The Art of Intelligence
Lessons from a Life in the CIA's Clandestine Service
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Narrated by:
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David Colacci
About this listen
A legendary CIA spy and counterterrorism expert tells the spellbinding story of his high-risk, action-packed career while illustrating the growing importance of America's intelligence officers and their secret missions.
For a crucial period, Henry Crumpton led the CIA's global covert operations against America's terrorist enemies, including al Qaeda. In the days after 9/11, the CIA tasked Crumpton to organize and lead the Afghanistan campaign. With Crumpton's strategic initiative and bold leadership, from the battlefield to the Oval Office, U.S. and Afghan allies routed al Qaeda and the Taliban in less than 90 days after the Twin Towers fell. At the height of combat against the Taliban in late 2001, there were fewer than 500 Americans on the ground in Afghanistan, a dynamic blend of CIA and Special Forces. The campaign changed the way America wages war. This book will change the way America views the CIA.
The Art of Intelligence draws from the full arc of Crumpton's espionage and covert action exploits to explain what America's spies do and why their service is more valuable than ever. From his early years in Africa, where he recruited and ran sources, from loathsome criminals to heroic warriors; to his liaison assignment at the FBI, the CIA's Counterterrorism Center, the development of the UAV Predator program, and the Afghanistan war; to his later work running all CIA clandestine operations inside the United States, he employs enthralling storytelling to teach important lessons about national security, but also about duty, honor, and love of country.
No book like The Art of Intelligence has ever been written - not with Crumpton's unique perspective, in a time when America faced such grave and uncertain risk. It is an epic, sure to be a classic in the annals of espionage and war.
©2012 Henry A. Crumpton (P)2012 Penguin AudiobooksListeners also enjoyed...
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Resuming the narrative of his Pulitzer Prize-winning Ghost Wars, best-selling author Steve Coll tells for the first time the epic and enthralling story of America's intelligence, military, and diplomatic efforts to defeat Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan since 9/11.
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Slow At Times But Always Horrifying And Engaging
- By Gillian on 02-20-18
By: Steve Coll
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Wise Gals
- The Spies Who Built the CIA and Changed the Future of Espionage
- By: Nathalia Holt
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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In the wake of World War II, four agents were critical in helping build a new organization that we now know as the CIA. Adelaide Hawkins, Mary Hutchison, Eloise Page, and Elizabeth Sudmeier, called the “wise gals” by their male colleagues because of their sharp sense of humor and even quicker intelligence, were not the stereotypical femme fatale of spy novels.
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Intriguing untold history
- By Andrea Guzman on 12-15-22
By: Nathalia Holt
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Failures of Imagination
- The Deadliest Threats to Our Homeland - and How to Thwart Them
- By: Michael McCaul
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Congressman and Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, Michael McCaul, has spent years in Washington watching the administration turn a blind eye to the most pressing possible threats to the country. Now, in Failures of Imagination, McCaul turns away from the over-sensationalized, unrealistic fears circulated through the media in order to expose the most legitimate and looming national security threats, which have long been swept under the rug by the administration.
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Spot on.
- By Prince Parker on 02-27-16
By: Michael McCaul
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Ghost Wars
- The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001
- By: Steve Coll
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 26 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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The explosive first-hand account of America's secret history in Afghanistan. With the publication of Ghost Wars, Steve Coll became not only a Pulitzer Prize winner, but also the expert on the rise of the Taliban, the emergence of Bin Laden, and the secret efforts by CIA officers and their agents to capture or kill Bin Laden in Afghanistan after 1998.
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An Exceptional Accomplishment
- By Joe on 11-08-13
By: Steve Coll
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Obama's Wars
- By: Bob Woodward
- Narrated by: Boyd Gaines
- Length: 15 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Working behind the scenes for 18 months, Bob Woodward has written the most intimate and sweeping portrait of President Obama making the critical decisions on the Afghanistan War, the secret war in Pakistan, and the worldwide fight against terrorism.
