一九七四年十二月，纽约时报的头条震撼了全美—中情局在国内的非法监察，包括政治监视、窃听、拘留和审讯。这些已经持续多年的非法活动震惊了美国民众，让总统委员会与国会两院委员会都介入调查中情局，他们发现滥用的情况比预期更严重，中情局甚至还策划了暗杀行动。调查人员和大众发现中情局将这些滥用活动的资料归在一份被内部人员称为“传家宝”的最高机密文件里。这份文件投下的震撼弹引起了持续超过一年的政治风暴。“传家宝”的瓦解虽然让国会更紧盯着中情局，但像一九七〇年时的执法过当情节依然不断见世。《传家宝》一书直捣中情局的秘密核心，还让读者知道中情局用以躲避审查的方式为何。作者John Prados 讲述了这些“传家宝”文档中的机密行动、调查人员如何追根究柢挖出真相，还有中情局、执法机构，甚至是历年来的总统们千方百计地逃避责任。作者Prados 揭露了美国前副总统钱尼在这些职权滥用的行动中扮演了关键的角色，而且自911事件之后，那些行为便不断的再次上演着。《传家宝》一书巧妙地阐述为何这些行为都是特定的行为，提及适当的关系对掌管情报有多重要，并认为在一个民主社会里，必须要建立一个系统处理“传家宝”危机。
 
好评
"A scholarly book about the dirty operations of the American government that feels like it has been ripped from the headlines…The book is part of the publisher's Discovering America series, which is based on the premise that much of the American experience remains to be told by historians and cultural critics with fresh takes on events and individuals seemingly well-known but often masked…Prados takes readers inside not only the CIA in an attempt to plumb the thinking behind the questionable secretive operations, but also the White House, the halls of Congress and newsrooms. As a result, he casts light on shadowy cultures that often undermine democracy. An impressive research effort showing how, when it comes to current political affairs, the past is almost always prologue." (Kirkus Reviews 2013-07-15)
 
"Prados writes with obvious passion, and his topic couldn't be more important or timely." (Library Journal)
 
"The Family Jewelsis a nice complement to any general academic or law school library’s national security collection, and can serve as inspiration for larger research projects" (Law Library Journal 2014-06-14)
 
关于作者
John Prados 是华盛顿特区国家安全档案馆的资深研究员，他负责让大众可以了解到最新解密的政府记录。他写过21本书，是一名获奖的作者，作品包括Islands of Destiny: The Solomons Campaign与the Eclipse of the Rising Sun。他也常常演讲，主题非常广泛，有安全、资讯自由等；他分析作战过程、是电影制片人的历史顾问还设计了充满策略性质的棋盘游戏，包过知名的Third Reich以及其他获奖作品。