Overview

For fans of Argo and Fair Game, a lively, absorbing investigation. --Library Journal Spies are supposed to keep quiet, never betraying their agents or discussing their operations. Somehow, this doesn't apply to the CIA, whose former officers have written memoirs commanding huge advances and attracting enormous publicity. As an intelligence service dependent on its ability to protect sensitive information, however, it's no surprise that the CIA has fought back. In Company Confessions, award-winning author Christopher Moran digs deep into this tumultuous relationship between the CIA and former agents who try to go public about their careers. He delves into the motivations of spies like CIA officer Valerie Plame, whose identity was leaked by the Bush White House and who reportedly received $2.5 million for her book Fair Game, and exposes the politics and practices of the CIA and its Publications Review Board, including breaking into publishing houses and secretly authorizing pro-agency memoirs. Drawing on interviews; the private correspondence of such legendary spies as Allen Dulles, William Colby, and Richard Helms; and declassified CIA files, Company Confessions examines why America's spies are so willing to share their stories, the damage inflicted when they leak the nation's secrets, and the fine line between censorship on the grounds of security and censorship for the sake of reputation.

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9781250047137

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Reviews

A valuable contribution to the study of government secrecy, Dr Moran's work will enhance the reader's grasp of the fundamental issues raised. Peter Earnest, Executive Director of the International Spy Museum (Washington, DC) Despite frequent official disapproval, CIA staff have written more memoirs than members of any other secret intelligence agency in world history. Christopher Moran's brilliant account of their revelations and tribulations is both readable and revealing. Christopher Andrew, Author of The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5 History - good or bad - dry as bone or vibrant as a rainbow deserves to be documented and preserved. This has been a challenge for the intelligence bureaucracies of any and all nations. Christopher Moran does an outstanding job of capturing and defining the truth that CIA's Publication Review Board would rather you just not know. Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer (ret), New York Times bestselling author of Operation Dark Heart: Spycraft and Special Ops on the Frontlines of Afghanistan

