The Puzzle Palace
![The papers of the late William Friedman, who had served as the NSA's chief cryptologist, were a valuable source for Bamford. The NSA later confiscated the documents from the library at which they were held.](/Images/godic/202502/05/William-Friedman0441.jpg")
The Puzzle Palace is a book written by James Bamford and published in 1982. It is the first major, popular work devoted entirely to the history and workings of the National Security Agency, a United States intelligence organization. The title refers to a nickname for the NSA, which is headquartered in Fort Meade, Maryland. In addition to describing the role of the NSA and explaining how it was organized, the book exposed details of a massive eavesdropping operation called Operation Shamrock. According to security expert Bruce Schneier the book was popular within the NSA itself, because "the agency's secrecy prevents its employees from knowing much about their own history".