{"product_id":"the-good-spy-isbn-9780307889768","title":"The Good Spy","description":"\u003ci\u003eThe Good Spy\u003c\/i\u003e is Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Kai Bird’s compelling portrait of the remarkable life and death of one of the most important operatives in CIA history – a man who, had he lived, might have helped heal the rift between Arabs and the West.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eOn April 18, 1983, a bomb exploded outside the American Embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people.  The attack was a geopolitical turning point. It marked the beginning of Hezbollah as a political force, but even more important, it eliminated America’s most influential and effective intelligence officer in the Middle East – CIA operative Robert Ames.  What set Ames apart from his peers was his extraordinary ability to form deep, meaningful connections with key Arab intelligence figures. Some operatives relied on threats and subterfuge, but Ames worked by building friendships and emphasizing shared values – never more notably than with Yasir Arafat’s charismatic intelligence chief and heir apparent Ali Hassan Salameh (aka “The Red Prince”). Ames’ deepening relationship with Salameh held the potential for a lasting peace.  Within a few years, though, both men were killed by assassins, and America’s relations with the Arab world began heading down a path that culminated in 9\/11, the War on Terror, and the current fog of mistrust.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eBird, who as a child lived in the Beirut Embassy and knew Ames as a neighbor when he was twelve years old, spent years researching \u003ci\u003eThe Good Spy.  \u003c\/i\u003eNot only does the book draw on hours of interviews with Ames’ widow, and quotes from hundreds of Ames’ private letters, it’s woven from interviews with scores of current and former American, Israeli, and Palestinian intelligence officers as well as other players in the Middle East “Great Game.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eWhat emerges is a masterpiece-level narrative of the making of a CIA officer, a uniquely insightful history of twentieth-century conflict in the Middle East, and an absorbing hour-by-hour account of the Beirut Embassy bombing.  Even more impressive, Bird draws on his reporter’s skills to deliver a full dossier on the bombers and expose the shocking truth of where the attack’s mastermind resides today.\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Bestseller\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA \u003ci\u003eWashington Post \u003c\/i\u003eNotable Book\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA \u003ci\u003eChristian Science Monitor\u003c\/i\u003e Top Ten Book, 2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review \u003c\/i\u003eEditor's Choice\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e's Best Spy Book of 2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA Daily Beast Best Biography of 2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn Apple Top 10 Biography of 2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A rich nuanced portrait of a man who, in the CIA's term, had a high tolerance for ambiguity...\u003cb\u003eOne of the best accounts we have of how espionage really works\u003c\/b\u003e.”\u003cbr\u003e—Mark Mazzetti, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Cool and authoritative…\u003cb\u003eThe book’s understated pleasures come from reading a pro writing about a pro.\u003c\/b\u003e Mr. Bird has a dry style; watching him compose a book is like watching a robin build a nest. Twig is entwined with twig until a sturdy edifice is constructed. No flourishes are required …. Mr. Bird’s style is ideal for his subject.” \u003cbr\u003e—Dwight Garner, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“A well-researched, engagingly presented biography...\u003ci\u003eThe Good Spy\u003c\/i\u003e is \u003cb\u003ea fascinating book that sheds much-needed light on one of the murkier corners of CIA—and Middle Eastern—history\u003c\/b\u003e.”\u003cbr\u003e—Max Boot, \u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003cb\u003eFull of great morsels and details\u003c\/b\u003e… Bird has found in Ames a wonderful new subject…. \u003ci\u003eThe Good Spy\u003c\/i\u003e succeeds on the basis of Bird’s considerable research skills, his interviews with intelligence officials, his access to Ames’s letters home and, above all, his ability to spot and put together \u003cb\u003ean engrossing biography.\u003c\/b\u003e”\u003cbr\u003e–\u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Bird captures the acrid taste of regional politics and offers a perceptive portrayal of the internal workings and interplay of personalities within the CIA at the time…\u003cb\u003eAn enthralling read.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e–\u003ci\u003eHouston Chronicle\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “[\u003cb\u003eBird] spent years researching this terrific biography of one of America’s most important covert operatives. It was worth every minute\u003c\/b\u003e.