The Reluctant Spy

My Secret Life in the CIA's War on Terror

By: John Kiriakou, Michael Ruby

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

Long before the waterboarding controversy exploded in the media, one CIA agent had already gone public. In a groundbreaking 2007 interview with ABC News, John Kiriakou called waterboarding torture - but admitted that it probably worked. This book, at once a confessional, an adventure story, and a chronicle of Kiriakou's life in the CIA, stands as an important, eloquent piece of testimony from a committed American patriot.

In February 2002, Kiriakou was the head of counterterrorism in Pakistan. Under his command, in a spectacular raid coordinated with Pakistani agents and the CIA's best intelligence analyst, Kiriakou's field officers took down the infamous terrorist Abu Zubaydah. For days, Kiriakou became the wounded terrorist's personal "bodyguard". In circumstances stranger than fiction, as al-Qaeda agents scoured the streets for their captured leader, the best trauma surgeon in America was flown to Pakistan to make sure that Zubaydah did not die.

In The Reluctant Spy, Kiriakou takes us into the fight against an enemy fueled by fanaticism. He chillingly describes what it was like inside the CIA headquarters on the morning of 9/11 - the agency leaders who stepped up and those who protected their careers. And in what may be the book's most shocking revelation, he describes how the White House made plans to invade Iraq a full year before the CIA knew about it - or could attempt to stop it. Chronicling both mind-boggling mistakes and heroic acts of individual courage, The Reluctant Spy is essential listening for anyone who wishes to understand the inner workings of the U.S. intelligence apparatus, the truth behind the torture debate, and the incredible dedication of ordinary men and women doing one of the most extraordinary jobs on earth.

©2010 John Kiriakou (P)2010 Tantor

Critic reviews

“A mostly admiring portrait of the CIA but with telling critiques of its bureaucracy and of Congress's meddling in CIA affairs.” ( Publishers Weekly)

A Memoir about Kiriakou and the CIA

The Reluctant Spy is John Kirakou’s memoir of his work within the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The book doesn’t bash the CIA , but spares no quarter when telling truths not outside the classified. This is a memoir, so readers interested in how Kirakou came to work as a secret agent will be amply rewarded. Along the way, he reveals how his first marriage broke down in part because of CIA working pressures, reveals infighting in the agency, and how he finally determined he would leave the agency. To me, that was interesting and kept my interest. However, I was really looking for more insight into the CIA and how it works particularly in light of 9/11 than Kirakou revealed. On the other hand, this is a memoir and not a book about the CIA per se. A book at the opposite end which is also available from Audible is Joby Warrick’s The Triple Agent which is a book about the CIA. Both are worthwhile, but each fills a different niche. The reading of Arthur Morey is a plus!

Great listen, full of details, when possible.

I just thoroughly enjoyed this book. Period. John Kiriakou is an excellent story teller, with a life lived full of experiences that are captivating to hear about. I especially appreciate the honest reflection included when doing his own "After Action Reports" so to speak, in summary of the story. Life is full of nuance and it is important we recognize that, or our take on reality won't be painted in the appropriate colors. Great book.

Fascinating

A great look into the life of a CIA agent. John Kiriakou’s life is so interesting. I can’t wait to read/listen to the follow up!

The Reluctant Spy

Or government at work.
Very good
John Kiriakou another American hero

Best book in a long time

One of the best book’s I’ve read in a long time. A real page turner.

Fascinating Read about the CIA

This is a fascinating insider account of the CIA fighting the war on terror. John Kiriakou is a cerebral, if hot-tempered, Greek-American who joins the CIA shortly out of graduate school to be an analyst covering "leadership" issues in Greece and the Middle East. Fluent in Greek and Arabic, he then applies and is accepted as a field operative, where he spends much of his time recruiting foreign sources of critical intelligence. His narrative includes the capture of an important terrorist, the decision by the executive branch of the U.S. government to invade Iraq based on the highly questionable "evidence" relating to weapons of mass destruction and on the development of "enhanced interrogation techniques", such as waterboarding, and how these are rationalized by the government.

The content of the book was interesting and fast-paced, but the narrator speaks in a rapid, staccato voice with little change in rythym or intonation, and this makes listening tiresome and occasionally difficult to hear.

The story of a heroic common man

A man with a conscience in a system designed to destroy the conscience. Full respect for John Kiriakou, who, like many others, have suffered unjust treatment for the crime of keeping their word. He and the other Veteran Intelligence Personnel for Sanity membership should be the moral leaders of the United States. Alas, this is not so.

Captivating

Fascinating story on the journey of becoming a Spy. Interesting on how modern day terrorism is dealt with.

Nothing

It just wasn’t very interesting. I’m sorry I wasted a credit. I was hoping to learn something but don’t feel I have.

Comes across as an honest patriotic, American spy

Overall, the author comes across as credible and with a moral center that he consistently tries to navigate within the confines of clandestine work on behalf of his country.