Frederick Hitz, inspector general of the CIA (1990-98), a former Prince- ton University lecturer and currently on the faculty of the University of Virginia's school of law and department of politics has written a brief, but excellent, book about espionage.

He explores and explains our failures and our past successes, but, more importantly, offers solutions and remedies to the challenges of the 21st century.

"Why Spy?" is virtually a primer on all aspects of espionage, including seven fascinating chapters about what motivates a person to become a spy.

The author says that spying "is no parlor game but a down and dirty effort, electronic or human, to get at the intentions of the enemy, to strip his cupboard bare ... to spy is to betray a trust."

Hitz explains that covert action that was so successful during WWII and the Cold War can no longer be utilized because of the politicizing of intelligence gathering (Congressional leaks and micro-management) and heightened scrutiny by the overzealous and occasionally irresponsible media. Yet he still considers human intelligence more valuable than electronic.

He evaluates the unwieldy and complex organization of a Homeland Security Department that is not working and makes an excellent case for returning control and leadership to a CIA and FBI that closely coordinates with military intelligence, but only after redefining their national and international missions; the FBI should evolve into an organization similar to Britain's MI5.

Hitz does an admirable job of dealing with these issues without resorting to the blame game.

He is objective and fair as he offers a fascinating treatise on how the U.S. can improve spying, which he says is the second oldest profession, and make it work in a time when our enemies are not easily identified.