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e–Seattle Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e“Engrossing…\u003c\/b\u003eThis absorbing book suggests that even the best of intentions, and the best of spies, aren’t enough to bridge the chasms in the Middle East.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e—Los Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003cb\u003eRiveting…[Bird] relates fascinating details\u003c\/b\u003e (drawn from interviews with some 30 retired CIA and Mossad officers) about the culture and practices of the agency, including the life-and-death implications of designating an individual as either a ‘source,’ a ‘recruit’ or an ‘asset.’”\u003cbr\u003e–\u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Gate\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“With its \u003cb\u003epacy narrative, exotic locales and colourful cast\u003c\/b\u003e of CIA and Mossad agents, Palestinian and Iranian revolutionaries, Lebanese operators and even a winner of the Miss Universe contest, \u003cb\u003ethe book has all the ingredients of a first-class thriller\u003c\/b\u003e. Kai Bird writes well enough to be a novelist, too, but his sentences have the additional virtue of being true.” \u003cbr\u003e–\u003ci\u003eTimes Literary Supplement\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“In his \u003cb\u003eriveting, illuminating\u003c\/b\u003e account of Ames' life and ultimate death in the 1983 embassy bombing in Beirut, \u003cb\u003eBird pulls back the thick black curtain on the world of clandestine intelligence affairs\u003c\/b\u003e — a world that turns out to be more blazer-and-pen than cloak-and-dagger, though no less \u003cb\u003eengrossing\u003c\/b\u003e — to tell the story of one individual's good work in a not-so-good system.\u003cb\u003e A\u003c\/b\u003e”\u003cb\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e–\u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“One of the best nonfiction books ever written about the West’s involvement in the Arab world.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e—The Spectator (UK)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“All of this is engrossing for those fascinated by the machinations of the people and politics of the Middle East…But this book should appeal to a wider audience. It underlines the need for intelligence-gathering by humans as well as by machines, and illustrates the gap between spying and policy.”\u003cbr\u003e–\u003ci\u003eThe Economist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of 2014's best books so far.\u003c\/b\u003e “A lucid, thorough, fascinating biography.”\u003cbr\u003e–\u003ci\u003eTIME.com\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“It is a reflection of the drama of this patch of history as well as Bird’s skill in rendering it that the book is as compelling a read as most spy novels.”\u003cbr\u003e–\u003ci\u003eNational Interest\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003cb\u003eKai Bird has written a riveting biography…\u003c\/b\u003e This intriguing book shares many exciting exploits of Ames’ life as a spy, but most \u003cb\u003ecaptivating\u003c\/b\u003e was his poignant relationship with Ali Hassan Salameh.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e–Jewish Journal (Massachusetts)\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Painstakingly researched...In addition to being an admiring biography of a uniquely gifted CIA operative, \u003ci\u003eThe Good Spy \u003c\/i\u003ereminds us of those long-ago days when some sort of resolution was considered even a remote possibility.”\u003cbr\u003e–\u003ci\u003eHighbrow Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e“More exciting than le Carré’s George Smiley or Fleming’s James Bond, Bird recreates the life of CIA superspy Robert Ames… Bird’s meticulous account of Ames’s career amid an ongoing Mideast climate of caution and suspicion is one of the best books on the American intelligence community.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e—Publishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e (Starred Review)\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e“A moving biography within a balanced presentation of the complex diplomacy over the Palestinian quest for statehood and Israeli need for security.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e—Library Journal \u003c\/i\u003e(Starred Review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003cbr\u003e “A poignant tribute to a CIA Middle East operative who helped get the Palestinians and Israelis to talk to each other—and died for it.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e—Kirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Kai Bird has produced a compelling and complex narrative that must be read on many levels—including as a detailed account of the immense influence that a truly good man can have on an agency as cynical as the CIA, and as a reminder of a myriad of losses.  Robert Ames did not live long enough to get what he most desperately wanted—a real peace in the Middle East.  And America's intelligence agencies no longer seem as welcoming to agents with the wisdom, vision and integrity that Ames exemplified.”