A SPY FOR ALL SEASONS: My Life In The CIA [Hardcover]

Duane R. Clarridge (Author), Digby Diehl (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 14, 1997

This memoir of former CIA Deputy Director Duane R. "Dewey" Clarridge offers revelations about clandestine activities he supervised in the world's hot spots. He offers us an account of Iran-Contra, and why the CIA was so shaken by the Walsh investigation. He offers a behind-the-scenes look at the Reagan administration's secret war against Sandinistas - a campaign Clarridge conceived and ran. Clarridge, who founded and headed the CIA's counter-terrorist centre, also reveals how the agency retaliated for the terrorist murders on the cruise ship "Achille Lauro" and in the Vienna and Rome airports. Whether he is speaking about William Casey or William Webster, this intelligence veteran provides insider perspectives on key security issues and political events of our time.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Clarridge, a New Hampshire-born dentist's son, joined the CIA in 1955 to fight Soviet and Chinese communism. His 33-year career-including stints as chief of the Latin American and European divisions, and head of the CIA's Counterterrorist Center, which he set up in 1986-ended with his forced retirement after the FBI and congressional committees investigated his role in what he dismissively calls "the Iran-contra nonsense." Indicted in 1991 on federal charges of lying to Congress and the Tower Commission, Clarridge received a presidential pardon from Bush a year later. In a brisk, businesslike memoir studded with disclosures about CIA covert actions and espionage around the world, Clarridge denies charges that he secretly anointed Oliver North as U.S. coordinator for contra funding and weapons supply. He also denies that he knew in advance a shipment of missiles to Iran was, in fact, weaponry rather than oil-drilling equipment, as North allegedly tricked him into believing. Clarridge reveals details of an almost-successful agency attempt to nab Palestinian terrorist Abul Abbas, who hijacked the cruise ship Achille Lauro in 1985, killing a wheelchair-bound Jewish passenger. The CIA veteran staunchly defends Reagan's contra war against Nicaragua's "totalitarian" Sandinistas, an operation he created and supervised. And he reports that, after Abu Nidal terrorists killed 19 people in the Rome and Vienna airports in 1985, CIA operatives penetrated the Libya- and Lebanon-based group, sowing paranoid distrust that led Nidal to murder 330 of his own hard-core disciples. Coauthor Diehl is a frequent contributor to Playboy and has collaborated on six book.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

When Clarridge retired under the shadow of the Iran-Contra affair, he was one of the most senior clandestine operations people in the CIA. Behind him lay the career this book recounts. Beginning in the 1950s, when the CIA had just completed its transition from being the OSS, it continued through the height of the cold war to finally witness the collapse of Communism. Frank about his own limitations and failings and equally proud of his achievements, Clarridge, with writer Diehl's able help, generally offers a commendably unglamorous insider account of the spy's life. It is, of course, hard to judge whether he is totally truthful about his role in supporting the contras, but he is definitely persuasive in arguing against creating a situation in which clandestine operations are impossible, as he believes is now the case. Good reading for students of espionage, both serious and casual. Roland Green

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Scribner (January 14, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684800683
• ISBN-13: 978-0684800684
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #582,130 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Informative, interesting, and self-serving, January 21, 2009

By 

Bradley Nelson (Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Spy For All Seasons: My Life in the CIA (Paperback)

Clarridge was nothing if not controversial. His long and storied career at the CIA is a fascinating read. He includes some of the more "mundane" aspects of the job, but manages to relate them in an interesting manner. What's great about this book is that Clarridge served in a variety of regions and came face-to-face with terrorism, so he offers some great perspective that is still relevant today. Later in his career, Clarridge was tied up in the Iran-Contra scandal and was eventually forced into retirement.

Despite the informative and interesting nature of his memoir, it is entirely self-serving. Now, of course, most memoirs are. But Clarridge comes off as defensive, hurt and looking to bully his critics. A number of passages read less like a memoir than a tirade from a bar stool.

Nevertheless, for anyone interested in espionage and intelligence, this book is a great read.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book on What Its Like to be a CIA Officer, September 25, 2009

By 

ironman96 (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: A Spy For All Seasons: My Life in the CIA (Paperback)

This is one of the best books and most realistic books out there on what its like to be a CIA officer. The author speaks from an experience of 30 plus years in the CIA starting out as a junior case officer and retiring as a senior manager. The author spent his time in the agency during the Cold War but also had experience in the Middle East and fighting the emerging threat of terrorism. Some of his more significant accomplishments were establishing the counterterrorism center (CTC) and working to support the contras against the rise of communism in Central America. My favorite part of the book was the author's stories of his experiences--this guy is the real thing. The least interesting part of the book was the discussion about the investigations in the Iran-Contra scandal and the infighting within the CIA. Don't get me wrong, the author's account adds an important element to the history, but it was not as interesting as the rest of the book. If you are interested in the topic, this is an excellent book.

11 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Guy in a Very Bad System, April 8, 2000

By 

Robert D. Steele (Oakton, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: A SPY FOR ALL SEASONS: My Life In The CIA (Hardcover)

Dewey was a Division Chief when I was a junior case officer, and I continue to admire him. His pocket handkerchiefs were amazing-you could parachute from a plane with one in an emergency. Dewey's bottom line is clear: he concludes that "the Clandestine Services (sic) is finished as a really effective intelligence service." He has other worthwhile insights, ranging from the inadequacy of the information reaching CIA analysts from open sources (e.g. Nepal), to the "wog factor" dominating CIA analytical assessments (e.g. Pakistan will never attack India), to the sterile and politically-safe approaches to intelligence by the leadership of NSA and the some of the military intelligence services. My bottom line on Dewey is also clear: he was typical of the case officer talent pool, he tried very hard, and the system still failed. He was a good person in a very bad system.