An Ordinary Spy

by Joseph Weisberg

Book Overview

"This book is surely the best portrait of the working C.I.A. we have had in many years." -- New York Times Book Review The most riveting and inventive spy novel to come along in years, published as... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1596913762
• ISBN13: 9781596913769
• Release Date: December 2007
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.26 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.8" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Could NOT put it down

I will unabashedly say I loved this book. About a third of the way in, the plot and the mystery kick into high gear, and I ended up staying up till 2:30am, riveted, refusing to put it down, even though I had to go to work early that morning. It's written in a decidedly conversational (ordinary, perhaps?) style, but that almost adds to the sense of realism, as if he's seriously only chronicling events (which are supposedly based on fact). Don't pick up this novel expecting a literary tour de force--it doesn't even have pretensions in that direction. It is merely for the unraveling of an incredible, incredibly moving story (one which singlehandedly made me go from wishing I were a CIA case officer to thanking my lucky stars I'm not), and the use of language is, at least, way better than Dan Brown. Are all the blacked out words annoying? Yes. But is it fun guessing what those blacked out words are? Yes.

An Ordinary Spy

None of the previously read reviews of this book gave me an inkling about it other than this "spy" told spying as it really is. While it is a bit off-putting in its style, I found it compelling---and it would be unfair to reveal any more about it or its plot.

What's it like to be a first tour case officer?

OK, now, understand this is a novel. It is not true and the major case in the book never happened, would never happen, as described. Get over that fact and read this book for what it tells you about what it was like to be a first tour espionage officer (case officer) abroad. In that respect, there is not a false note. I recommend this book to people who have read the non-fiction stuff and still want to grasp what it would be like to be abroad as a first tour officer, what it would "feel" like. Well worth a read.

Intriguing....something any aspiring case officer should read and ponder

I just finished reading "An Ordinary Spy" (in two days). It made me think some of Claire Berlinski's "Loose Lips" (a novel narrated by a woman going through the CIA's career trainee program...the same one that the narrator in this book went through) and perhaps a bit more like one of the stories in John LeCarre's "The Secret Pilgrim" (narrated by "Ned," a veteran of the British intelligence services). Loose Lips: A Novel The Secret Pilgrim (Coronet Books) From what I've read about the clandestine world, "An Ordinary Spy" rings true. I wonder if some readers might find the redactions (some authentically imposed by the real CIA and some imposed by a fictional CIA censoring a former spook's memoir a bit annoying). I found them somewhat entertaining and found myself guessing where the fictional CIA officer was assigned ...my guess was India. I think I would recommend that anyone aspiring to be a case officer read this book because it shows that to be an effective one, you have to be what a lot of people would consider hard-hearted...I think in a way it's a bit like wanting to be a doctor (if you can't stand the sight of blood, you aren't going to be a success). Similarly, if you don't have the right personality, you aren't going to be a success as a case officer. I think being a case officer is a worthwhile and commendable profession, but I know enough about myself to conclude that it's not something I would be good at or happy at. Because fundamentally, what a case officer does for a living is entice foreigners to betray their countries on the behalf of the United States. To be good at that, you have to be manipulative but also have a code of conduct that keeps you from going right off a moral cliff. Finally, for those who like pondering the moral dilemmas posed by the spying game, they should read a nonfiction book written by James M. Olson, another former CIA officer, called "Fair Play" that examines dozens of fascinating scenarios and whether they are things that an American intelligence service should be doing or not doing. Fair Play: The Moral Dilemmas of Spying