Overview

A master class in spycraft from one of its greatest practitioners Jack Devine ran Charlie Wilson's War in Afghanistan. It was the largest covert action of the Cold War, and it was Devine who put the brand-new Stinger missile into the hands of the mujahideen during their war with the Soviets, paving the way to a decisive victory against the Russians. He also pushed the CIA's effort to run down the narcotics trafficker Pablo Escobar in Colombia. He tried to warn the director of central intelligence, George Tenet, that there was a bullet coming from Iraq with his name on it. He was in Chile when Allende fell, and he had too much to do with Iran-Contra for his own taste, though he tried to stop it. He also tangled with Rick Ames, the KGB spy inside the CIA, and hunted Robert Hanssen, the mole in the FBI. Good Hunting: An American Spymaster's Story is the spellbinding memoir of Devine's time in the CIA, where he served for more than thirty years, rising to become the acting deputy director of operations, responsible for all of the agency's spying operations. This is a story of intrigue and high-stakes maneuvering-all the more gripping when the fate of our geopolitical order hangs in the balance. But this book also sounds a warning to our nation's decision makers: covert operations, not costly and devastating full-scale interventions, are the best safeguard of America's interests worldwide. Part memoir, part historical redress, Good Hunting debunks some of the myths surrounding the agency and cautions against its misuses. Beneath the exotic allure-living abroad, running operations in seven countries, serving successive presidents from Nixon to Clinton-this is a realist's gimlet-eyed account of the CIA. As Devine sees it, the agency is now trapped within a larger bureaucracy, losing swaths of turf to the military, and most ominous of all, becoming overly weighted toward paramilitary operations after a decade of war. Its capacity to do what it does best-spying and covert action-has been seriously degraded. Good Hunting sheds light on some of the CIA's deepest secrets and spans an illustrious tenure-never before has an acting deputy director of operations come forth with such an account. With the historical acumen of Steve Coll's Ghost Wars and gripping scenarios that evoke the novels of John le Carre even as they hew to the facts on the ground, Devine offers a master class in spycraft.

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9781481515689

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Reviews

A fascinating-and highly instructive-insider's memoir of four decades in foreign intelligence, insightfully described by an iconic pro's pro. -- Steve Friedman, former CEO of Goldman Sachs and former chairman of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board The world of CIA clandestine operations and technologies is complex, tough, and often arcane and unforgiving but also consummately professional and necessary. Jack Devine is a larger-than-life character who served a long and distinguished career, in the field and in headquarters, spanning important periods in CIA history. If you want a better understanding of the CIA; its complex, differentiated, and noble people; and its missions, this well-written book is for you. -- Adm. William O. Studeman, USN, retired Jack Devine's unusually detailed accounting of, and insight into, intelligence operations from the height of the Cold War through the global war on terrorism puts a bright light on the intrigue of the inner workings of the CIA. Most important, though, are his principles for covert action. Our clandestine service officers and national leadership alike would do well to read and understand Devine's words and wisdom in this critical area. -- Vice Adm. Thomas R. Wilson, USN, retired, former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency Good Hunting, like Jack Devine himself, is straightforward, clear, patriotic, fascinating, and at the center of decades of key events. Tired of angry or self-serving stereotypes about the CIA? Turn to Jack Devine. I did, and it was a great call. -- Amb. R. James Woolsey, former head of the CIA Jack Devine's Good Hunting gives readers an inside look at CIA-the good and the bad-from someone who rose from the bottom of the Agency to the top, during some of its most turbulent times. There are new insights into covert operations from Chile to Afghanistan to Iran-Contra and the lessons that should be drawn from them by government leaders and the public at large. Beyond that, it's just a good read. -- Walter Pincus, columnist for the Washington Post Jack Devine's personal narrative as a CIA case officer weaves through some of the most contentious pages of recent history: Iran-Contra, aid to the Afghan mujahideen, the coup against Chile's Salvador Allende, the murderous drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, the traitorous Aldrich Ames. And Devine tells these tales with a case officer's candor, busting popular myths as he goes. Read this book and learn why the nation still needs the CIA. -- Gen. Michael Hayden, USAF, former director of the CIA and NSA Devine's attention to detail translates into a finely delineated memoir of his selective undercover tradecraft. -- Kirkus Reviews A vivid insider's view, Devine's is an engaging account for the espionage set. -- Booklist The insights derived from a long and varied career make this a top-line addition to the proliferating body of 'insider' memoirs from the years when the Cold War gave way to the 'war on terrorism, ' and the rules began to change. -- Publishers Weekly A spine-tingling, utterly compelling book. -- Houston Chronicle Well-written and engaging, studded with insights and opinions that are thoughtful...The most fascinating revelations in this close-to-the-chest memoir give the reader a glance inside the compartmentalized mind of a man who led this twin life with surefooted adeptness. -- Boston Globe A refresher course on the breadth of America's covert campaigns against the spread of Soviet influence and ideology...Mr. Devine's remarkable thirty-two-year career is a microcosm of the secret thrust and counterthrust that defined those years. -- Wall Street Journal Jack Devine has the intelligence officer's essential gift: the willingness to say no to bad ideas. Devine recounts the recurring pressure to do dumb things-from Central America to Afghanistan to Iran-Contra-which he usually was able to resist. His compelling memoir illustrates why the CIA is most successful when it sticks to the basics of 'good hunting' in espionage and covert action operations. -- David Ignatius, New York Times bestselling author and columnist for the Washington Post A sophisticated, deeply informed account of real life in the real CIA that adds immeasurably to the public understanding of the espionage culture-the good and the bad. -- Bob Woodward

Author Information

Jack Devine is a thirty-two-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency who, at the pinnacle of his career, served as the CIA's top spymaster-head of the CIA's foreign operations, in which capacity he had supervisory authority over thousands of CIA employees involved in sensitive missions throughout the world. He is also president and founding partner of the Arkin Group, an international risk consulting and intelligence firm. He lives in New York City with his wife. Vernon Loeb is an American author and journalist. He was metro editor at the Washington Post before being named managing editor at the Houston Chronicle. He began his career in 1978 at the Philadelphia Inquirer. In 2011 he wrote a biweekly column called IntelligenCIA, covering the United States intelligence community for the Washington Post. Loeb has four children with his wife, broadcast journalist Patricia Ford Pat Loeb. Malcolm Hillgartner is an accomplished actor, writer, and musician. Named an AudioFile Best Voice of 2013 and the recipient of several Earphones Awards, he has narrated over 175 audiobooks.

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