Top Picks From A CIA Case Officer’s Bookshelf One of the most common requests we receive is for a reading list on intelligence, special operations, and national security. While this is somewhat outside our scope of Watches of Espionage, we are encouraged by this question because it demonstrates a desire to learn more about impactful topics within our community. With that in mind, I took a hard look at my library and queried other friends about their favorite books on the CIA and the world of intelligence to create an incomplete but workable list. There are a lot of great books out there on these subjects. This is the second list focused on CIA, traditional espionage, and foreign intelligence collection. For the first installment looking at books covering the Global War On Terror, see HERE. While the purpose of this platform isn’t to inspire the next generation of public servants, we are quickly learning this is a byproduct of W.O.E., which is great. So whether you are a student interested in a career at CIA or a washed-up dad wanting to relive the glory days, here are some great books to keep you entertained, informed, and educated. *We have added affiliate Amazon links for each book if you want to purchase directly from Amazon and support the site. If not, that's cool too. Modern Intelligence Collection In Books The Art of Intelligence: Lessons from a Life in the CIA's Clandestine Service, Henry A. Crumpton From serving in the pre-digital age in Africa to helping coordinate the CIA’s Predator drone programs, Henry A. Crumpton’s career in intelligence is carefully chronicled in The Art of Intelligence: Lessons from a Life in the CIA's Clandestine Service. While much has changed, Crumpton also underlines the basic tradecraft principles that have stood the test of time. This is a great primer on the world of intelligence and life as a C/O at the CIA, absent much of the bravado common in CIA memoirs. The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames, Kai Bird A legend in the intelligence community, Robert Ames was credited with helping to heal the rift between Arabs and the West before he was killed in a bombing on the American embassy in Beirut in 1983. Intriguingly, Bird is a journalist who knew Ames as a child, and crafted this book from his firsthand experience with Ames as well as countless interviews with global intelligence professionals. Class 11: My Story Inside the CIA's First Post-9/11 Spy Class, T.J. Waters After the attacks on 9/11, the CIA received over 150,000 applications from Americans wanting to join the Global War On Terror’s espionage effort. Around 100 students were selected for Class 11, the first CIA training course convened after the darkest day in modern American history. In Class 11: My Story Inside the CIA's First Post-9/11 Spy Class, T.J. Waters, a Class 11 graduate, shares an insider view of a new generation of CIA Case Officers preparing for war. Of note, some inside CIA will roll their eyes at this recommendation, but it is the best insight I have seen on the training pipeline and specifically the long course at “The Farm.” Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs, from Communism to Al-Qaeda, Robert Wallace, H. Keith Melton, & Henry R. Schlesinger Juxtaposed against the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and evolving terrorist threats, Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs, from Communism to Al-Qaeda is a never-before-seen look at the technology that makes espionage possible. Fair Play: The Moral Dilemmas of Spying, James Olson Intelligence collection is a morally ambiguous trade. In Fair Play: The Moral Dilemmas of Spying, James Olson, a CIA veteran, tackles the challenging moral and ethical challenges facing the modern intelligence community. Describing a lack of firm guidance from the Agency on what constitutes inappropriate tradecraft, Olson illustrates how that uncertainty hampers Case Officers in the field, making an already complicated and dangerous job even more perilous. I read this book while at CIA and found it thought-provoking and a must-read for anyone in the community. Black Ops: The Life of a CIA Shadow Warrior, Ric Prado After fleeing war-torn Cuba as a child, Ric Prado served with US Air Force Pararescue before joining CIA and rising through the ranks of the CIA over a 24-year career. Having served in Central Asia, Peru, the Philippines, Korea, and numerous other classified locations, Black Ops: The Life of a CIA Shadow Warrior is Prado’s memoir of a life lived in the shadows. Prado also has several notable watches including the Blackwater Emergency and a Tudor Submariner. The Targeter, Nada Bakos Targeters are one of the most important and least understood career tracks at CIA, and this book provides some great insight. Joining the Agency as an analyst, Nada Bakos rose to the rank of Targeting Officer, playing a central role in unraveling the connections between 9/11 and Al Qaeda during the Global War On Terror. The Targeter is a powerful firsthand account of one woman’s story of selfless sacrifice and the incredible work being done by professionals within the intelligence community. The Book of Secrets - The History of the President’s Daily Brief, David Priess Every day, the President of the United States is handed a daily brief (PDB) summarizing important intelligence-related issues and events as well as potential threats to the United States. David Priess’s volume, The Book of Secrets - The History of the President’s Daily Brief, tells the history of what some call “The Book” and its influence on national security and geopolitics. Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror, Michael V. Hayden In Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror, General Michael V. Hayden shares his experiences as the former leader of both the NSA and CIA, saying, “I bear no grudges, or at least not many, but I do want this to be a straightforward and readable history for that slice of the American population who depend on and appreciate intelligence, but who do not have the time to master its many obscure characteristics."   This is a great primer on the intelligence community at various levels and deals with some of the issues related to the future of the IC. The Book of Honor: The Secret Lives and Deaths of CIA Operatives, Ted Gup Ted Gup’s chilling and well-researched The Book of Honor: The Secret Lives and Deaths of CIA Operatives tackles the often untold stories of the people behind the 71 stars carved into a marble wall at CIA HQS, each representing an intelligence professional who lost their life in the line of duty. Many of these stories may be still classified, but I will note it was required reading for new recruits at CIA. Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw, Mark Bowden Mark Bowden, a legendary journalist and the author of Black Hawk Down, chronicles the violent rise to power and fall of Pablo Escobar, the world’s most legendary drug kingpin, in Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw. Beirut Rules: The Murder of a CIA Station Chief and Hezbollah's War Against America, Fred Burton & Samuel Katz In Beirut Rules, Fred Burton & Samuel Katz unpack Hezbollah’s war against America in the 1980s and the terror organization’s ultimately successful quest to kill William Buckley, a CIA Case Officer assigned to Beirut after the 1983 bombing of the American embassy in Lebanon that killed Robert Ames. The Recruiter: Spying and the Lost Art of American Intelligence, Douglas London In Douglas London’s The Recruiter: Spying and the Lost Art of American Intelligence, the 34-year veteran of the CIA describes his experience working in American intelligence both before and after 9/11, calling into question how the Agency has adapted and how it must continue to evolve. A Spy for All Seasons: My Life in the CIA, Duane R. Clarridge (Author) & Digby Diehl Another memoir from a seasoned CIA Case Officer, Duane R. Clarridge’s A Spy for All Seasons: My Life in the CIA is a behind-the-scenes account of the state of American intelligence from the point of view of the former Deputy Director of the CIA. The Human Factor: Inside the CIA's Dysfunctional Intelligence Culture, Ishmael Jones The Human Factor: Inside the CIA's Dysfunctional Intelligence Culture is author Ishmael Jones’ plea for reform within the Agency, specifically citing intelligence shortfalls and other missteps caused by the culture of the world of intelligence. This book is highly critical of CIA, which is actually a good thing. If you are truly interested in learning about the organization, it's important to read positive and negative takes to get a full picture. Tiger Trap: America's Secret Spy War with China, David Wise Tiger Trap: America's Secret Spy War with China tells the story of China’s unseen espionage war against the United States, much of it perpetrated while American attention was focused on the Soviet Union. From double agents to cybersecurity, author David Wise paints a picture of a Chinese intelligence machine that is not to be underestimated. David Wise has some other great books on espionage including Spy- The Inside Story of How the FBI's Robert Hanssen Betrayed America. The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA, Liza Mundy Historically a male-dominated field, The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA tells the story of the incredible contributions made by women to the world of intelligence and national security. Of note, some of the best officers I worked with were women and this book tells some of their stories. Argo: How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History, Antonio Mendez & Matt Baglio A more in-depth look at the real-life story that inspired 2012’s Argo film starring Ben Affleck, Argo: How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History is CIA Technical Officer Tony Mendez’s account of his role in smuggling six American hostages out of Tehran in 1979. Good Hunting: An American Spymaster's Story, Jack Devine & Vernon Loeb With over 30 years in the business of United States intelligence, Jack Devine finished his career overseeing the Directorate of Operations. Good Hunting: An American Spymaster's