Good Hunting: An American Spymaster's Story

by Jack Devine, Vernon Loeb

A MASTER CLASS IN SPYCRAFT FROM ONE OF ITS GREATEST PRACTITIONERS

Jack Devine is one of the legendary spymasters of our time. He was in Chile when Allende fell; he ran Charlie Wilson's war in Afghanistan; he had too much to do with Iran-Contra for his own taste, though he tried to stop it; he oversaw the effort to run down Pablo Escobar in Colombia. Devine served America's interests for more than thirty years in a wide range of covert operations, ultimately overseeing the Directorate of Operations, a CIA component that watches over thousands of American covert operatives worldwide.
Good Hunting is his guide to the art of spycraft, told with great wit, candor, and commonsense wisdom. Caricatured by Hollywood, lionized by the right, and pilloried by the left, the CIA remains one of the least understood instruments of the United States government. Devine knows more than almost anyone about the CIA's vital importance as a tool of American statecraft. In wonderfully readable prose, Good Hunting aims to set the record straight. This is a revelatory inside look at an organization whose history has not been given its real due.

Genres: History, Espionage, Biography, Nonfiction, Memoir, Politics, Military Fiction

336 pages, Paperback

First published June 4, 2013

Reviews

[Tom LA · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A spy who funneled Stingers to the mujahedeen, helped hunt drug lord Pablo Escobar, and managed the turncoat Aldrich Ames", The WSJ.

Fascinating book, with great historic value, and written in a straight-shooter no bs tone that perfectly resonates with me, especially after having read "The brothers" by Kinzer, about the Dulles brothers, a book that provides a very different perspective on the CIA's history and modus operandi.

Jack Devine covered many crucial CIA leadership roles over 32 years, and his career put him in touch with many of the most important foreign policy issues of the 70s, 80s and 90s. In particular, he was in charge, from 1986, of the CIA covert war in Afghanistan. You might have heard of "Charlie Wilson's War", that was also made into a movie with Tom Hanks. You get a lot of facts straight by reading this book.

Some reviewers commented that Devine writes with a tribal loyalty to the CIA, while they wanted him to be more critical of some CIA's decisions and actions. I disagree with this view. Devine clearly thinks the CIA mandate and mission are very important for the US, and he is proud of the many accomplishments that he is allowed to talk about. Anything wrong with that? He also has an eye for the many shortcomings and mistakes of the Agency, and shares his frustration with the problems that naturally go with this type of "business", from the inevitability of counterespionage to the impossibility of providing measurable, objective and easy to digest results.

Yes, like most autobiographies, this is the career story of a workaholic, and you will find the very normal "look how good I am" approach, but overall I felt a sense of fairness in Devine's memories. No bullshit. No score-settling chapters. He even goes almost as far as to confess that his being 6 foot 5 helped him in his career. How many of today's leaders and managers - many of whom have been helped in their career by simply being tall - would be honest enough to admit that?

Woody Allen said it well - "80% of success is showing up". If you are also very tall and loyal, that puts you at about 90%.

By the way, I was happy to discover (and entirely agree with) an article by Devine on Edward Snowden. Yes, Snowden, the noble hero of today's ignorant civilians: please read it here http://www.politico.com/magazine/stor...

Also, very interesting documentary on Charlie Wilson here http://youtu.be/9hU3r4q5CV8
Devine is briefly featured in an interview in the second part.

[Tomasz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Astonishingly for a high-ranking intelligence officer, Mr. Devine in his autobiography comes across as a poor liar, and not very bright, at that.
As witness his story of the role played by the CIA in Chile in the early 1970s - he claims that Allende had to be opposed, because whenever socialists came to power, democracy turned to dictatorship and American interests were harmed. He points out to Cuba as a case in point. Claiming that Fulgencio Batista was a democrat is, frankly, laughable, and it's nice to be told openly that Mob casinos needed Uncle Sam's protection... In addition, Mr. Devine claims that CIA's role was limited (while he was there) to supporting the opposition towards President Allende, to strengthen democracy. The question is - how stridently did CIA work to support those opposing Pinochet, afterwards? Because if they did sweet fuck all, as apparently was the case, the Agency did tacitly support the actual, murderous dictator. Can't have it both ways.
It's also amusing to read his condemnations of Ames and Hanssen only to find out that Mr. Devine himself took money from Russian oligarchs to help them establish their presence in the US. Apparently it all depends on what kinds of assets are being sold out, heh. Capitalism in action, baby!

