Good reads with real tradecraft -

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This is how it's done. Short of joining CIA you won't find a better primer on how field operations are supported and carried out in denied areas - or anywhere else.  By Tony Mendez (played by Ben Affleck in the film Argo) and his wife Jonna, an accomplished Agency Officer in her own right, Moscow Rules is as good as it gets for authentic insights into clandestine operations. Certainly intense, sometimes funny, and a very human look into CIA. 

Oh boy! All the best of a thriller in a non-fiction read! The man has been there, done that, and speaks with genuine authority. Edge of the seat operations and plenty of real-world tradecraft, as he recounts his evolution into grasping the bigger picture. He was right there as the CIA morphed into its present form. This is a fundamental read for anyone interested in the Agency's counter-terrorism work. His style is straight forward, often blunt, and resonates with authenticity.  Mr. Crumpton proves an intelligence officer can be an honorable man, and his dedication is real and unwavering. You might read it twice!

Ms. Berry's vivid  settings are match by her laser-like insight into human character - you'll recognize some of these people - they are all of us, colliding with each other in a chaotic mix of self-deception, betrayal, fanaticism, and personal dissolution.  And her story is peppered with the real world of collecting, and making sense of, HUMINT - human intelligence.  This is fiction, of course, but it belongs here for the so realistic view into a  Case Officer's world of work, and the compromises, and sacrifices, it takes to do the job. The authentic tension between national policy and the people on the leading edge of the result is compelling, - and often maddening. You'll also notice some very tight parallels with true events, skillfully filtered into this superbly paced and engrossing story. 

A blunder by the Soviets in the 1940's leads to a breach of their encrypted communications - the true breadth of which was not revealed until the mid-1990s. Among other revelations, the Venona project confirmed the guilt of atomic spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, and that Soviet spies were active in the State Department, White House, Treasury, and even the OSS (predecessor of the CIA). Venona counted 349 spies communicating with Moscow, not including subordinates they may have been handling. The impact reverberates to present day, with some historians arguing senator Joe McCarthy's "witch hunt" was vindicated. Though correct about the State Department's extensive Soviet compromise, confirmed in later years by former KGB officers, the individuals he accused were almost universally innocent of espionage.

I'm torn between condemnation and recommendation. At least one CIA source insists Ms Fox ignored manuscript changes the CIA Publication Classification Review Board asked for. If so, she  reneged on the agreement - promise, actually -  she made when first hired by CIA. That betrayal of trust has to color the reader's take on her opinions. . .that said, the book is a good read and a disturbingly open account of CIA training and methods. Her perplexing naivete, along with her personal struggles dealing with a secret life, give depth to a engrossing narrative. This is an honest account by someone who wasn't suited by temperament or intellect for the job, and who was (eventually) wise enough to walk away. If you have an interest in methods, training, and CIA organization, this fills the bill