Macrackis’ Final Books Published

Posted May 30, 2023

The final two books written by the late Professor Kristie Macrackis have been published.

MIT Press released Espionage in February, followed by Georgetown University Press publication of Nothing Is Beyond Our Reach in April.

Macrackis, a noted scholar of espionage and spycraft in the School of History and Sociology, passed away in 2022.

Espionage provides a “concise introduction to the history and methods of espionage” from antiquity to current industrial espionage and technological surveillance, according to the publisher web page for the book.

“In a refreshingly clear, concise manner, Kristie Macrakis guides readers through the shadowy world of espionage, from the language and practice of spycraft to its role in international politics, its bureaucratic underpinnings, and its transformation in light of modern technology,” the publisher said.

Nothing Is Beyond Our Reach explores the role of technology in expanding the reach of U.S. intelligences efforts, starting with the conception of “techno-spies” in the 1950s during the Cold War. In the book, Macrackis also considers the dangers of relying on technological espionage and the consequences of collective massive amounts of data.

“Nothing Is Beyond Our Reach investigates how America’s technophiles inadvertently created a global espionage empire: one based on technology, not land,” the publishers wrote on the book’s web page.

Macrakis wrote three other single-authored books, Surviving the Swastika Scientific Research in Nazi Germany, Seduced by Secrets: Inside the Stasi's Spy-Tech World, and Prisoners, Lovers, and Spies: The Story of Invisible Ink from Herodotus to al-Qaeda.

She also co-authored another book, Science Under Socialism, and co-edited a volume for Routledge, East German Foreign Intelligence: Myth, Reality and Controversy.