[Florence Buchholz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jack Devine was a long time CIA employee. He began his career in Chile shortly before the coup that overthrew the democratically elected Marxist government of Salvador Allende. It was not the CIA's proudest moment. Reading this book reminded me of many dishonorable past activities of America's premier clandestine organization, namely the Iran-Contra affair, enhanced interrogation techniques otherwise known as torture, supporting murderous right wing dictatorships in Central America. Apparently the men and women of the CIA are a dedicated and patriotic group serving their country with distinction. I have no argument with that, however, it was a chore getting through the endless descriptions of bureaucratic details contained in this book. And I was left wondering why Mr. Devine wrote so boundlessly about the years after his retirement from government service. Perhaps the powers-that- be censored large swaths of the manuscript and there were plenty of empty pages to fill...

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack Devine has written a memoir of service in Washington that is refreshingly free of score settling and politics. The CIA tends to be a Rorschach test in American politics today; however Good Hunting is a reminder that the best government employees are apolitical. Good Hunting is also a very honest book, both of successes of the CIA as well as it's failures. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in American history of the 70's through today.

[Bosh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Devine has some interesting anecdotes and insights into how the CIA does and does not function. His writing style is overly stilted, but the more fatal flaw here is the lack of real depth of analysis or criticism of the CIA. In Devine's world, the CIA is inherently good, and the bad things it has done are the result of a few bad apples or interference from other government agencies. His discussion of some issues sometimes seems disingenuous and shows a tribal loyalty to the CIA - in discussing the coup in Chile, for example, he insists the CIA had nothing to do with it, but then slips in a mention that the US had previously explored launching a coup. It seems unlikely that, even if there was no direct incitement of the coup that overthrew Allende, there was absolutely no causal connection. He also throws in the absurd rationalization that Allende did not have the support of the majority of Chileans because he had won the election with less than 50% of the vote - which I guess means that the democracies of almost all Western democracies are fair game as well.

Ultimately, this might be worth a read if you're a CIA buff or doing academic work, but it would not be my top recommendation for a casual read.

[Erwin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reminds me of the Robert Gates book Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War... Yet another middle man functionary that never did anything noteworthy, but did make enough friends to build a successful consultancy for his life after public service.

If you want a truly fascinating tale, I highly recommend Pete Early's Confessions of a Spy about double agent Aldrich Ames. Very well written and much more interesting.

[Spencer Rich · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mildly interesting, but despite constantly insisting on his neutrality, the guy comes off as a right-wing douche. I mean, there's absolutely no excuse for what happened in Chile, for one thing. This is definitely not a Hopscotch-esque tell-all.

[Mark Martella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jack Devine is a knucklehead; don't waist your time.....

[Roberta Havel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read a lot of books about US intelligence agencies but I have never read one that discussed the inner workings and spy craft of the CIA as vividly as Good Hunting. The beginning 2/3rds of the book was almost like reading an educational spy thriller. The last third was a lot drier and more policy oriented.

I highly recommend that memoir lovers and national security wonks read Good Hunting to learn about the true inner workings of US intelligence operations

[Tony61 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the memoir of the Deputy Director of Operations at the CIA during the 1990’s after a long career that started in the 1960’s. Heck, it would be cool to be a CIA officer. Devine writes in a folksy style and makes the job seem like any old job: meet interesting people, try to figure out if they hate America, fill out a bunch of paperwork, yada, yada, yada.

