The Recruiter: Spying and the Lost Art of American Intelligence

by Douglas London

Overview

This revealing memoir from a 34-year veteran of the CIA who worked as a case officer and recruiter of foreign agents before and after 9/11 provides an invaluable perspective on the state of modern spy craft, how the CIA has developed, and how it must continue to evolve.

If you've ever wondered what it's like to be a modern-day spy, Douglas London is here to explain. London’s overseas work involved spotting and identifying targets, building relationships over weeks or months, and then pitching them to work for the CIA—all the while maintaining various identities, a day job, and a very real wife and kids at home.

The Recruiter: Spying and the Lost Art of American Intelligence captures the best stories from London's life as a spy, his insights into the challenges and failures of intelligence work, and the complicated relationships he developed with agents and colleagues. In the end, London presents a highly readable insider’s tale about the state of espionage, a warning about the decline of American intelligence since 9/11 and Iraq, and what can be done to recover.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780306847318
Publisher:	Hachette Books
Publication date:	09/06/2022
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	244,660
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.00(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Douglas London is a retired Senior CIA Operations Officer, an Adjunct Associate Professor at Georgetown University's Center for Security Studies, and a Non-resident fellow at the Middle East Institute.  He served predominantly in the Middle East, South and Central Asia, and Africa, including three assignments as a Chief of Station, the President’s senior intelligence officer at post, and Chief of Base in a conflict zone. Assignments at CIA Headquarters included executive positions at CIA's Counterterrorism Center, Information Operations Center, and Near East and South Asia Division. London was decorated with the CIA’s Career Intelligence Medal, the McCone Award, and multiple unit and individual citations.

Table of Contents

CIA Required Disclaimer xi

Foreword xi

Prologue 1

Where Have You Gone, George Smiley? 9

Just Another Night… 16

Tne United States Intelligence Community, and Where CIA Fits 25

Where Does Our Intelligence Come From? 35

Hours and Hours of Routine, and a Few Moments of Adrenaline 43

Welcome to the Directorate of Operations 57

In the Beginning 69

"Typical" Case Officers 76

Intelligence Wars 82

Finding and Making Case Officers 88

Case Officers Who Go Bump in the Night, and the Not-So-Good Doctor 114

Of Mice and Men, and Race and Religion 133

The CIA on Its Downward Journey 153

Working and Playing Well with Other US Agencies 178

The Agent's Wife 183

Loving and Loathing Within CIA and Finding Common Ground with Your Agents 201

They Don't Have to Like Us … but They Do Have to Trust Us 217

Sexual Dynamics 235

My Gay Best Friend 243

Tne Crisis of Conscience 258

Families Abroad and Raising Kids in the Clandestine World 271

When Good Agents Do Bad Things and Calculating Risk Versus Gain 292

A Lifestyle Not for the Squeamish or Faint of Heart 319

Lost Friends and Comrades 328

Hard Targets: "Render unto Caesar the Things That Are Caesar's and unto God the Things That Are God's" 337

Humanity in All 354

When Case Officers Grow Up 360

When the Party Ends 368

Alex and the Targeters 372

Modernization's Continuing Costs 376

Strategy, Tactics, Tools, and Bloodlust 382

Transitioning into the Future 392

Acknowledgments 403

Index 407

Editorial Reviews

"Want to know what it’s like to recruit foreign agents for the Central Intelligence Agency? Douglas London gives us a revealing look behind the curtain into the inner workings of America’s constantly evolving spy organization. As a thirty-four-year veteran of the Agency, seventeen years on either side of 9/11, Douglas is uniquely positioned to provide perspective on the CIA’s shift in focus from classified intelligence gathering to policy making to paramilitary operations to the political weaponization of intelligence. A fascinating and important read for us all."—Jack Carr, Navy SEAL Sniper and #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Devil’s Hand

“The Recruiter shares many great episodes from London’s life in the National Clandestine Service, excellent insights into the challenges and intricacies of intelligence work, and thoughtful accounts of the complicated relationships he developed with agents and colleagues. In the end, London presents a superb insider’s tale about the state of espionage, the challenges that American intelligence has experienced since 9/11 and Iraq, and what needs to be done in the coming years to ensure that America's intelligence agencies can provide our country's national security team with the intelligence they need.”
 —General David Petraeus (Ret.), former Director of the CIA

“The Recruiter is the most important book about the CIA in years. London warns that the core mission of espionage—gathering intelligence through the recruitment of foreign agents—has been swamped by counterterrorism and paramilitary missions. That constitutes a clear and present danger to the United States.”—Tim Weiner, author of The Folly and the Glory: America, Russia, and Political Warfare, 1945–2020

"Recommended for all espionage enthusiasts."—Alma Katsu, author of The Hunger and The Deep

“The Recruiter is one of the most interesting spy memoirs in a long time, filled with fascinating insights into a life convincing people to betray their country. Also an unflinching critique of the unsavory side of CIA culture.”—Ken Dilanian, NBC News

"[A] great new book.” –Laura Coates, CNN—Laura Coates, CNN

“Always read about spies written by spies.”—Tom Nichols, contributing writer at The Atlantic and author of the Peacefield newsletter

“Riveting…London has written a scorching portrait of what he sees as decades of CIA mismanagement, from a failure to prevent terrorist attacks on Americans abroad and at home, to not foreseeing the so-called Arab Spring or the rise of the Islamic State terrorist group until it was too late.  He describes how some of these senior officials made serious mistakes.”—SpyTalk

