Hayden B. Peake Intelligence Collection Endowment for the Libraries

 

 

 

Photograph of Hayden B. Peake

Hayden B. Peake

Hayden B. Peake was the last curator of the CIA’s Historical Intelligence Collection and is highly regarded in the intelligence field for his extensive library, deep reading background and expert book reviews, Mr. Peake has spent more than forty years assembling his comprehensive collection of mostly first edition English-language nonfiction books about military and political intelligence that range in publication dates from the seventeenth century to the present.  In addition to the extraordinary inclusiveness of the collection, Mr. Peake has sought out works that are in exceptional condition and usually feature original dust jackets (already preserved in plastic sleeves).

His extensive collection was donated to George Mason University Libraries in 2021. Hayden B. Peake Intelligence Collection  The collection of over 10,000 publications and a small manuscript collection are all based around intelligence studies. Examples range from a 1780 letter from General George Washington to World War II OSS strategic plans for Japan to original communist party documents handed out during rallies. There are also a wide variety of spy novels, fiction and non-fiction, that have been written by former members of not just the CIA but also KGB and Egyptian Intelligence Service.   

The Hayden B. Peake Intelligence Collection Endowment for the Libraries was established by Mr. Peake to provide lasting and perpetual support for the Hayden B. Peake Intelligence Collection housed in the in the University Libraries Special Collections Research Center. Income shall primarily be used to preserve the collection according to the conservation principles. All materials in the Peake Collection shall be processed and brought under the George Mason University Libraries intellectual control according to prevailing library and/or archival standards. Income may also be used to add titles to the collection, for digitization, creation of a research portal and for instructional and/or public programming.