This book contains a trunkload of interesting vignettes and things you never consider about the CIA and what they call “spycraft”. In the old days the CIA would recruit from college campuses by asking old guard professors which guys (because most agents were male) were straight-shooters who might make good officers. The Agency didn’t want the top intellects, just average students who could do the work. They were concerned that if the candidates were too smart they would get bored with the drudgery of the job, or something like that. Now, the application process is more formalized but the considerations remain the same: some smarts but not too much, good physical condition, and now more diversity in ethnicities and gender.

Devine went through training and became friends with Aldrich Ames, called “Rick”, who eventually was caught, tried and convicted of selling secrets to the Soviets. Devine provides an intriguing dossier on how and why an officer would do something so stupid. Of course, he never goes into the controversy and the competing defense that Ames was actually set up-- that’s a different book I guess.

Good Hunting spouts the Agency’s party line on the issues covered, such as, the US never attempted to overthrow Chile’s democratically elected government and we had nothing to do with Pinochet’s brutal rise to power. Believe what you want I suppose.

One nugget is that the CIA readily takes credit for influencing Italian postwar elections in the 1940’s and 50’s which expelled Communism from the peninsula. This book, written in 2014, is unrepentant in admitting that the US uses all kinds of covert activity to sway foreign elections-- interesting in light of the recent furor over the Russians alleged meddling in our elections.

By the way, the CIA employees are called officers while the FBI uses the term agent, or special agent. An “agent” to the CIA is a foreign asset or someone spying for the US against their own country. This confusion is necessary to clear up while reading.

Devine achieved minor celebrity status as the CIA organizer of Charlie Wilson’s war. Wilson was a charismatic congressman who spearheaded the arming of Mujahideen fighters in Afghanistan during the 1980’s Soviet invasion. Devine provided Stinger shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles to the tribesmen, bringing them in by pack mule. Devine was depicted in the movie starring Tom Hanks as Charlie Wilson.

The chapter on the Iran-Contra affair (Chapter 4) is worth the price of admission. Devine artfully explains the rationale of the mission: to sell military arms to Iran in exchange for the release of Americans held captive by Hezbollah. The money from the arms sales would be diverted to the Contra rebels in Nicaragua in order to support the overthrow of the leftist regime. The convoluted strategy failed when a cargo plane crashed in Central America revealing a CIA officer on board, thus implicating the US government in the conflict. The media ran with the story and the Reagan administration quickly unraveled. One major revelation: Devine is adamant that the president called for the clandestine operation-- something that has been denied to this day. I find this an odd admission given that the book had to pass CIA censors, but there was some animosity between the executive branch actors and the CIA operatives who felt abandoned when the crap hit the fan. The CIA and administration officials eventually were pardoned by President George H. W. Bush before he left office in 1992 (pp 71-90.)

In 1963, the CIA was running a clandestine operation to assassinate Fidel Castro. They had a Cuban national named Rolando Cubela on board and outfitted with a ballpoint pen which was actually a hypodermic needle containing a poison called Black Leaf 40 to be injected into the Cuban leader. Their final meeting before go-time was in November and just before the meeting was breaking up word got to Cubela's CIA handlers that John F. Kennedy had been shot so the operation to kill Castro was aborted (page 154.)

Devine says that as deputy director of operations he had fundamental disagreements with Director George Tenet, especially in regard to the Iraq war and specifically with the CIA’s favorable treatment of Ahmed Chalabi. Chalabi was an Iraqi exile of Shi’a background who had a long history of desire to overthrow Saddam Hussein. The Clinton Administration soured on Chalabi in 1995 when he tried to force the US hand by destabilizing the Kurds’ semi-autonomous rule in the north. Devine paints Chalabi as an inept self-promoter who eventually gained favor with the Bush administration and was a prime motivator for the disastrous Iraq war (page 217.)

After retiring from the CIA in 2000, Devine joined with a Harvard attorney to form a consulting company that helps private businesses navigate international markets, working with governments to grease the wheels of commerce and provide safety for executives.

Devine gives his opinion on some of the global hotspots like Afghanistan, India-Pakistan and Iran. He conjectures that as the military budget decreases (will it?) more emphasis will be put on clandestine services and the CIA is best suited for the the mission.

