A History of Satellite Reconnaissance: The Robert L. Perry Histories

For many years, Perry's histories have proven to be a significant resource for not only those concerned about the history of national reconnaissance, but for the practitioners of national reconnaissance as well. Perry's work captured the difficulties associated with the development of early national reconnaissance systems, and more importantly, the strategies for meeting those challenges. A reader of a Perry history cannot help but come away with a better understanding of national reconnaissance programs, their management, and how to be more effective in their own job. Perry's histories also serve as exemplars of the art and craft of historians. They are rich in detail, well-sourced, and written with engaging prose. This is true for the Gambit and Hexagon histories. Perry devotes considerable effort to telling the stories of each program based on the documentary evidence available to him at the time of the writing and those he was able to speak to about the programs. As a consequence, Perry's readers come away with insight into the technological opportunities presented by pursing both programs, the organizational tension that arose between the Air Force and CIA because of competing approaches for imagery satellites, and the force that human determination is for dealing with unknowns and set-backs that are hallmarks of efforts to acquire large, sophisticated technological systems.