See No Evil
by Robert Baer · first published 2002
90% recommend10% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Firsthand memoir by a longtime CIA field officer, covering his work in the Middle East and how the agency operates. It is a candid, engaging starting point for understanding intelligence work.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…related. Nothing about the last 10-20 years? I groan when I see yet another book on World War 2/Enigma/Early cold war-- hasnt this topic been done to the death? Or have I read too many books? For me, See no Evil by Robert Baer, though it came out in 2003, is a good book about how politics interferes with intelligence work. I Spy by Tom Marcus, though it was about counter intelligence, is also a great book.
on “Useful Spy Books” ↗Robert Baer's book "See No Evil" (http://www.amazon.com/See-No-Evil-Soldier-Terrorism/dp/14000...) also does a good job of this. Yes, he did get a crash course in arms and explosives while at The Farm (if I remember it correctly, he…
on “When will experiences replace movie theaters?” ↗Or Robert Baer's books (which had a fictionalized form in the movie Syriana). His See No Evil goes into a lot of detail about the training and day to day work of a CIA case officer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/See_No_Evil_%28book%29
on “Intelligence Officer’s Bookshelf” ↗Have you read Bob Baer's "See No Evil" - it goes into a lot of details about his experiences being recruited and working in the CIA. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/See_No_Evil_(Baer_book)
on “Ask HN: What do you regret in life?” ↗Start with "see no evil" by Bob Baer
on “Eyewash’: How the CIA deceives its own workforce about operations” ↗Confessions of an Economic Hitman, The Wealth of Nations, The Great Gatsby, See No Evil, Hannibal
on “Ask YC: favorite books” ↗Robert Baer, the author of the article, is a good (and very qualified) writer on intelligence issues. His book about his experiences in the CIA, See No Evil, is one of my favorites: http://www.amazon.com/See-No-Evil-Soldier-Terrorism/dp/14000...
on “The Current State of Spycraft” ↗…actually spies for governments, people that are manipulated by the field agents. A typical agent's job is to recruit and collect data from those recruits. For a fascinating take on this I suggest the book See No Evil by Bob Baer. He talks a lot about his experiences as a CIA agent doing just that in a lot of interesting places during the cold war.
on “WWII Atomic Bomb Project Had More Than 1,500 "Leaks"” ↗Bob Baer's books are rather good - particularly See No Evil: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/See_No_Evil_%28Baer_book%29 Quite interesting to compare Baer's experiences at the CIA with high profile members of MI6, particularly Paddy Ashdown - the latter being…
on “Kim Philby, Lecturing in East Berlin, Bragged of How Easy It Was to Fool MI6” ↗Robert Baer's excellent book See No Evil gives a fairly detailed account of what it's like to be an intelligence officer (in his case for the CIA) - you are basically identifying people who have useful information and then persuading them to…
on “John le Carré has died” ↗…middle east. It is rare that we come across someone of his caliber who is willing to speak out so vocally against the organization where he worked for several decades. I strongly recommend his first book, See No Evil, which the movie Syriana was based on.
on “The World’s ‘Best’ Car Bombers? (2008)” ↗He's autobiography on his time in the CIA, "See No Evil" is also interesting (and depressing). edit: While we're on the subject of sci-fi and capitalism; I highly recommend Bruce Sterling's latest book, the Zenith Angle: http://www.amazon.com/The-Zenith-Angle-Bruce-Sterling/dp/034...
on “"Ender's Game" movie faces a boycott” ↗See no Evil is excellent as it covers both CIA training and what intelligence officers actually spend their time doing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/See_No_Evil_(Baer_book) Something like Paddy Ashdown's auto…
on “Useful Spy Books” ↗Was the book See No Evil by Robert Baer? http://www.amazon.com/See-No-Evil-Soldier-Terrorism/dp/14000... The movie Syriana was loosely based on this book.
on “Leak reveals US Government lobbied on behalf of Oracle.” ↗I am remembering See No Evil by Robert Baer, a CIA veteran.
on “MI5 staff who lack computer skills made redundant” ↗