The career of a CIA officer is depicted as a lot of bureaucratic humdrum highlighted by a mixture of political intrigue and several moments harrowing danger. Since the stories included hereo were front-page stuff during my life, I found the book riveting. Devine personalizes the history with anecdotes about his family, colleagues and friends.

Recommended.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am not sure I can imagine why with book was published. I am not sure what it was even about. I got the sense it was a veiled attempted to support the validity of the CIA generally and its funding and then specifically focused on supporting CIA operations in Afghanistan as the United States begins to withdraw. Either Devine's CIA career was painfully unremarkable, or he kept all the juicy details for his death bed confessional and gave us 336 pages of vague, mildly interesting history of CIA scandals.

It also left me with the impression that this was more of a Brag Book...especially at near the end as Devine goes on about how his intelligence experience fits perfectly into corporate America.

[Rudolph T. Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not just war stories

This book avoids the"gee whiz" aspects of spying and emphasizes the rationale for spying. This is both a strength and a weakness. I, for one, enjoy learning about the personalities of those who become traitors to their country. This book doesn't cover the psychology of the traitor in much detail. On the other hand,the author goes into great detail about the structure of the CIA and the administration of the agency. It was well written with an extensive bibliography. I just wish I had a better feel for the man who wrote it.

[Ross Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jack Devine is a true believer. You won't find anything negative about the CIA here. Late in the book he says, "A spymaster's life...demands a highly compartmentalized mind ... [who] must undertake foreign-policy-directed covert actions...in the uncomfortable gray area of morality."

You will find no analysis of morality in his writings. Everything the CIA does is done at the request of the president, therefore it is appropriate. If the president suggests "regime change," then regime change it is. Nary a breath of introspection about the morality or appropriateness of any such actions.

His defense of the CIA is also quite lawyerly. For example, he says that in *1973*, the CIA did not plot to overthrow Allende in Chile. But the Church commission found there was evidence of coup plotting in *1970*. It didn't work out then, and in '73 the CIA were supporting Allende's opponents, though not outright working with the military so he can make the claim without lying.

Similarly, he defends a colleague who had worked shipping arms during Iran-Contra by quoting his testimony, i.e., "he said he believed the flight contained parts for oil drilling." What Devine actually knows to be true is unsaid, and the question of why a high-level CIA official would be working undercover to obtain oil equipment is completely ignored.

It's clear he was good at his job (at least in his telling, and to be fair, he rose quite high in the organization) and so probably the most interesting part of the book is the ending where he attempts to analyze what will happen vis a vis foreign policy/terrorism/US covert action in the coming years. But the rest of the book is only mildly interesting -- anecdotes about where he served, who he worked with, etc. Any interior life, if he has one, is completely missing.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am sure that I should not be surprised that this look into the CIA was told in a somewhat self-serving manner, ie, "the Church Committee got it wrong," but there were some nuggets of insight that might serve at some point in the future to inform our history. Perhaps authors who can't freely tell their story (in this case for security reasons), then they should not tell that story. But I suspect that Devine is moved to tell his altruistic reasons, then finds that he can't because of these security restrictions, so tell what he can, but it's not really his story.

He did make me wonder at one point of his competence. He was trying to explain something about how CIA personnel deal with new technology; sounds like not well. The agency was concerned over talking of issues by telephone, so they devised the Secure Telephone Unit (STU)-3. Having used them myself for a number of years, they can be cumbersome, and voice quality is less than optimum. But Devine keeps referring in the same pages to "STU-3" along with "satellite phone," a totally difference instrument. The point was that agency personnel were reluctant to speak the issues and questions, desiring instead to do everything by telegram (cable in gov-speak). Maybe the reason people don't like technology is that they have never learned well its use.

