition highlights crucial developments and new challenges in the intelligence community, including:

- changes in the management of U.S. intelligence and the fourth DNI in five years;

- obama administration policies;

- developments in collection and analysis;

- the killing of bin Laden, Wikileaks, and updates on Russia, North Korea, China, and the Middle East;

- the ability to handle the shift from large-scale attacks to smaller, individual attempts;

- expanded coverage of foreign intelligence services and new coverage of intelligence in authoritarian regimes.