A Spy For All Seasons

A former Deputy Director of the CIA provides a behind-the-scenes look at the American intelligence community, the Reagan administration's secret war against the Sandinistas, the covert operations he conceived, and the battle against world terrorism.

He is the highest ranking American spy directly and personally involved in espionage, war, counterterrorism, and intrigue to make public his life. Dashing and flamboyant, with mettle akin to the granite for which his home state of New Hampshire is known, Duane "Dewey" Clarridge became a master spy right out of a Tom Clancy novel. In a spy for All Seasons, we follow Dewey Clarridge on his trajectory through the CIA. His no-holds-barred style carried him to Nepal, India, Turkey, Italy, Nicaragua, Panama, Iraq, and beyond, in situations both terrifying and exhilarating. With legendary candor, Dewey describes the role he played in the international espionage scene: his days as Dax P. LeBaron, when he pressed Saddam Hussein to turn over a terrorist; the inner workings of the CIA; the creation of his brainchild, the CIA's Counter-Terrorist Center; his admiration for William Casey and his contempt for William Webster; and his alleged involvement in the Iran-contra affair, for which he was indicted and then pardoned. Along the way he developed a talent for recruiting foreign agents and smiled in the face of his enemies.

In 1967 Floyd Paseman joined the Central Intelligence Agency following successful service as an army officer in Germany. He was first stationed in the Far East, where he became fluent in Chinese language and culture, and then in Germany, at what was largely considered the agency’s toughest Cold War field posting. Over the years he rose from field spy to division chief and ultimately the top ranks in the Operations Directorate of the CIA. Paseman details the behind-the-scenes intelligence gathering during the major events of eight presidential administrations from Lyndon B. Johnson through George W. Bush.

Reese’s Book Club Pick Instant New York Times Bestseller A New York Times Book Review Top 10 Thriller of 2021 A Washington Post Top 10 Thriller or Mystery of 2021 “If you love a mystery, then you’ll devour [Northern Spy] . . . I loved this thrill ride of a book.”—Reese Witherspoon “A chilling, gorgeously written tale . . . Berry keeps the tension almost unbearably high.” –The New York Times Book Review The acclaimed author of Under the Harrow and A Double Life returns with her most riveting novel to date: the story of two sisters who become entangled with the IRA A producer at the BBC and mother to a new baby, Tessa is at work in Belfast one day when the news of another raid comes on the air. The IRA may have gone underground in the two decades since the Good Friday Agreement, but they never really went away, and lately bomb threats, security checkpoints, and helicopters floating ominously over the city have become features of everyday life. As the news reporter requests the public's help in locating those responsible for the robbery, security footage reveals Tessa's sister, Marian, pulling a black ski mask over her face. The police believe Marian has joined the IRA, but Tessa is convinced she must have been abducted or coerced; the sisters have always opposed the violence enacted in the name of uniting Ireland. And besides, Marian is vacationing on the north coast. Tessa just spoke to her yesterday. When the truth about Marian comes to light, Tessa is faced with impossible choices that will test the limits of her ideals, the bonds of her family, her notions of right and wrong, and her identity as a sister and a mother. Walking an increasingly perilous road, she wants nothing more than to protect the one person she loves more fiercely than her sister: her infant son, Finn. Riveting, atmospheric, and exquisitely written, Northern Spy is at once a heart-pounding story of the contemporary IRA and a moving portrait of sister- and motherhood, and of life in a deeply divided society.

In the high-stakes world of spying, do the ends justify the means?

Lively and informative . . . It is also a good story of how an operative actually works in the field. -- Military Ted Shackley's comments on CIA operations in Europe, Cuba, Chile, and Southeast Asia and on the life of a high-stakes spymaster will be the subject of intense scrutiny by all concerned with the fields of intelligence, foreign policy, and postwar U.S. history. The death of CIA operative Theodore G. "Ted" Shackley in December 2002 triggered an avalanche of obituaries from all over the world, some of them condemnatory. Pundits used such expressions as "heroin trafficking," "training terrorists," "attempts to assassinate Castro," and "Mob connections." More specifically, they charged him with having played a major role in the Chilean military coup of 1973. But who was the real Ted Shackley? In Spymaster, he has told the story of his entire remarkable career for the first time. With the assistance of fellow former CIA officer Richard A. Finney, he discusses the consequential posts he held in Berlin, Miami, Laos, Vietnam, and Washington, where he was intimately involved in some of the key intelligence operations of the Cold War. During his long career, Shackley ran part of the inter-agency program to overthrow Castro, was chief of station in Vientiane during the CIA's "secret war" against North Vietnam and the Pathet Lao, and was chief of station in Saigon. After his retirement, he remained a controversial figure. In the early eighties, he was falsely charged with complicity in the Iran-Contra scandal.

Though U.S. leaders try to convince the world of their success in fighting al Qaeda, one anonymous member of the U.S. intelligence community would like to inform the public that we are, in fact, losing the war on terror. Further, until U.S. leaders recognize the errant path they have irresponsibly chosen, he says, our enemies will only grow stronger. According to the author, the greatest danger for Americans confronting the Islamist threat is to believe-at the urging of U.S. leaders-that Muslims attack us for what we are and what we think rather than for what we do. Blustering political rhetor.

Themed around seasons and holidays including Valentine's Day and Halloween, rhyming verses ask readers to find hidden objects in the photographs.