The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is one of the least understood intelligence-gathering organizations in the world, and much of its inner workings remains classified. The organization evokes images of covert agents operating under a veil of secrecy, yet only a small fraction of the thousands of CIA employees works on the agency's clandestine operations. This A-Z reference provides detailed descriptions and definitions of key CIA terms, players, equipment, operations and parallel organizations. It also discusses perceptions of the agency in popular culture, including its portrayal in film, television and fiction. The one-stop resource contains an introduction that surveys the history of the American intelligence community from the colonial era to the 21st century.