The memoirs of Colonel of the Austrian General Staff Maximilian Ronge represent a truly unique source on the history of the special services. During the First World War, their author led the Austrian counterintelligence, and since 1917 he was the head of the intelligence bureau of the Austro-Hungarian General Staff. In his book, he talks in detail about the most striking episodes of the work of this organization, and also reveals its structure and technology of everyday work - the very one that intelligence officers seek to hide from the public by any means and which provides the greatest success to the actions of the special services.