“A rich and candid look at the lives of CIA Operations Officers… providing also a critique of the current state of the Agency….London’s book provides a much needed, if complicated, look at what it takes to live and operate forever in the shadows….The Recruiter weaves together a number of fascinating threads to form a tapestry of human intelligence today….That London was able to get this book through the Agency’s review board is a miracle in and of itself. From the hiring and vetting of a potential professional trainee, through to their time on the “Farm” (the Agency’s Virginia training location) and onto their first overseas rotations, London offers the reader rich anecdotes from his own time as a new hire….The richness of London’s book is in these stories, which are raw and real, and highlight both the highs and lows of the life of an Operations Officer. It is rare that one sees the latter or hears about the challenges of a life abroad undercover….[I]nteresting core arguments about the state of the Agency at a policy-level, arguments which fully form by the end of the book….On finishing The Recruiter one can’t help but feel as though they’ve been recruited, in a way.”
 —The Diplomatic Courier

“Many of us have wondered what it would be like to be a real spy….There could possibly be no better book to take us deep into this world than the latest release by Douglas London, titled The Recruiter: Spying and the Lost Art of American Intelligence….London… shares highly personal and courageous details in this memoir, which makes for such a fascinating read.”—Robert Amsterdam, “Departures” podcast

"Broad-ranging, thoughtful, [London's] reflected on his career and the changes the agency [he] worked for has [gone] through."—SpyCraft podcast, The Spy Museum

"The Recruiter reads like a very well crafted memoir."
 —"The San Francisco Experience" podcast

"Thoroughly enjoyed The Recruiter by Douglas London. Fascinating insights into life of [a] CIA
case officer from ground up—surveillance detection, cover, agent handling, liaison relationships, raising a family in a clandestine life, and how to persuade someone to betray their country."—First Casualty: The Untold Story of the CIA Mission to Avenge 9/11

“Fascinating detail about life inside CIA, and the challenges—and thrill—of HUMINT [human intelligence] work.”—Zach Dorman, national security supporter

“Douglas London’s The Recruiter is a rare treat, a book that captures the essence of intelligence work….The rewards of London’s career do not blind him to the reality of the world in which he moved. He can see his own agency with a clear eye, and his worm’s-eye view of the CIA post-9/11 makes for a sobering read….London is a smart, persuasive, and charming guide to what, for most people, is a hidden world.”—The Jewish Review of Books

“As juicy as CIA censors would allow.”—The Jewish Independent

“An enjoyable read that multiple audiences will find entertaining and useful…. The greatest value of the book is in gaining the perspective of a seasoned professional with vast experience at the ‘pointy end of the sphere.’… A captivating read… it raises important considerations and is a worthwhile read for multiple audiences.”—Inter Populum

From the Publisher

10/01/2021

London retired from the Central Intelligence Agency in 2019, after a 34-year distinguished career, in which he served under six Republican and five Democratic presidents. Here he shares his story of what life is like for United States case officers and how they perform the art of recruiting and retaining agents. Much of the content has been redacted, but London still speaks truth to power and criticizes the CIA for becoming a cult of personality following 9/11, where loyalty is often prized more than intelligence gathering. The author calls for the revitalization of counterterrorism programs to limit the emergence of foreign terrorist cells, although he cautions about more likely domestic terrorism from lone wolves and white supremacists. The most fascinating chapters describe what life is like for CIA officials in nations that don't welcome Americans, and what special challenges London encountered when his wife and children lived with him overseas. London and his family dealt with illness and poor medical care, lack of support networks, and threats of rocket attacks, kidnappings, and car bombings. VERDICT This mostly fast-moving account is at times slowed by jargon and acronyms. It will appeal to general readers and specialists intrigued by the modern CIA.—Karl Helicher, formerly at Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA

Library Journal

2021-07-27
An inside look at the CIA over the past few decades, including the agency’s degradation and politicization in the age of Trump.

London is a decorated 34-year veteran of the CIA and currently teaches at Georgetown University’s Center for Security Studies. It’s clear the author has good intentions in revealing his experiences and opinions about the history and direction of the agency, and he shares a secret or two, but as with many books about the CIA, FBI, or other government agencies, redactions scrape away some of the intrigue. In addition to his overview of his entry into the CIA and subsequent training—there’s plenty about the embarrassments at jump school but little about tradecraft—London devotes most of the book to “war stories,” describing his experience as a case officer in recruiting agents, foreign spies working on behalf of the U.S. but lacking any identifiable factors, from geography to the culture of local forces working in opposition to American interests. One refreshing discovery two decades after 9/11 is the importance that the agency levies on HUMINT, or human intelligence derived from agents and other actors, bad and good, that leads to actionable pursuits to move a case forward or interrupt a plot to hurt others. “Espionage is about relationships,” writes London. “Agents are all human beings with hopes, dreams, fears and communities….They don’t want to be treated like prostitutes, nor even employees, and they deserve respect. You dehumanize them or otherwise take them for granted at your own peril.” There are a few recognizable names here, but most of the players remain silent, from a case officer who committed suicide to an aggressively alcoholic head of a remote posting to the asset who declared that he needed to kill his handler in order to be taken seriously.

An inconspicuous but well-informed and readable snapshot of one of America’s most secretive organizations.

Kirkus Reviews