Blowing My Cover: My Life As A Cia Spy

Rating:
Summary: Insighful
Review: "Blowing my Cover" by Lindsay Moran offers an interesting and insighful insiders view of life as a CIA case officer. Her witty writing style makes this book hard to put down.

Rating:
Summary: it's about time...
Review: Bravo to Moran for giving us an inside view from a person who was part of the Agency NOW, and not then and God knows when. An in-depth look at her overall life during a time when she committed herself to her country - Moran sheds light on what young intelligent professionals face in today's bureaucracy, and how "old school" is just that - unwilling to change to meet the challenges of today. She sheds light on what it means to be a modern professional with modern day views and how she tried to have a modern day life - in a world where too many are stuck in "it's just how it is" instead of "how it could be." A definite read for open minded young professionals thinking about or currently in that line of business, or even those facing the bureaucracy of the corporate world, Moran's book is a refreshing look into not just the CIA but a modern professional's life in general.

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Summary: Moran. lisa, uh Alice... I mean Lindsay Moran
Review: First off, let me say I did enjoy reading this book and did it within a few days at 20 pages at a time. Kept me coming back and that is a sign of good writing. She does skip from time to time however and mixes Harvard-esque words with normal "talk", to the point where it almost seems like she is trying to sound scholarly. She does seem like a fun person to be around and I am sure her husband James appreciates her sense of humor. That being said, from a professional standpoint I was disappointed in the very detailed information she gave about the Agency and the c/o training. I am pretty sure the "company" was none too thrilled about airing it's dirty laundry, with no way to retort. I hate to say it, but what did she think she was going to be getting into? I got the impression she joined more for trying to live a fantasy and be a "spy" in her own self interest, than actually serving her country. Some of her complaints, granted are fair, but I totally disagree with comparing the Farm and the agency to boys who haven't grown up yet, playing games (I'm paraphrasing here). I met similar girls in the military and while I love them dearly as they are great at their jobs, there was a lot of sex appeal bantered about willy nilly and a lot of whining, so the whole unfair glass ceiling and sexism just doesn't wash with me, when it comes to jobs that are based in the grey area. Intelligencia ideology such as what the university prof thinks and political correctness have very little business in the world of espionage.
And sure you have your flaky instructors uber gung-ho types in any defense type of job, but what did she expect, it's a hard, thankless dirty job, if one thinks they can save the world on their own they are sorely mistaken. Furthermore, she seems to make fun of people who took it seriously and hints at brain washing and how isolated and trapped she felt. She could have just switched positions in the DO or to another directorate, instead of quitting after all that money was spent on training etc... But instead she writes an enjoyable yet very revealing albeit slanted account of her short career. Finally, the one point that got really me was her quick jab at the administration at the end. She states some of her co-workers said they had seen nothing on Iraq and al-qaeda, and basically illuded to the books being cooked and that was the last straw. Sigh... for one thing, she fails to mention that her coworkers may have seen nothing personally, but there was document after document after document from other foreign and domestic agencies that would dispute that. And for every joe schmo analyst or what have you who nay says specific intelligence, there are probably 5 others who disagree. It seems as if she was looking for an excuse to leave, and rationalized it with sour grapes in her book. With a new DCI I am sure things will toughen up a bit more and the Agency will regain it's status it had during the cold war. The agency has been known to be a risk adverse liberal organization in the last 15 years or so. It needs those folks who think for themselves, yet don't sit and ponder for hours on end what a pious individual they are. Let's hope those are the people to fight this war, for all of our safety. Let the weenies join Kucinech's "Dept. of Peace."

Rating:
Summary: More about Lindsay Moran than the CIA
Review: Girl joins CIA, girl meets BOY, girl quits CIA. That is the story in a nutshell. Ms. Moran would have us believe she quit the CIA because of her "integrity" however, she knew from the start what she would be doing (recruiting foreigners to spy on their own governments for the U.S.) and yet she chose to do it for several years anyway. Throughout the book she complains that her social life has taken a hit because she has to constantly lie to everyone about who she is and what she does for a living. She makes it very clear that her CIA career is preventing her from having quality friendships and romances. It appears that her real motivation for quitting was that she wanted to lead a normal life. You can't really blame her. I wouldn't want to live a life of lies either. The book would have been better without her critique of the CIA and why it failed on 9-11, because her few years with the organization don't exactly make her an expert on that topic.

Rating:
Summary: Captivating!
Review: I couldn't put this book down.

Moran does an excellent job of taking the reader inside the secret world of the CIA.

