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.

This book is a commentary in the form of a journal. It is meant to be something like a diary kept by a tourist or a spy of his travels in a strange land, recording questions and observations and opinions on everything he sees for other travelers on the same road. It could be also called a dialogue because the author records the conversation that he has with Genesis as he moves along, and the conversation he has with himself in the privacy of his motel room. In both ways it is the account of a journey with the idea that it may be of some use to others traveling the same road. The author is writing as an amateur to other amateurs. He is not a professional theologian nor a biblical scholar, and while his intent is to think as deeply and truly as he can, he is not doing so as a professional. There are several advantages that an amateur may have over a professional in a case like this. First the amateur can be much bolder in what he questions and in the answers he considers. The professional always has something on the line, always something at risk, namely his reputation. He cannot venture far off the beaten path without being in some danger of losing his respectability. The amateur, on the other hand, has little respectability to lose and little reputation to risk. What Dr. Boswell would not be able to risk in mathematical writing he can be quite at liberty to risk in this project. It can be exhilarating. Secondly the amateur has a much friendlier connection with the average reader. The amateur is something of an equal with the average reader, though presumably with something to say worth the hearing. Since they are introduced as equals, the reader can feel safer, less threatened, more entitled to join in the conversation that the author is trying to create. With a professional author there is always the sense of obligation that one should not argue back with the scholar; only another scholar has the credentials to join in their conversation, and the rest of us must sort it all out as best we can. But with this book there is no need of restraint; anyone can be drawn in to the discussion, anyone can feel entitled to disagree, with impunity. It can be exhilarating. This book is not meant to be a "Bible made simple" book. It is written by someone who loves to think and is written for others who love to think. It is written by someone who is not timid about difficult questions and is written for others who have no fear of such things. But most of all it is a book written for the pure joy of the thing and for those who might share that joy.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 I felt that my reflections after more than a decade at the tops ranks of the Central Intelligence Agency would be of general interest and would help shed some light on what intelligence really does do, really does not do, and how fragile the whole process of human intelligence really is. #2 I would like to thank the Center for the Study of Intelligence, whose director at the time, Dr. Brian Latell, was very enthusiastic about my participating in the Officer in Residence program. I would also like to thank the Center’s History Department, in particular Dr. Michael Warner and Dr. Kevin Ruffner, who took extra time to provide me with valuable materials for my teaching. #3 In the tradition of intelligence memoirs, the names, places, and dates in this book have been changed to protect the identities of agents and the operations in which I participated. #4 I was chosen to be the CIA Chief in Germany in 1994. I was warned that the position was difficult, but I took the personal phone call from the Deputy Director for Operations congratulating me on my new assignment anyway.

For thirty-five years, Floyd Paseman served in the Operations Directorate of the Central Intelligence Agency. From spy in the field to the top ranks of the Company's career agents, he experienced it all as well as seven different presidential administrations. While Paseman's account of his long service has enough real-life derring-do to keep the reader engaged, of even greater interest, however, are Paseman's observation on politics and the CIA, especially how change of presidential administrations could bring sweeping, and often negative changes to the agency.- Johnson - declined to run for a second full term, broken by Vietnam- Nixon - resigned in disgrace after ending Vietnam and opening relations with China- Ford - never elected caretaker - Carter - hoist on the petard of fundamentalist Islam in Iran- Reagan - first full, two-term president since Eisenhower and declared war on the evil empire and brought the USSR to its knees with the threat of a still fanciful Star Wars- Bush the father - "won" the Cold War as the Soviet Union collapsed and "coalitioned" Saddam out of Iraq- Clinton - leader of the new world order, peace in our time, and dead Rangers in the streets of Mogadishu- Bush the son - 9/11, Afghanistan, and IraqIn March 1967 author Paseman joined the CIA following successful service as an army armor officer in Germany. Highly trained in the Chinese language, most of his service was in the far east. Paseman served as chief of the East Asia division at Langley and was also station chief Germany, considered the agency's toughest Cold War field posting.About the AuthorFloyd L. Paseman retired from the Central Intelligence Agency in January 2001 after a thirty-five year career in operations. He now lives in southern Virginia outside Williamsburg where he works as an international security consultant.

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.

A highly entertaining account of a young woman who went straight from her college sorority to the CIA, where she hunted terrorists and WMDs "Reads like the show bible for Homeland only her story is real." —Alison Stewart, WNYC "A thrilling tale...Walder’s fast-paced and intense narrative opens a window into life in two of America’s major intelligence agencies" —Publishers Weekly (starred review) When Tracy Walder enrolled at the University of Southern California, she never thought that one day she would offer her pink beanbag chair in the Delta Gamma house to a CIA recruiter, or that she’d fly to the Middle East under an alias identity. The Unexpected Spy is the riveting story of Walder's tenure in the CIA and, later, the FBI. In high-security, steel-walled rooms in Virginia, Walder watched al-Qaeda members with drones as President Bush looked over her shoulder and CIA Director George Tenet brought her donuts. She tracked chemical terrorists and searched the world for Weapons of Mass Destruction. She created a chemical terror chart that someone in the White House altered to convey information she did not have or believe, leading to the Iraq invasion. Driven to stop terrorism, Walder debriefed terrorists—men who swore they’d never speak to a woman—until they gave her leads. She followed trails through North Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, shutting down multiple chemical attacks. Then Walder moved to the FBI, where she worked in counterintelligence. In a single year, she helped take down one of the most notorious foreign spies ever caught on American soil. Catching the bad guys wasn’t a problem in the FBI, but rampant sexism was. Walder left the FBI to teach young women, encouraging them to find a place in the FBI, CIA, State Department or the Senate—and thus change the world.