Good Hunting

An American Spymaster's Story

By: Jack Devine

Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner

A master class in spycraft from one of its greatest practitioners.

Jack Devine ran Charlie Wilson's War in Afghanistan. It was the largest covert action of the Cold War, and it was Devine who put the brand-new Stinger missile into the hands of the mujahideen during their war with the Soviets, paving the way to a decisive victory against the Russians. He also pushed the CIA's effort to run down the narcotics trafficker Pablo Escobarin Colombia. He tried to warn the director of central intelligence, George Tenet, that there was a bullet coming from Iraq with his name on it. He was in Chile when Allende fell, and he had too much to do with Iran-Contra for his own taste, though he tried to stop it. He also tangled with Rick Ames, the KGB spy inside the CIA, and hunted Robert Hanssen, the mole in the FBI.

Good Hunting: An American Spymaster's Story is the spellbinding memoir of Devine's time in the CIA, where he served for more than 30 years, rising to become the acting deputy director of operations, responsible for all of the agency's spying operations. This is a story of intrigue and high-stakes maneuvering - all the more gripping when the fate of our geopolitical order hangs in the balance. But this audiobook also sounds a warning to our nation's decision makers: covert operations, not costly and devastating full-scale interventions, are the best safeguard of America's interests worldwide.

Part memoir, part historical redress, Good Hunting debunks some of the myths surrounding the agency and cautions against its misuses. Beneath the exotic allure - living abroad, running operations in seven countries, serving successive presidents from Nixon to Clinton - this is a realist's gimlet-eyed account of the CIA. As Devine sees it, the agency is now trapped within a larger bureaucracy, losing swaths of turf to the military, and most ominous of all, becoming overly weighted toward paramilitary operations after a decade of war.

©2014 Jack Devine (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Good but not great.

The author's "spy" stories were interesting although not as in-depth and detailed as I was hoping for. The last two chapters of the book were a bit long on the author's post-CIA experiences, but still interesting to see how he could apply his CIA skills to the private sector. Overall the book was enjoyable to listen to.

Interesting escapades.

Jack has certainly had an eventful and impactful career at the CIA. His experience has led him to strongly support a more active, aggressive role for the CIA rather than a more passive intelligence gathering only role. For example he would like to see the current drone program under CIA control vs military control. In my opinion, since it involves killing terrorists it is a military role. Gathering intelligence about their methods and plans is an appropriate intelligence role. I think the CIA needs to focus on turning terrorists into information gathering counter spies. Leave the shooting to the military.


I do applaud his positions on torture, Iraq Wmd, and Iran contra. I think he was on the right side of all of these issues.

Overall well written and well narrated.

Informative and interesting

Very well written, informative, and entertaining. It was a little too long, and at portions repeated itself. The reader was superb!

Fascinating, An education on spying

A global view of our countries history and involvement in the clandestine world of Spy's and their craft. Jack Devine can tell a story well. Jack is the only person I know of who makes the Iran Contra episode of our history understandable. One of the most exciting revelations is jack's confirmation that operation Gladio was real.
The reader is an excellent choice for the story.

Engrossing

Few individuals in Mr. Devine’s position have written candid books. If you want to know his story, and the story of the CIA and American Intelligence at large, read this book.