My Life As A Spy

Call me naïve, but when I was a girl-watching James Bond and devouring Harriet the Spy-all I wanted was to grow up to be a spy. Unlike most kids, I didn't lose my secret-agent aspirations. So as a bright-eyed, idealistic college grad, I sent my resume to the CIA. Getting in was a story in itself. I peed in more cups than you could imagine, and was nearly condemned as a sexual deviant by the staff psychologist. My roommates were getting freaked out by government investigators lurking around, asking questions about my past. Finally, the CIA was training me to crash cars into barriers at 60 mph. Jump out of airplanes with cargo attached to my body. Survive interrogation, travel in alias, lose a tail. One thing they didn't teach us was how to date a guy while lying to him about what you do for a living. That I had to figure out for myself. Then I was posted overseas. And that's when the real fun began.

I was no James Bond with a licence to kill, but I worked with the British intelligence services and with, and for, the CIA. I had guns pointed at me, death threats issued, a price placed on my head. In 1971, Rod Barton applied for a junior scientist role in the Australian Department of Defence. Little did he know what it entailed: as the Cold War intensified, Barton was inducted into the murky world of espionage. For the next few decades, Barton lived a life straight from an adventure novel. In war-torn Mogadishu, he disarmed militia, while sleeping in rat-infested barracks. As a UN weapons inspector, he flew to Baghdad on special missions, interviewing top scientists to uncover an illegal weapons program, and raced across Europe, tracking materials sold to the Iraqis. After the disastrous 2003 invasion of Iraq, the CIA engaged him as its special adviser in the hunt for Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. But he soon clashed with the agency over what he saw – and what he didn’t find. It prompted him to step from the shadows and share the truth with the world, and to tussle with the Australian government. This is an extraordinary behind-the-scenes account of a world marked by risk, secrecy and individual acts of courage. Written with passion, humour and candour, The Life of a Spy will introduce you to a man of principle in a time of chaos, and take you to the frontlines of politics and war. ‘No Australian intelligence officer in recent times has been closer to the centre of world affairs than Barton, or better placed to observe the intense political pressures applied, from all sides, on those searching for Saddam Hussein’s elusive weapons of mass destruction.’ —Robert Manne

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.

In the spring of 1956, like two million other men of his generation, the eighteen-year old Leslie Woodhead received a summons to serve Her Majesty. Charting his progress from the austerity of post-war Halifax, via RAF training camps and the Joint Services School for Linguistics, this work takes us to Berlin and the front line of the Cold War.

The woman at the center of the Bush administration's CIA leak scandal breaks her silence about the case as she describes her role as an undercover CIA operative, her training and experiences, her efforts to protect her children in the aftermath of the leak, her determination to uncover the truth about the event that destroyed her career, and her battle with the CIA to reveal the truth. Reprint. 60,000 first printing.

The New York Times bestseller that reveals the safety, security, and survival techniques that 99% of Americans don’t know—but should When Jason Hanson joined the CIA in 2003, he never imagined that the same tactics he used as a CIA officer for counter intelligence, surveillance, and protecting agency personnel would prove to be essential in every day civilian life. In addition to escaping handcuffs, picking locks, and spotting when someone is telling a lie, he can improvise a self-defense weapon, pack a perfect emergency kit, and disappear off the grid if necessary. He has also honed his “positive awareness”—a heightened sense of his surroundings that allows him to spot suspicious and potentially dangerous behavior—on the street, in a taxi, at the airport, when dining out, or in any other situation. In his engaging and empowering book Spy Secrets That Can Save Your Life, Jason shares this know-how with readers, revealing how to: • prevent home invasions, carjackings, muggings, and other violent crimes • run counter-surveillance and avoid becoming a soft target • recognize common scams at home and abroad • become a human lie detector in any setting, including business negotiations • gain peace of mind by being prepared for anything instead of uninformed or afraid With the skill of a trained operative and the relatability of a suburban dad, Jason Hanson brings his top-level training to everyday Americans in this must-have guide to staying safe in an increasingly dangerous world.

Memoir by former leading MI5 agent in Northern Ireland from 1974 to 1985.

The successful MI5 undercover surveillance officer spent years of his life undercover, waging a secret war on the streets against those who want to do us harm. In the book tells the full story of what it is like to live your life in the shadows and who you need to become to survive