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Woodward Does a Service
- By Roy on 10-01-10
By: Bob Woodward
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Shadow Strike
- Inside Israel's Secret Mission to Eliminate Syrian Nuclear Power
- By: Yaakov Katz
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
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On September 6, 2007, shortly after midnight, Israeli fighters advanced on Deir ez-Zour in Syria. Israel often flew into Syria as a warning to President Bashar al-Assad. But this time, there was no warning and no explanation. This was a covert operation, with one goal: to destroy a nuclear reactor being built by North Korea under a tight veil of secrecy in the Syrian desert. Shadow Strike tells, for the first time, the story of the espionage, military might and psychological warfare behind Israel’s operation to stop one of the greatest known acts of nuclear proliferation.
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Important Book!
- By Gerald J. Vogt on 05-10-19
By: Yaakov Katz
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The Accidental Admiral
- A Sailor Takes Command at NATO
- By: ADM. James Stavridis USN - Ret.
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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After he was selected to be NATO's 16th Supreme Allied Commander, the New York Times described Jim Stavridis as a "Renaissance admiral." A US Naval Academy graduate with a master's degree and doctorate from Tufts University, conversant in both French and Spanish, this author of numerous books and articles impressed the Navy's leaders and senior Pentagon civilians. The Accidental Admiral offers an intimate look at the challenges of directing NATO operations in Afghanistan, military intervention in Libya, and preparation for possible war in Syria.
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Insider View on Complexity in Nato
- By Theo Horesh on 05-16-22
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Kill Chain
- The Rise of the High-Tech Assassins
- By: Andrew Cockburn
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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This essential, pause-resister narrative on the history of drone warfare by the acclaimed author of Rumsfeld explores how this practice emerged, who made it happen, and the real consequences of targeted killing.
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Introduction
- By Batman on 03-24-15
By: Andrew Cockburn
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The Main Enemy
- The Inside Story of the CIA's Final Showdown with the KGB
- By: Milton Bearden, James Risen
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 19 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A landmark collaboration between a thirty-year veteran of the CIA and a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, The Main Enemy is the inside story of the CIA-KGB spy wars, told through the actions of the men who fought them. Based on hundreds of interviews with operatives from both sides, The Main Enemy puts us inside the heads of CIA officers as they dodge surveillance and walk into violent ambushes in Moscow. This is the story of the generation of spies who came of age in the shadow of the Cuban missile crisis and rose to run the CIA and KGB in the last days of the Cold War.
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A masterpiece of espionage history
- By kucherv on 08-21-18
By: Milton Bearden, and others
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The Way of the Knife
- The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth
- By: Mark Mazzetti
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 11 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Pulitzer Prize winner Mark Mazzetti examines secret wars over the past decade, tracking key characters from the intelligence and military communities across the world. Among the characters we meet in The Way of the Knife are a young CIA officer dropped into the tribal areas to learn the hard way how the spy games in Pakistan are played; an Air Force test pilot who fired the first drone missile in the Nevada desert; and a chain-smoking Pentagon official who ran an off-the-books spying operation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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Excellent critique of covert operations
- By Keefer on 04-27-13
By: Mark Mazzetti
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Book of the year...
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Circle of Treason
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What a whiner
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Ghost Wars
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The explosive first-hand account of America's secret history in Afghanistan. With the publication of Ghost Wars, Steve Coll became not only a Pulitzer Prize winner, but also the expert on the rise of the Taliban, the emergence of Bin Laden, and the secret efforts by CIA officers and their agents to capture or kill Bin Laden in Afghanistan after 1998.
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An Exceptional Accomplishment
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Russians Among Us
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With intrigue that rivals the best le Carre novels, Russians Among Us tells the urgent story of Russia’s espionage efforts against the United States and the West from the end of the Cold War to the present.
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Should be required reading for every citizen
- By Amazon Customer on 02-27-20
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Legacy of Ashes
- The History of the CIA
- By: Tim Weiner
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This is the book the CIA does not want you to read. For the last 60 years, the CIA has maintained a formidable reputation in spite of its terrible record, never disclosing its blunders to the American public. It spun its own truth to the nation while reality lay buried in classified archives. Now, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Tim Weiner offers a stunning indictment of the CIA, a deeply flawed organization that has never deserved America's confidence.
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Flawed but Important
- By Michael on 07-18-08
By: Tim Weiner
What listeners say about The Art of Intelligence
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 05-29-21
Exceptional insight
Well done. The only thing missing is locations of most incidents, but understandably for obvious reasons. we need more people like Henry. From a Navy Vietnam vet, thank you Hank for your dedicated service.
