A Spy's Journey: A CIA Memoir

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.

This book presents a detailed account of one man's life in the CIA, the challenges he had to face and how he went about to resolve these challenges. Its more of a biography rather then an account of what the CIA is really is. Futhermore, the author talks about how his family deals with his working life and thereby giving a 'human' side to the espionage world. All in all, a great read and would reccomend it.

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.

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.

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.