American Spies

Espionage against the United States from the Cold War to the Present

Michael J. Sulick

Narrated by Robert J. Eckrich

Available from Audible

Book published by Georgetown University Press

American Spies presents the stunning histories of more than forty Americans who spied against their country during the past six decades. Michael Sulick, former head of the CIA's clandestine service, illustrates through these stories—some familiar, others much less well known—the common threads in the spy cases and the evolution of American attitudes toward espionage since the onset of the Cold War. After highlighting the accounts of many who have spied for traditional adversaries such as Russian and Chinese intelligence services, Sulick shows how spy hunters today confront a far broader spectrum of threats not only from hostile states but also substate groups, including those conducting cyberespionage.

Sulick reveals six fundamental elements of espionage in these stories: the motivations that drove them to spy; their access and the secrets they betrayed; their tradecraft, i.e., the techniques of concealing their espionage; their exposure; their punishment; and, finally, the damage they inflicted on America's national security.

The book is the sequel to Sulick's popular Spying in America: Espionage from the Revolutionary War to the Dawn of the Cold War, also available from University Press Audiobooks. Together they serve as a basic introduction to understanding America's vulnerability to espionage, which has oscillated between peacetime complacency and wartime vigilance, and continues to be shaped by the inherent conflict between our nation's security needs and our commitment to the preservation of civil liberties.

Michael J. Sulick is a retired intelligence operations officer who worked for the CIA for twenty-eight years. He served as chief of CIA counterintelligence from 2002 to 2004 and as director of the National Clandestine Service from 2007 to 2010, where he was responsible for supervising the agency's covert collection operations and coordinating the espionage activities of the US intelligence community.

REVIEWS:

“A must-read. ”

—Washington Post

“This is a must-read if one hopes to understand what it will take to keep America's secrets secret. ”

—Michael Hayden, General USAF (Retired), former director of CIA, former director of NSA

“Drawing on a long career in the CIA's clandestine service, Michael Sulick's survey of espionage in America during and after the Cold War presents balanced analytical comparative case summaries that emphasize the most significant operations that challenged American intelligence agencies. Fascinating stories, well written, and a much needed contribution to the literature. For a basic understanding of America's contemporary espionage history—read this book! ”

—Hayden Peake, intelligence bibliographer, Curator of CIA Historical Intelligence Collection

“Makes real-life spy history come alive, and is highly recommended. ”

—Midwest Book Review

“This and Sulick's first volume describe some of the most damaging spies in our history with gripping accounts of their motives, espionage, and the temper of the times. The detailed, often compelling accounts fascinate. But more importantly, they sound a loud warning buzzer to once again challenge our near chronic disbelief—even today—about the extent of spying directed against America and the perennial readiness of some to betray it. ”

—Peter Earnest, executive director, International Spy Museum