A valuable contribution to the study of government secrecy, Dr Moran's work will enhance the reader's grasp of the fundamental issues raised.--Peter Earnest Executive Director of the International Spy Museum (Washington, DC) Despite frequent official disapproval, CIA staff have written more memoirs than members of any other secret intelligence agency in world history. Christopher Moran's brilliant account of their revelations and tribulations is both readable and revealing.--Christopher Andrew Author of The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5 History - good or bad - dry as bone or vibrant as a rainbow deserves to be documented and preserved. This has been a challenge for the intelligence bureaucracies of any and all nations. Christopher Moran does an outstanding job of capturing and defining the truth that CIA's Publication Review Board would rather you just not know.--Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer (ret) New York Times bestselling author of Operation Dark Heart: Spycraft and Special Ops on the Frontlines of Afghanistan History, good or bad, dry as bone or vibrant as a rainbow, deserves to be documented and preserved. This has been a challenge for the intelligence bureaucracies of any and all nations. Christopher Moran does an outstanding job of capturing and defining the truth that CIA's Publications Review Board would rather you just not know. --Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer (Ret.), New York Times bestselling author of Operation Dark Heart: Spycraft and Special Ops on the Frontlines of Afghanistan Moran interweaves colorful personalities, conflicting politics, and inconsistent practices in narratives of what the U.S. government has and has not permitted CIA authors to publish about their secret profession. A fascinating, readable work that explores America's never-ending efforts to balance necessary government secrecy with the public's right to know. --Robert Wallace, coauthor of Spycraft and The Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception Despite frequent official disapproval, CIA staff have written more memoirs than members of any other secret intelligence agency in world history. Christopher Moran's brilliant account of their revelations and tribulations is both readable and revealing. --Christopher Andrew, author of Defend the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5 A tantalizing discussion of the confusion and frustrations behind CIA's prepublication review process. --Mark Zaid, United States national security attorney [A] delightful account of true spy stories and the agency's often-bizarre responses to them.... In Moran's hands, the CIA's 60-year battle to rein in ex-employees becomes an irresistible niche history that mixes cruelty with tragicomic wackiness. -Publishers Weekly (starred review) [A] lively, absorbing investigation.... This scrupulously researched narrative will appeal to specialists and general readers alike, who will be fascinated by how agents' memoirs fashion public perception of national security and the CIA itself. -Library Journal A surprisingly cracking read. An informative historical summation of CIA memoirs with enough skulduggery to entertain casual readers. -Kirkus Reviews History, good or bad, dry as bone or vibrant as a rainbow, deserves to be documented and preserved. This has been a challenge for the intelligence bureaucracies of any and all nations. Christopher Moran does an outstanding job of capturing and defining the truth that CIA s Publications Review Board would rather you just not know. Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer (Ret.), New York Times bestselling author of Operation Dark Heart: Spycraft and Special Ops on the Frontlines of Afghanistan Moran interweaves colorful personalities, conflicting politics, and inconsistent practices in narratives of what the U.S. government has and has not permitted CIA authors to publish about their secret profession. A fascinating, readable work that explores America s never-ending efforts to balance necessary government secrecy with the public s right to know. Robert Wallace, coauthor of Spycraft and The Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception Despite frequent official disapproval, CIA staff have written more memoirs than members of any other secret intelligence agency in world history. Christopher Moran s brilliant account of their revelations and tribulations is both readable and revealing. Christopher Andrew, author of Defend the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5 A tantalizing discussion of the confusion and frustrations behind CIA s prepublication review process. Mark Zaid, United States national security attorney [A] delightful account of true spy stories and the agency s often-bizarre responses to them.... In Moran s hands, the CIA s 60-year battle to rein in ex-employees becomes an irresistible niche history that mixes cruelty with tragicomic wackiness. Publishers Weekly (starred review) [A] lively, absorbing investigation.... This scrupulously researched narrative will appeal to specialists and general readers alike, who will be fascinated by how agents' memoirs fashion public perception of national security and the CIA itself. -Library Journal A surprisingly cracking read. An informative historical summation of CIA memoirs with enough skulduggery to entertain casual readers. Kirkus Reviews History, good or bad, dry as bone or vibrant as a rainbow, deserves to be documented and preserved. This has been a challenge for the intelligence bureaucracies of any and all nations. Christopher Moran does an outstanding job of capturing and defining the truth that CIA s Publications Review Board would rather you just not know. Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer (Ret.), New York Times bestselling author of Operation Dark Heart: Spycraft and Special Ops on the Frontlines of Afghanistan Moran interweaves colorful personalities, conflicting politics, and inconsistent practices in narratives of what the U.S. government has and has not permitted CIA authors to publish about their secret profession. A fascinating, readable work that explores America s never-ending efforts to balance necessary government secrecy with the public s right to know. Robert Wallace, coauthor of Spycraft and The Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception Despite frequent official disapproval, CIA staff have written more memoirs than members of any other secret intelligence agency in world history. Christopher Moran s brilliant account of their revelations and tribulations is both readable and revealing. Christopher Andrew, author of Defend the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5 A tantalizing discussion of the confusion and frustrations behind CIA s prepublication review process. Mark Zaid, United States national security attorney [A] delightful account of true spy stories and the agency s often-bizarre responses to them.... In Moran s hands, the CIA s 60-year battle to rein in ex-employees becomes an irresistible niche history that mixes cruelty with tragicomic wackiness. Publishers Weekly (starred review) [A] lively, absorbing investigation.... This scrupulously researched narrative will appeal to specialists and general readers alike, who will be fascinated by how agents' memoirs fashion public perception of national security and the CIA itself. - Library Journal A surprisingly cracking read. An informative historical summation of CIA memoirs with enough skulduggery to entertain casual readers. Kirkus Reviews A valuable contribution to the study of government secrecy, Dr Moran's work will enhance the reader's grasp of the fundamental issues raised. Peter Earnest, Executive Director of the International Spy Museum (Washington, DC) Despite frequent official disapproval, CIA staff have written more memoirs than members of any other secret intelligence agency in world history. Christopher Moran's brilliant account of their revelations and tribulations is both readable and revealing. Christopher Andrew, Author of The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5 History - good or bad - dry as bone or vibrant as a rainbow deserves to be documented and preserved. This has been a challenge for the intelligence bureaucracies of any and all nations. Christopher Moran does an outstanding job of capturing and defining the truth that CIA's Publication Review Board would rather you just not know. Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer (ret), New York Times bestselling author of Operation Dark Heart: Spycraft and Special Ops on the Frontlines of Afghanistan

Author Information

Christopher Moran is an associate professor of U.S. national security at the University of Warwick in England. He is the award-winning author of Classified: Secrecy and the State in Modern Britain and has held fellowships at the British Academy, the Library of Congress, and Oxford University.

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