Story, is Devine’s overarching guide to the concept of spycraft, the combined set of tactics, techniques, and procedures utilized by CIA and other intelligence agencies. Inside the CIA, Ronald Kessler Ronald Kessler’s Inside the CIA is a rare officially sanctioned look inside America’s intelligence service, focusing on the Agency’s organization, mission, and accomplishments. If you’re looking for a primer on what the CIA is and how it operates, this book is an excellent place to start. Transforming U.S. Intelligence, Jennifer E Sims & Burton Gerber (Editors) Transforming U.S. Intelligence is an almost scholarly work assembling the insights of numerous contributors with firsthand experience in the world of intelligence. Based on learnings from the missing weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and critical missteps in the lead-up to 9/11, this book aims to describe how United States intelligence can learn from its shortfalls to be more effective in an uncertain future. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, J.K. Rowling Early in my career at CIA, I focused solely on nonfiction thinking that fiction was a waste of time. That said, many intelligence and NatSec failures boil down to a failure of imagination. Feeding your brain with fiction like Harry Potter is a great way to teach yourself to think outside the box.   The More You Know Separating fact from fiction when it comes to the CIA is challenging, with so much public perception around the world of espionage being inspired by Hollywood’s portrayals of Jason Bourne or James Bond. Targeted strikes, covert action, and high-stakes clandestine meetings do happen, and many are described within these volumes, but the realities facing intelligence professionals are often more subtle, nuanced, and intriguing. While this is not an exhaustive list, these titles represent an excellent jumping-off point for anyone hoping to hear firsthand stories from inside the United States intelligence apparatus. As they say, the more you know… If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE. Read Next: W.O.E. CIA Reading List Part 1 - The Global War On Terror *As a disclaimer, as Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases. When you click on links to various books in this article and make a purchase, this can result in Watches of Espionage earning a commission. If you’re interested in these books and want to make a purchase using these links, we appreciate your support.

Top Picks From A CIA Case Officer’s Bookshelf One of the most common requests we receive is for a reading list on intelligence, special operations, and national security. While this is a little outside our scope of Watches of Espionage, we are encouraged by this question because it demonstrates a desire to learn more about impactful topics within our community. With that in mind, I took a hard look at my library and queried other friends on their favorite books on intelligence and SpecOps to create an incomplete but workable list. There are a lot of great books out there on these subjects. For brevity’s sake, we elected to make this a series, with the first installment focused on books covering the Global War On Terror that raged for 20 years in the aftermath of the attacks on September 11th, 2001. We encourage you to add your favorite reads to the comments.  CIA’s Team Alpha Prior to Insertion into Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11. While the purpose of this platform isn’t to inspire the next generation of public servants, we are quickly learning this is a byproduct of W.O.E., which is great. So whether you are a student interested in a career at CIA or a washed-up dad wanting to relive the glory days, here are some great books to keep you entertained, informed, and educated. *We have added affiliate Amazon links for each book if you want to purchase directly from Amazon and support the site. If not, that's cool too. The Global War On Terror (GWOT) In Books Kill Bin Laden: A Delta Force Commander's Account of the Hunt for the World's Most Wanted Man, Dalton Fury In Kill Bin Laden, retired US Army Major Thomas Greer, whose action movie-style pen name is Dalton Fury, describes his firsthand experiences as a senior Delta Force officer during the hunt for Osama Bin Laden including a riveting eyewitness account of the Battle Of Tora Bora in 2001. Of note, he also has some great fiction reads similar to Jack Carr. The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth, Mark Mazzetti While we’re typically hard on reporters, Mark Mazzetti, a Pulitzer Prize winner, provides an excellent multi-faceted look at modern warfare by sharing the stories of intelligence officers, special operators, and CIA assets including at least one socialite. There is some great detail in this book that would never pass the CIA’s Publication Review Board. Licensed to Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror, Robert Young Pelton A closer look at the world of private military contractors (PMC), Licensed to Kill details CIA’s “Dirty Wars”, contractor training, and some of the most prominent successes and failures of private military contractors, often operating without oversight or repercussions when they cross the line. If you want to learn more about the Blackwater Breitling, this is a good place to start and about as unbiased as it gets on this controversial topic. Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander, Gary Berntsen & Ralph Pezzullo This time coming from the Agency’s perspective, Jawbreaker is career CIA Case Officer Gary Berntsten’s first-hand experience coordinating the CIA's fight against the Taliban while searching for Usama bin Laden in the war’s early years. First In: An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan, Gary Schroen Gary Schroen was a legendary CIA Case Officer who led the initial Northern Alliance Liaison Team—codenamed “Jawbreaker”—into Afghanistan, in late 2001. First In is his account of some of the first boots on the ground belonging to a team of CIA Officers tasked with linking up with the Northern Alliance in the Panjshir Valley. We profiled Schroen and his Rolex Submariner in a previous Dispatch, read HERE. First Casualty: The Untold Story of the CIA Mission to Avenge 9/11, Toby Harnden One of the best-researched accounts of the first phase of the war in the aftermath of 9/11, Toby Harnden’s book, First Casualty, should be required reading for anyone looking for a 10,000-foot overview of the CIA and US Army Special Forces’ efforts in Afghanistan in the Fall of 2001. Of note, Harnden also wrote a Dispatch on Israeli Spy Eli Cohen’s Eterna-Matic Centenaire Recovered by Mossad, read HERE. The Triple Agent: The al-Qaeda Mole who Infiltrated the CIA, Joby Warrick Coming from another Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, Joby Warrick’s The Triple Agent is the harrowing narrative of Humam Khalil al-Balawi, a Jordanian double agent who claimed the lives of seven CIA Case Officers and Paramilitary Officers at a secret outpost in Afghanistan in 2009.  This was required reading for several courses at CIA and an important study of counterintelligence in counterterrorism operations. Hunting the Jackal: A Special Forces and CIA Ground Soldier's Fifty-Year Career Hunting America's Enemies, Billy Waugh & Tim Keown A legend among SpecOps and the Agency, Billy Waugh fought in Vietnam with US Army Special Forces and worked as a contractor for CIA in Khartoum, Sudan in the early 90s keeping tabs on a certain bad actor named Usama bin Laden. When the GWOT kicked off, Waugh, who was then 71, deployed to Afghanistan to continue his lifelong service to our country. Waugh is also a W.O.E. Dispatch profile alum, having worn some of history’s great tool watches throughout his adventure-filled life including a Rolex GMT-Master, Seiko 6409, and numerous Digital Tool Watches (D.T.W.) throughout his career. Click HERE to read more. Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001, Steve Coll Where many of the books we’ve mentioned thus far cover the events immediately following 9/11, Steve Coll’s Ghost Wars concentrates on the intelligence efforts before September 11th including CIA’s clandestine efforts to subvert Soviet action in Afghanistan in the 1980s. I read and reread this book every time I went to Afghanistan, and it is one of the most comprehensive histories of the US Government's involvement in the region. Directorate S: The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Steve Coll Another Steve Coll piece, Directorate S covers the intelligence challenges faced by CIA in Afghanistan caused by Pakistani ISI’s "Directorate S", a highly secretive wing of the country’s intelligence service charged with arming, training, and attempting to legitimize the Taliban’s role in the region. This is a great follow-on reading to Ghost Wars. Surprise, Kill, Vanish: The Secret History of CIA Paramilitary Armies, Operators, and Assassins, Annie Jacobsen Another text looking at CIA’s Paramilitary operations, Surprise, Kill, Vanish provides a high-level overview of the history of CIA's Special Activities Division (SAD / SAC) interwoven with firsthand accounts of the secretive unit’s actions during the Cold War and the GWOT. I will note, while this is a good read with lots of great information, several sections are over-Hollywoodized and not as accurate as they appear. 13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened In Benghazi, Mitchell Zuckoff with the Annex Security Team 13 Hours is a detailed account of the events of September 11th, 2012, when a six-man team of GRS security contractors working for the US Government defended a CIA annex and a State Department Special Mission Compound from armed militants in Benghazi, Libya. Also having been made into a feature film of the same name starring the dreamy John Krasinski, 13 Hours also offers some premium Rolex Submariner content on the wrist of Ty "Rone" Woods, a CIA Global Response Staff contractor played by James Badge Dale. The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, Lawrence Wright Another prequel to the events of 9/11 and the GWOT to follow, The Looming Tower is a Pulitzer Prize-winning