Produced from 1997 to 2001, Secrets of War is a 65-hour documentary television series about military history and the secrets of war of the 20th century. It is edited as 65 episodes. The series premiered on the History Channel in September 1998 where it prevailed in the 8 o'clock Sunday evening slot for over two years. The series was co-created by Supervising Producers John Corry and Chip Proser. Alan Beattie and Chris Chesser served as Executive Producers. Original musical score composed and conducted by Ramón Balcázar. Narrated by Charlton Heston, the series details facts and information derived from rare archival footage, formerly classified documents and messages, coupled with interviews with experts, authors and eyewitnesses from all over the world. The series was originally conceived as a 26-hour production. The first 13 hours concentrated on World War II, and the vast amount of unknown history kept secret by the British Official Secrets Act and finally revealed from 1975 to the 1990s. The second 13 hours focused on other conflicts of the 20th century. After the success of the first season, Documedia proceeded to expand the series comprehensively to address other wars, battles and intrigues, including many colour present-day shows on topics as diverse as chemical weapons and spy planes, and theme-oriented episodes like prisoners of war and code breakers. The series interviewed key participants in all of the important conflicts of the 20th century, including prominent authors with unique perspectives of the clandestine aspects of war. The creators worked with the top spies of the era: former Directors of the CIA James Woolsey, Richard Helms and Dr. James Schlesinger; former Chairmen of the KGB Generals Vladimir Semichastny and Alexander Shelepin (Russia); as well as former directors of the MOSSAD Meir Amit and Isser Harel. Other commenters participated, including: Henry Kissinger, Robert McNamara, Dan Quayle, John H. Sununu, James A. Baker III, Jack Valenti, Howard K. Smith, John K. Singlaub, David Eisenhower, Dr. Sergei Khrushchev, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. and Senator John McCain. Each one-hour episode tells a strong, specific and factual story, backed up by interviews, rare footage, 3D graphics, on-location shooting, historical retracing shots and extensive reenactments. It is used in the classrooms of the United States Naval Academy and United States Air Force Academy, and the only military series that American Forces Network (formerly the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service) licenses for American Service men and women on military bases and ships worldwide.

Yossi Melman and Dan Raviv discussed their book, Every Spy a Prince: The Complete History of Israeli Intelligence. The book focused on the five branches of the Israeli intelligence community and the role of each branch. It also speculates on the future roles of the intelligence community in a potentially explosive area with the possibility of chemical, biological, and nuclear warfare. In 1989, it was published in the United Kingdom as The Imperfect Spies: The History of Israeli Intelligence. The book was on the New York Times Best Seller list for 12 weeks (August 12, 1990 - October 28). The title of the book comes from the Book of Numbers: "The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Send men that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel; of every tribe of their fathers shall you send a man, everyone one a prince among them."(Numbers 13:1-2) Dan Raviv (born 1954) is an American journalist. Raviv is the senior Washington correspondent for i24 News, headquartered in Tel Aviv and New York. Previously he was with CBS News as their national correspondent and was heard regularly on the CBS Radio Network. He had also done TV reports from Washington, D.C. on the CBS Evening News, and he narrated the 1997-98 revival of the CBS TV news shorts series for children In the News. A New York City native and graduate of Harvard, Raviv joined CBS at its all-news radio station in Boston (WEEI) in 1974, moving to WCBS Newsradio in New York in 1976, then to the network radio newsdesk in New York. The start of his on-air career was his assignment in the Tel Aviv bureau, from 1978 to 1980, followed by twelve years as radio correspondent in the London bureau. There, he began making occasional appearances on CBS TV. He worked in the Miami bureau from 1993 to 1997, and then was named National Correspondent in the radio unit at CBS News in Washington. In 2017 he joined i24 News upon the network's launching of a channel in the United States. He is also the author of several books, including the 1990 best seller Every Spy a Prince: The Complete History of Israel's Intelligence Community, co-authored with journalist Yossi Melman. Yossi Melman (Hebrew: יוסי מלמן, born December 27, 1950) is an Israeli writer and journalist. He was an intelligence and strategic affairs correspondent for the Haaretz newspaper, and in 2013 he joined The Jerusalem Post and its Hebrew sister paper Maariv in a similar, more analytical role covering also military issues. Yosef "Yossi" Melman was born in Poland. The family immigrated to Israel in 1957, when he was six years old. He graduated from Hebrew University of Jerusalem and was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. From 1969 he served for three years with "Shaked", a reconnaissance and Special Forces unit in the Israel Defense Forces. Since 1974, Melman has worked in various capacities in the Israeli media. He has worked for 27 years in the Israeli Haaretz daily as a senior correspondent on national security, intelligence and strategic issues. Melman was involved in several legal and public battles to lift gag orders issued by Israeli courts and censors. He wrote 10 non-fiction books on the Israeli Intelligence Community, security, terrorism and nuclear issues.