The Handbook of Warning Intelligence was written during the cold war and was classified for 40 years.
Originally written as a manual for training intelligence analysts, it explains the fundamentals of intelligence analysis and forecasting, discusses military analysis, as well as the difficulties in understanding political, civil, and economic analysis and assessing what it means for analysts to have "warning judgment."
Much of what Grabo wrote in her book seems to appear in many of the numerous commission reports that emerged after the 9/11 attacks.
However, her book was written in response to the "surprise attack" of the Soviet Union's invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.
According to the author, that event was no surprise.
And while analysts have to take some of the blame for their failure to strenuously present their case that the threat was real and imminent, what occurred was a failure by policymakers to listen to the warning intelligence reports that were written at the time.
In these last chapters, Grabo discusses scenarios where the United States will need to take action, especially describing Soviet indicators of such action.
She also talks on how to influence policymakers to take, or not take, action based on intelligence.
After the Soviet Union fell, the government was hesitant to release this information—especially considering what's going on with Putin today.
454 pages.