The Recruiter cover art

The Recruiter

Spying and the Lost Art of American Intelligence

 Preview

Audible Standard 1-month free trial

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo + applicable tax after 30-day trial. Cancel Anytime
Try for $0.00
More purchase options
Buy Now for $7.99

Buy Now for $7.99

About this listen

 This revealing memoir from a 34-year veteran of the CIA who worked as a case officer and recruiter of foreign agents before and after 9/11 provides an invaluable perspective on the state of modern spy craft, how the CIA has developed, and how it must continue to evolve.

If you've ever wondered what it's like to be a modern-day spy, Douglas London is here to explain. London’s overseas work involved spotting and identifying targets, building relationships over weeks or months, and then pitching them to work for the CIA—all the while maintaining various identities, a day job, and a very real wife and kids at home.

The Recruiter: Spying and the Lost Art of American Intelligence captures the best stories from London's life as a spy, his insights into the challenges and failures of intelligence work, and the complicated relationships he developed with agents and colleagues. In the end, London presents a highly readable insider’s tale about the state of espionage, a warning about the decline of American intelligence since 9/11 and Iraq, and what can be done to recover. Freedom & Security International Relations Politics & Government Social Sciences Espionage

What the critics say

"Douglas London draws the reader deeply into the world of CIA operations officers, and in his well-written, clear-eyed account he sheds considerable light on the hitherto murky world of CIA operatives in the field. It is a fascinating read."—Peter Bergen, author of The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden
All stars
Most Relevant
Where it's good, it's great. As a layperson I did occasionally wonder if we were being given too much insight into tactics, techniques, and procedures but ultimately I have to assume all the world's professionals will have these insights anyway, and it's a great inside look at the life of a case officer.

Where it's bad, the author really impugns his own credibility. In substance, he freely expresses his bitterness and reduces his career obstacles to an unjust conspiracy of insider cliques against him. I have to say that, between the lines and occasionally directly, I found myself sympathizing with his colleagues' views that he so frequently complained about.

In form, he vacillates between language so torturedly formal passive voice as to trip over itself in pursuit of grammatical and syntactical perfection, and moments of silly sloppy colloquialisms and the intensely informal active "I" voice that it reads like he couldn't help but interject his emotional commentary while revising the manuscript, without any consideration for consistency, audience, or even purpose.

In the end, it's easy to see why one of his informal reprimands was for unprofessional conduct, so replete the story is with the same.

Both insightful and stunningly self-unaware

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.