Customer Reviews

A Spy's Journey: A CIA Memoir

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

In "A Spy's Journey: A CIA Memoir," Floyd Paseman, a recently retired senior CIA executive, has provided us with a very useful and highly readable account of his 34 years in "The Company," from trainee to senior executive. As he writes of his progressing career as a top spy recruiter for the Directorate of Operations, he guides the reader to other published works about particular eras and controversies over the years 1967 to the present: the astute reader will see that Paseman has written both a primer on espionage craft and a syllabus for an orderly study of the CIA's history, with each Central Intelligence Director, from Richard Helms to George Tenet, profiled for their strengths and weaknesses. He also describes the relations between each president and the agency in historical sequence.

Importantly, Paseman tells you exactly what's right and wrong with the CIA and tells you who is to blame (the Clinton Administration, most recently) and who is to be praised, notably George Tenet for his efforts to revive the craft of intelligence gathering. Was the 9/11 attack an intelligence failure? "Of course," he replies and points to our continuing vulnerabilities.

If one reads this in conjunction with Michael Scheuer's "Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror," you get a sense for just how complex must be our response to the challenge of Islamist terrorism. And that war is a challenge that cannot be met merely with CIA/military/homeland security operations. Other allies and agencies have to help infiltrate and "roll up" terrorist cells and networks, while economic and educational initiatives leading towards better career opportunities work to remove "fuel from the fire" that is angry young Islam.

Paseman, recognized in his agency as one of the best recruiters of foreign spies during his years in Taiwan, Japan, Burma, Greece, Thailand, Singapore and Germany; found that one good tool was his ability to form bluegrass bands during his postings.

On the home front, he offers tips on how to know what's going on inside the shop. His version of "the water cooler" is to keep one's ears open in the company restrooms and to patrol aggressively for coffee around other staff groups: "being available."

Paseman has a genius for the instructive anecdote and they range well beyond the restroom and coffee pot and the reader will be rewarded richly for perusing Mr. Paseman's book.

Mr. Paseman's "A Spy's Journey" is an engaging and entertaining read. What a great adventure the CIA provides its officers. I particularly enjoyed the author's passing comments on the POW-MIA tarbaby, the false reporting and the attempts of politicians to exploit the issue for personal gain.

Chapter 17, "Managing the ambassador and the intelligence community", really hits the mark. Chapter 21, "What's wrong and what's right with the CIA," was written from the heart.

One cannot help but wonder what today's young officers will one day write as they look back on the "war on terror" that shaped their careers.

After being raised on the stories of James Bond, I was interested to see what a real field agent's life was like. And I was surprised. Here is this man, married with two small children living in Asia. In the evenings he would go out to meet spies that he had recruited for the CIA. Somehow all this just didn't register as the romantic view that "Bond, James Bond" had created. It makes spying seem just like any other profession.

And I guess that it must be so. He is concerned with the same kinds of things that bother the rest of us: salary, promotions, bosses -- all those kinds of things.

I was expecting to read a lot more about wher he worked and just what he did, but this wasn't there. I guess that the author still respected the secrecy enough to simply not mention it.

Perhaps the most useful parts of the book were on his observations about the various heads of the CIA and the view of the various Presidents toward the agency. Finally the CIA is an agency of our Government, with all of the strengths and weaknesses that that implies. This book helps to de-mystify the agency.

Like other reviewers, I found this book interesting but it left much to be desired. Paseman's sense of humor didn't match mine in too many places, and because of security or sensitivity he couldn't go into detail about a number of cases or interviews, which tended to lose me as he went along. Whenever he cited another CIA book, I was tempted to drop Paseman and go check out his recommendations, but I stayed along till the end. He finishes the book with a veteran's laundry list of what is going right and what needs to be corrected in the CIA. Of some interest the first time around, this will probably not cause you to pick it up a second time.

I actually really enjoyed this book. I give it three stars because it wasnt written very well. By that I mean its just obvious paseman isnt a writer, but by no means is it hard to read. Its very clear and easy to read. Because there are better books that you could read on this subject it gets three stars in comparrison. the second reason it gets 3 stars is becaue there isnt much detail and it seems as though there is no main theme in the book. Its sprinkled with a few accounts of fun stories of his time as a CO and some of them are pretty funny but then he'll talk about his commanders for a chapter then talk about someother aspect of being in the CIA with nothing really tying it all in together. However thess is all of my criticisms which are alot easier to write than what I liked. Im very interested in the CIA so i really enjoyed this book and although i only rate it 3 stars, I would recomend this book.

Im glad i bought the book before reading any reviews because after reading the other reviews(and mine too) i probably would have bought another book. Remember, just because some people dont like something doesnt mean you wont either.

While certainly a skilled case officer, Mr. Paseman's writing skills leave something to be desired. His memoirs are very entertaining and full of unique experiences, but his lack of skill with the written word means that paragraphs are clunky and flow poorly. Well worth the money for anyone looking to find out exactly what being a CIA case officer is truly like, but don't expect writing skills beyond the level of a high school newspaper editor.

I will keep it short:
This book simply lacked any credible flow. Paragraphs started and ended without any particular order thus making it difficult to follow. The humor was described in a way that you really would have to be there to find it funny. The author described his career in the Agency but refused to mention most of the countries he worked in. He would lead the reader into the field and then back to HQ and then again into the field without describing the transition.
After the account of his spy career and beginning of the new found academic career, his writing became more fluent and free flowing, which allowed for easier read. At the end of the book, his summary of U.S. Presidents and DCIs was informative and he tried to keep the information as succinct as possible, which he somehow succeeded. Nonetheless, this book provided some insight into the trade-craft of HUMINT and the disconnect by HQ and the stations.

Considering that the CIA will review and edit to make sure that no specific details of importance are divulged, Mr. Paseman's account of his career as a spy over various decades is an interesting read. No, it's not a Ludlum spy novel, but his career spanned many presidencies and world events. his insight and opinions are very relevant to today's world and the timing of career serves as a backdrop to the horrific events on 9/11. If you are interested in American Intelligence, pick up this book.

What is the life of a real spy during the roughest times of the cold war? "A Spy' s Journey: A CIA Memoir" is the memoir of Floyd L. Paseman, telling his story of rising through the ranks of the CIA across the span of decades, serving his country in the divided territory of Germany. "A Spy's Journey" is an utterly fascinating read, of highest recommendation for those who want a taste of real spy life.

The book walks the reader through an officer's career from the highs to the lows. the book outlines the positives and negatives of life as an officer - it also explains that in many instances, taking a step backward in your career many times is how you get forward. Floyd's career was nothing short of stellar.

If you are at all interested in the art or service of espionage - this is aa must read.