Running A Ring Of Spies: Spycraft And Black Operations In The Real World Of Espionage [Paperback]

Jefferson Mack (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0873649028 | ISBN-13: 978-0873649025 | Publication Date: November 1, 1996

Running a ring of spies is no mission impossible with this tell-all primer. Find out the secrets of the world's best spies and peep into the real world of a Bangkok madam-turned-secret agent, Aldrich Ames, U.S. Embassy guards, Kim Philby and garden-variety corporate spies. Find out how to get the goods on the bad guys.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

While working in Latin America and Southeast Asia for 20 years with one of the many different intelligence agencies of the United States, Jefferson Mack learned that governments are often the cause of humanity's problems but never the solution. He and the lady love of his life now live in their own safe house somewhere in the Northwest where they hunt, fish and live off the land while enjoying a world of computers, satellite TV, old pickups, chain saws and weapons ranging from bows and arrows and muzzle loaders to high-powered rifles with scopes designed for sniping.

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Paladin Press (November 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873649028
• ISBN-13: 978-0873649025
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #249,229 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bought 2 more copies, July 20, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Running A Ring Of Spies: Spycraft And Black Operations In The Real World Of Espionage (Paperback)

This book does contain the real secrets beind how the spy trade works. On the news you often hear that a piece of information can't be declassified because it would give away the ways & means used to collect intellgence by the agency. This book contains those ways & means. Fear, lust and greed, exploiting human nature. How to find someones thumb screws and force him or her to become a spy for you. Spying is a dirty, dirty business; someone you've known for 20 years can turn out to be your worst enemy. As the old saying goes "Your worst enemy is always a friend."The author of this book also has another one titled HOW TO RUN A SAFE HOUSE. Again, packed with great information.These books do contain dangerous information if looked at from the right perspective. The 911 hijackers used the exact information contained in these books to set up shop, plan the job, operate safe houses, etc. all right under the noses of the FBI.Remember, a terrorist doesn't see himself as a terrorist. He sees himself as a secret agent. I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn the spy-craft tricks-of-the-trade.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book for the uninitiated., August 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Running A Ring Of Spies: Spycraft And Black Operations In The Real World Of Espionage (Paperback)

This is a good book for learning how to recruit, run and handle spies. It's wise, but in my case it just summarized what I already knew.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insight Into How Agents and Informants Are Actually Spotted, Assessed, and Recruited., August 16, 2009

By 

Michael Chesbro (Rainier, Washington USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Running A Ring Of Spies: Spycraft And Black Operations In The Real World Of Espionage (Paperback)

I first read "Running a Ring of Spies" several years ago, and thought it was pretty good. I have recently re-read the book, and again found it interesting and informative.

"Running a Ring of Spies" offers insight into how agents and informants are actually spotted, assessed, and recruited. The book looks at the motivations for spying - MALICE: Money, Anger, Lust, Ideology, Compromise, and Ego, and discusses some ways a recruiter and case officer may exploit these motivations.

Moreover, "Running a Ring of Spies" is written in an easy-to-read format, offering stories of various people being recruited to be spies (perhaps based on actual events, or perhaps made up to illustrate the methods discussed in the book). Either way, reading this book will give you a basic understanding of how spies are recruited.

An entertaining book for those who enjoy "spy stories" and informative for those who want to develop a little security awareness and understanding of how intelligence agencies operate.

* Contents *
The Easy Come Bar
Spying Has One Purpose
The Basic Principles of Spying
Who Is a Spy and Who Is Not
The Making of a Traitor
The Art of Deception
Exercises in Deception and Intelligence Collection
It's More Than Telling Lies
The Case Officer at Work
When a Private Citizen Recruits
Surveillance
The Basic Steps: Phase One
The Basic Steps: Phase Two
The Security Aspect
Case Studies
The Successful Spy