How to Catch a Russian Spy, Naveed Jamali
How to Catch a Russian Spy, Naveed Jamali
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How to Catch a Russian Spy
The True Story of an American Civilian Turned Self-taught Double Agent

Author: Naveed Jamali, Ellis Henican

Narrator: Kirby Heyborne

Unabridged: 10 hr 17 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/23/2015


Synopsis

With an epilogue on recent Russian spying, a “page-turner of a memoir” (Publishers Weekly) about an American civilian with a dream, who worked as a double agent with the FBI in the early 2000s to bring down a Russian intelligence agent in New York City.

For three nerve-wracking years, from 2005 to 2008, Naveed Jamali spied on America for the Russians, trading thumb drives of sensitive technical data for envelopes of cash, selling out his beloved country across noisy restaurant tables and in quiet parking lots. Or so the Russians believed. In fact, Jamali was a covert double agent working with the FBI. The Cold War wasn’t really over. It had just gone high-tech.

“A classic case of American counterespionage from the inside…a never-ending game of cat and mouse” (The Wall Street Journal), How to Catch a Russian Spy is the story of how one young man’s post-college-adventure became a real-life intelligence coup. Incredibly, Jamali had no previous counterespionage experience. Everything he knew about undercover work he’d picked up from TV cop shows and movies, yet he convinced the FBI and the Russians they could trust him. With charm, cunning, and bold naiveté, he matched wits with a veteran Russian military-intelligence officer, out-maneuvering him and his superiors. Along the way, Jamali and his FBI handlers exposed espionage activities at the Russian Mission to the United Nations.

Jamali now reveals the full riveting story behind his double-agent adventure—from coded signals on Craigslist to clandestine meetings at Hooter’s to veiled explanations to his worried family. He also brings the story up to date with an epilogue showing how the very same playbook the Russians used on him was used with spectacularly more success around the 2016 election. Cinematic, news-breaking, and “an entertaining and breezy read” (The Washington Post), How to Catch a Russian Spy is an armchair spy fantasy brought to life.

About Naveed Jamali

Naveed Jamali spent three years as a civilian double agent then joined the US Navy as a reserve intelligence officer, where he continues to serve. He has appeared as an expert commentator on several TV networks and is currently a regular contributor to MSNBC as well as Newsweek magazine. Ellis Henican is a newspaper columnist, TV political analyst, and author of several New York Times bestselling books.

About Ellis Henican

Ellis Henican is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Sam

I debated over how to rate this. The story is fairly fascinating and certainly unique, but the book is such an blatant self-tribute to how awesome the author perceives himself to be that I really wouldn't recommend anyone spend their time reading it. Through his writing, the author/protagonist remin......more

I'm really happy I didn't buy this book, (hey, libraries!) because it was...alright. The narrator was kind of in love with himself, and was playing up his role in "catching" this Russian spy, who...doesn't actually get caught. He leaves. Naveed's entire role in catching this guy is having conversati......more

the author basically wrote the book to continually self high five on paper. honestly, this would be a one hour TV show on a third rate cable network. not worth the read......more

Goodreads review by Sadie

I think a more appropriate title would be, "How to think a lot of yourself and occasionally interact with a Russian." Maybe (definitely) the media has given me a warped idea of espionage -you mean the Bourn movies aren't an accurate representation?!- but I couldn't believe how slow and anticlimactic......more