narrative describing Usama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri’s ascent to the heights of global terrorism as well as the FBI’s efforts to track and understand the emerging threat presented by al-Qaeda in the 1990s. This is the best read on helping understand the events that led to the attacks on September 11th and an easy read. Send Me: The True Story of a Mother at War, Marty Skovlund Jr. & Joe Kent Authored by our good friend Marty Skovlund Jr. and former CIA Joe Kent, the subject’s widower, Send Me is the incredible story of Senior Chief Petty Officer Shannon Kent, a trailblazing female special operator, gifted linguist, and mother of two who served with Naval Special Warfare and CIA during the Global War On Terror, ultimately losing her life in a suicide bombing in Syria in 2019. Relentless Strike: The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command, Sean Naylor Relentless Strike is one of the best overviews of Joint Special Operations Command or JSOC, the parent organization that serves as operational control for Delta Force, the 75th Ranger Regiment, SEAL Team Six, and other secretive intelligence and aviation assets. From its humble beginnings in the 80s to its exponentially larger role in the GWOT, JSOC became one of the United States’ most impactful weapons in the fight against terrorism. There is some great CIA content also in this book that is scarily accurate. Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda, Sean Naylor An in-depth account of Operation Anaconda, Not a Good Day to Die is intelligence and counterterrorism reporter Sean Naylor’s beautifully researched description of one of the United States’ bloodiest battles in the Global War On Terror. This work details the early actions of SOF, JSOC, and CIA in the early days of the conflict in Afghanistan. No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama Bin Laden, Mark Owen & Kevin Maurer Where 9/11 is the event that caused the GWOT, the killing of Usama Bin Laden in 2011 is perhaps the second-most crucial event marking the culmination of an unprecedented intelligence effort by CIA and a harrowing raid by SEAL Team Six, which is described in detail in No Easy Day by Mark Owen, a veteran SEAL operator who was on the mission. While we generally roll our eyes at SEAL books, this is an incredible insight into SEAL Team Six and a first-hand account of this historic operation. See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War Against Terrorism, Robert Baer Another account from a CIA Officer serving before and in the opening phases of the GWOT, See No Evil is an incendiary look at what the author sees as the Agency’s intelligence failures as well as a description of the roots of modern terrorism. Bob Baer is a controversial figure at CIA and many say his reputation is less than stellar. That said, this book inspired an entire generation of CIA officers, coming out shortly after September 11th. Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan, Doug Stanton One of the GWOT’s most iconic images is that of US Army Special Forces riding horses into battle in Afghanistan shortly after September 11th. Horse Soldiers tells the story of how these American special operators blended old-school cavalry tactics with modern warfare to fight the earliest battles of the early GWOT. This book sets a good foundation for our follow-on piece by former senior CIA Case Officer J.R. Seeger writes about the role his watches played in the early days of the conflict in Afghanistan (read HERE). The Accidental Guerrilla: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One, David Kilcullen Providing a global perspective on the Global War On Terror, David Kilcullen’s The Accidental Gorilla contextualizes the importance of smaller conflicts and intelligence operations in Indonesia, Thailand, Pakistan, the Horn of Africa, and East Timor and their role in the more prominent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The More You Know Beyond their entertainment value, these books provide detailed history and incredible firsthand accounts of how modern warfare, special operations, and intelligence collection unfolded over 20 years of war in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the globe. Setting politics aside, the GWOT presents myriad cases of true heroism displayed by regular soldiers, intelligence officers, and SpecOps personnel at all levels of the war. There are, of course, numerous other books detailing the events of the Global War On Terror including thousands written by Navy SEALs, but this list is a great place to start. As they say, the more you know... If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE. Read Next: Israeli Spy Eli Cohen’s Eterna-Matic Centenaire Recovered by Mossad   *As a disclaimer, as Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases. When you click on links to various books in this article and make a purchase, this can result in Watches of Espionage earning a commission. If you’re interested in these books and want to make a purchase using these links, we appreciate your support.