If you've ever harbored any desire to be a spy this is the book you should read. Pay close attention to Moran's description of her experience at The Farm. I found myself laughing while at the same time nervous as she skillfully undertook each training assignment.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, intense perspective on human intel (HUMIT)
Review: I heard about this book and was a skeptic -- how could anyone publish a book about the CIA with any substance? After all, everything has to go through pre-publication review before it gets printed...

I decided to read the book anyway. I am glad that I did!

Lindsay Moran shares her experiences in a way that is simultaneously informative and captivating. I was particularly impressed with her description of the training she underwent. More than merely dishing out facts, Lindsay paints a portait of experiences that highlights the emotional conflict and stress that go along with clandestine service.

Two thumbs up, way up!

Rating:
Summary: Less about CIA and more about finding yourself
Review: Lindsay Moran was my English teacher when I was a 13 year old girl in Bulgaria. She was one of those people that leaves a deep mark on you and even to this day I still relish the memories of her as someone I looked up to. Apart from very sharp and talented, Lindsay was also confident and brave - she would stand up to anyone and speak up her mind if something did not make sense, and she taught us to do the same. I am happy to find out that she still stands up and speaks her mind, even if it is to the CIA.

Reading the book for me was less about learning what goes on behind the curtains in the CIA than about what goes on in the head of a smart young woman looking for her place in life and love and constantly challenging her priorities - something to which I can deeply relate to as a young professional in the corporate world. It was a bit eerie reading the book and recognizing some of Lindsay's thoughts and misgivings as my own as I go through my twenties, seeing my home country and the reality I grew up with through her eyes and quietly chuckling at her poignant and spot-on reflections of Bulgaria and the Bulgarian character.

I also couldn't help but speculate in my mind what would have happened had I spotted her during her exercise dinner at Le Bec Fin in Philly, where I was frequently attending recruiting dinners while a senior at Penn - I would have probably shouted out an emphatic "Lindsay!!!" and would have pounced to hug her with all my excitement! I wonder if she would have looked at me and said: "I'm sorry, you are mistaken, I am Alice Applegate"...


Rating:
Summary: Ms. Moran: One of The Best and the Brightest
Review: Ms. Moran does a fabulous job of detailing her roller coaster addiction to life in the CIA's Operational Directorate (DO). Her account of a new C/O's first years is dead on and understated; she reluctantly blows the mystique of the Agency's recruitment and training programs with wit and candor. Unquestionably, her integrity will irritate the old timers at the Agency because she invites other would-be recruits, and the US public in general, to view the real depths of absurdity and incompetence which now afflict the CIA.
The section on CT/Special Ops training may drag a bit for those yet to live the experience, but the book regains momentum as she deploys to Macedonia. In all, Blowing My Cover is perversely uplifting. We should all cheer to see a young Harvard grad walk away from the brainwashing of the Agency, reclaim her own life and destiny...and live to tell it. Highly recommended for young women juggling career and personal conflicts, as well as to those obsessively curious about the Agency's culture.

Rating:
Summary: Look at me! The sly and shallow spy ... without cover!
Review: Prompted by a CNN report about this book, I bought it and hoped to find an exciting insight view of the CIA. Well, Moran's description of training experiences at "The Farm" are quite enjoyable and after this read one can pretty much imagine what it would feel like to be hired as a new case officer. Nevertheless, as the training descriptions drag on for over half of the book, it slowly becomes clear to the reader that her characters (including herself) will remain undeveloped and shallow throughout. Her writing style, though quite fluid, lacks observational acumen and precision; most of it is a mere recounting of events without developing a thread between them. The second half of the book recounting her posting in Macedonia is disappointing. Her uninspired, superficial, self-centered account of her meetings with her agents and her weekend trips to Bulgaria (visiting her friends) seem in stark contrast to her apparent "acclaim" in the agency. Throughout the book she puts herself in a most favorable light; and if she admits to a little mishap, then only to reemerge victoriously on the next pages. Overall, this book is probably not worth your time. I personally gained much more from reading Norman Mailer's "Harlot's Ghost," which --although not an inside account and entirely fictitious, but very well researched-- seems to capture the spirit of agency in a much more enriching way.

Rating:
Summary: Funny!
Review: The information revealed in this book about CIA training and operational procedures is fascinating and unprecidented (one can't but wonder how they let her get away with it!) This is the book that you read in one sitting, but keep returning to mentally for days and weeks. And Ms. Moran's easy, self-depricating wit had me laughing out loud. This book was touching, entertaining, and funny (and I learned a few things about about espionage, our government and foreign policy). A stunning debut from a talented writer!