The Great Game: The Myths and Reality of Espionage Book

In this riveting insider’s account, a former inspector general of the CIA compares actual espionage cases and practices with classic and popular spy fiction, showing that the real world of espionage is nearly always stranger and more complicated than even the best spy fiction.Exploring everything from tradecraft and recruitment to bureaucracy and betrayal, The Great Game contrasts fictional spies created by such authors as John Le Carr?, Tom Clancy and Joseph Conrad with their real-life counterparts from Kim Philby to Aldrich Ames. Drawing on his thirty year career with the CIA, Frederick P. Hitz shows that even the most imaginative authors fail to capture the profound human dilemmas raised by real-life cases. Engaging and insightful, The Great Game shines a fascinating light on the veiled history of intelligence.

Nola Theiss - KLIATT

What are the differences between the way spies operate in the real world of the CIA and NSA and their foreign equivalents, and the way espionage is portrayed in movies and books? Hitz, who worked at the CIA for 21 years and has since become a university professor, answers that question based on his own experience and his extensive research. His answer is that real life is often even more bizarre than fiction, with only a few fantastic exceptions. The author dissects espionage into separate components, such as its bureaucracy, its craft, its heroes and villains. In each case he examines fictional and actual spies, using real-life examples like Kim Philby, Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen and comparing them to characters from John Le Carre, John Forsyth and Ian Fleming. He also looks at types of espionage, like spying on allies a la Jonathan Pollard, terrorism and espionage, and spying for excitement, for revenge or simply for money. Hitz's style and his mixing of fiction and fact show a remarkable knowledge of spy literature and the modern history of espionage as well as the workings of the current espionage industry. The notes at the end of the book are extensive, as are the quotations from literature interspersed throughout the book. KLIATT Codes: A—Recommended for advanced students and adults. 2004, Random House, Vintage, 210p. illus. notes. index., Ages 17 to adult.