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- Jeran
- 01-27-23
Great story, very informative
Felt a little bit like damage control. But the story was heartwarming, inspiring, family-oriented, and captivating.
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- David
- 05-31-24
Informative and well done
This account provided me fresh perspectives on the CIA's role, on that agency's mandate compared to others; say, the FBI. I believe it is important to know the differences between law enforcement and intelligence gathering, for example, and I appreciate this experienced writer's perspective and his colorful career. This book was my beginning in a search to understand how and why DOJ and intelligence agencies' leadership have misled the public regarding Russia and Republicans while slow-walking or burying proven misdeeds by Democrats. I'm interested because that forms the foundation for my trust, or mistrust. This book covers time periods before 2016, including 911's aftermath and I'm glad to better understand the CIA's special role in that time of great crisis. It does not help me much in my quest to understand the sharp political turn that has occurred since 2015 or so.
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- Ryan Palmer
- 03-16-19
great read!
this gives and amazing insight into the world of the CIA and the fight against AQ
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- Steven Klosk
- 09-28-22
Virtual page turner.
Very Entertaining and Informative. A real glimpse into the global Intel community and some events which shaped our world.
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- Woods, M
- 01-24-23
cuts with both hands
This book did a great job mixing general capability and his story. his career path combined with experience and how it all played within the construct of Intelligence was both informative and exciting.
This was the first time I had the pleasure of hearing about the hunt for UBL before 9/11 and the initial ops in Afghanistan before Iraq and DoD took the wheel
I enjoyed this book, and will most likely listen again sometime in the future.
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- Marvin Young
- 09-02-18
A book on the professional life of Hank Crumpton
Good read overall, but pretty dry in certain parts.
Art of Intelligence... reads autobiographical chronicling the professional life of Henry "Hank" Crumpton. He starts from his time as a scrappy farm boy in Athens, Georgia, to a junior CIA officer, to an agent at the FBI's CTC division, to the CIA again, and ultimately the State Department under then Secretary Rice of the Bush Administration.
Hank starts the first few chapters discussing many of the nuts and bolts of clandestine service. He discusses recruiting foreign sources, pulling off collection missions, and his paramilitary operations in the African theater. Later in the book he discusses the Afghanistan theater and his work between the CIA and it's "customers" including the US Military, foreign partners, other US agencies etc. He also discusses the challenges he faced in securing provisions and marketing the intelligence collected against the political and economic arenas of the early to mid-2000s.
One of my favorite parts is when Hank discusses the advent of new tech during his career and the challenges it represented. Unfortunately, he doesn't go to great detail on this. He mentions the prominent emergence of the aerial drones in the late 1990s, the increasing role of big data and OPINT, and the increasing influence of non-state actors as a result of cheaper and more widespread sources of communication and interests abroad.
The book generally reads very patriotic as well as informative on the overall mission of the CIA's clandestine service. Crumpton can get somewhat preachy on the importance of intelligence, civic duty, and politics, but this never gets in the way of the overall message. There is a mildly sexist undertone when one of his bosses says "don't be a pussy, take the job" or when he portrays a fallen comrades wife (and then explicitly all women) as unique in having a sense of clairvoyance in knowing when there partners are in trouble. Lastly, maybe just as a problem for me, the narrator plays female characters in a somewhat obnoxiously feminine tone.
That being said, if you're interested in a career at the CIA, want to know about it as a more informed citizen, or just as a historical narrative, I encourage you to check it out.
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- Kodi Maverick
- 02-10-16
loved it. so much insight
a beautiful wonderful weaving of art. tells the value of intelligence in an ever evolving world.
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- james
- 01-18-19
The Real Deal!
The enlightening, behind the scenes, first person account of what really happened in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. This from the perspective of the man whom designed and lead the counter terrorism response for the USA. The world needs more people like Hank! Riveting to the end...
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- John E Bowman Jr
- 09-07-12
Awesome
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
I would definitely recommend this to the listener who wants to learn about the CIA.
What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?
Henry Crumpton's knowledge from his experiences within the CIA were the most compelling
Which character – as performed by David Colacci – was your favorite?
This isn't applicable.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
No
Any additional comments?
No
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