Inside the “Micky Mouse Factory”

My Years in the Clandestine Service of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

By: Thomas Sawyer

Narrated by: Brian Richy

Inside the “Mickey Mouse Factory” comes from a veteran of 27 years of U.S. government service in various agencies such as the CIA, and combines an insider's life with a memoir that reveals his experiences serving as a CIA operations officer.

From the title, listeners might anticipate a critical viewpoint, but Sawyer explains its origin from the start: "That reference, instead, concerns a depiction commonly used by CIA operations officers, at least during the 1950s, about the sometimes chaotic operational situations they encountered and also to what initially appeared to be outlandish operational proposals that became outstanding operational successes."

What unfolds is a candid look back at processes, decisions, encounters, and the specifics of intelligence work which are not revealed to anyone outside the organization...even close family members.

Listeners should thus view Inside the “Mickey Mouse Factory” as much more than a memoir, as Sawyer moves behind the scenes of daily life within the CIA to expose its thought processes and operations.

This approach represents the story's greatest strength. It offers listeners the opportunity to go beyond actions and reports to understand the motivations, influences, and daily challenges of intelligence community operations and interactions.

Sawyer injects his own experiences into that process: "On later reflection, I was really disturbed by this operational effort. The 'chewing out' aside, I had trouble comprehending why a division chief, a high ranking official, personally, would be carrying out this operation; a 'cold approach', at that."

From training courses designed to reflect operational realities to various incidents that presented special diplomatic and political challenges as operations were carried out in other countries, Sawyer's ability to reveal the nuts and bolts of intelligence goals and conundrums alike creates a fast-paced book packed with information the general public usually isn't privy to.

As Sawyer encounters those who change his perspective on life, as well as his concept of his duties and their impact, the juxtaposition of memoir, exposé, and intelligence history come life.

Listeners who want to know more about what it's like to work in intelligence; the moral, ethical, and political conundrums which challenge this community; and the ongoing dangers and threats that move from professional to personal lives because of it will find Inside the “Mickey Mouse Factory” absolutely riveting.

It deserves a place in a wide variety of collections, from general-interest libraries to those that hold strengths in history, political issues, international relations, and military subjects.

©2022 Thomas E. Sawyer (P)2022 Thomas E. Sawyer