\u003cbr\u003e—Seymour Hersh, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of \u003ci\u003eThe Price of Power, The Dark Side of Camelot, \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eChain of Command\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e“Kai Bird has delivered two miracles—the best day-by-day account of a secret intelligence career in the CIA, and the best book about the murderous intelligence war between Israel and her enemies with America smack in the middle.\u003c\/b\u003e  For years Robert Ames—The Good Spy—tried to nudge both sides toward peace until he picked the wrong day to visit the U.S. Embassy in Beirut and was killed by a car bomb. \u003cb\u003eBird has written a powerful and revealing story that leaves the reader with a troubling question—how did America get trapped in this war it can do nothing to end?”\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e—Thomas Powers, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of \u003ci\u003eIntelligence Wars \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Man Who Kept the Secrets: Richard Helms and the CIA\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e“The Good Spy \u003c\/i\u003egives us the CIA up close and personal—the intricate dance of recruiting ‘assets,’ the bureaucratic maneuverings, the family compromises.\u003c\/b\u003e  But because Ames was a Mideast specialist his biography also becomes a knowing history of that region's political failures and relentless descent into violence.  \u003cb\u003eWell reported, even-handed, compelling reading -- one of the best books ever written about the CIA.”\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e—Joseph Kanon, New York Times bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eLos Alamos\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Good German\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Beautifully written and researched, \u003ci\u003eThe Good Spy \u003c\/i\u003eis the best book I've ever read on espionage\u003c\/b\u003e. \u003cb\u003eIt perfectly captures the CIA at its best. What's more, it's a book you can't put down, right to its tragic end. \u003c\/b\u003eI need to add this: while Bob Ames's career and mine crossed paths over the years, it's Kai Bird who has finally put the story together for me. Reading this, I wondered at times if Kai somehow pulled off a black bag operation to get into the Agency archives.\"\u003cbr\u003e—Robert Baer, former CIA operative and \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eSee No Evil\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e“Kai Bird has unearthed an astonishing amount of detail about Robert Ames, the CIA, and U.S. spy operations in the Middle East.\u003c\/b\u003e His book could not be more timely in showing us the perils and advantages of clandestine actions in the name of national security. \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Good Spy\u003c\/i\u003e gives\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003enew meaning to the adage that truth can be stranger than fiction.”\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e—Robert Dallek, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller \u003ci\u003eAn Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy 1917-1963\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"If John le Carré were a nonfiction specialist, he surely would feel the lure of writing the story that is at the heart of \u003ci\u003eThe Good Spy\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cb\u003e Kai Bird works the seam between history and espionage.  He has produced an arresting book—one that is knowing, and masterful in its rendition of a time when the United States cast a huge shadow across the Arab world.  \u003c\/b\u003eRobert Ames, the spy in Kai Bird's title, is a figure of unusual poignancy because his guile and innocence run side by side.”\u003cbr\u003e—Fouad Ajami, Senior Fellow at The Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and author of \u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eSyrian Rebellion\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eKai Bird\u003c\/b\u003e is an award-winning historian and journalist. Executive director of the Leon Levy Center for Biography, he is the acclaimed author of biographies of John J. McCloy, of McGeorge and William Bundy, Robert Ames, and President Jimmy Carter. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography for \u003ci\u003eAmerican Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer\u003c\/i\u003e (co-authored with Martin J. Sherwin), which was adapted into the Academy Award-winning film \u003ci\u003eOppenheimer\u003c\/i\u003e. His work has been honored with the BIO Award for his significant contributions to the art and craft of biography. He has also written about the Vietnam War, Hiroshima, nuclear weapons, the Cold War, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the CIA. He lives in New York City and Washington, D.C., with his wife, Susan Goldmark.New York Times bestseller","brand":"Crown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46301288431845,"sku":"NP9780307889768","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780307889768.jpg?v=1767739597","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-good-spy-isbn-9780307889768","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}