THE RECRUITER

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.