Devine referred several times to the passage in scripture about "the truth will set you free. But as I kept listening I kept wondering whether he was telling that truth - ether now in his work memoir, or whether he had told the truth through his agent (and intelligence management) career. That's the problem, I think, with intelligence general, lies are told so often they become as truth.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like reading about real spies. The people who work in the shadows, who if you saw them on the street wouldn't seem out of place. Kind of boring. Which makes the best spy, one who doesn't stick out in their assigned environment. No James Bond here. Real stories about gathering information and working ops during more than 25 years at the CIA.

Some of the stories here are really good. Chile, Afganistan against the Soviets, Rome, with touches on Iran/Contra & the mole inside, Richard Ames. The author doesn't let out deep, dark secrets from our past. Other authors may do that. Here we get a good sense of tradecraft, the environment at each of his postings and the historical events he was present for. There is also a bit about how involved the spouses get at each posting, including foreign language training for both. I laughed when he talks about holding disco parties while in Chile in order to create opportunities to approach specific people. Disco parties!

While the topics are interesting, some of the flow makes it dull. The parts about Richard Ames you easily feel the betrayal and frustration about what he did. He and the author started out around the same time and knew each other. I really didn't want to know about the food or wine. I felt it was a way to add material & distract that he hadn't really said much about a particular situation. The beginning and end of the book feel like it was written for policy makers, as he gives overviews of why human intel by the CIA is crucial. That it isn't something that can be turned on or off quickly, but takes a lot of time and effort.

Overall interesting to learn about one station chiefs adventures in CIA history, but not a keeper for my bookcase in the end.

[Sekina · Rating 4 out of 5]

When it comes to understanding how the CIA operatives do things, it's better to learn from the people who did it. That's what the book is all about where we get to know all the things that Jack Devine did while he was still in CIA. Not only we get to know all the missions that he got involved while he was with CIA, but we also get to know how CIA works from inside-out from his point of view.

The first few chapters are filled with him talking about his experience while he was on the oversea assignment, which I have to say that I enjoy reading them. But the last chapter of the book is all about his opinion about what CIA should be doing going forward which is something that may not be applicable to me unless I'm a part of the intelligence community.

This book is perfect for those who want to have a glimpse of what CIA operatives tend to do and the bureaucracy revolving around CIA. But judging from Mr. Devine's experiences, it looks more to me that he was on the official cover during his oversea assignment. So, if you expect to learn about the CIA operatives who are on the non-official cover, then it's obvious that this book isn't for you.

[Kursad Albayraktaroglu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack Devine was a CIA intelligence officer who was a witness to (and sometimes participant in) some of the significant events of the Cold War - he crossed paths with a young Aldrich Ames (perhaps the worst CIA traitor in the history of the agency) in the beginning of his career, he was in Chile during the tumultuous events that shook that country, and he was instrumental in arming the Afghan mujaheeden with Stinger missiles which eventually drove the Soviets away. While the book mostly stands clear from politics, it is not a pure autobiography - towards the end of the book, the author offers a wide range of his ideas and expectations from the future. I enjoyed the book thoroughly, perhaps except the parts where he extols the successes and capabilities of the company he started after leaving the CIA. Highly recommended to anyone interested in intelligence, espionage and the history of the Cold War.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was more 3.5 stars. Jack Devine started his covert CIA career training reading Soviet cables with the infamous Aldrich “Rick” Ames before his first mission in Chile in 1972 before retiring in 1998. What’s very clear here is that he is a government official—many parts are repetitive, have entirely too many extraneous details, and at the same time, have too many details left out (some for obvious reasons, others it’s hard to say). He talks about his work in Chile, Haiti, Afghanistan with the mujahideen, the Iran Contra Affair, the War on Drugs, Aldrich Ames, where mistakes have been made and haven’t, and even some of his now private sector work. It’s a very interesting look at the US CIA history from an insider’s perspective, but because it is, it’s a pretty dry read.

[Tim Weir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall a good read. Jack does a good job sharing the role and importance of the intelligence community specifically the CIA. Does a great job of weaving through political differences and also sharing enough stories that are probably more typical of CIA agents than what you see depicted in movies.
Some of the stories though seem to just fill the chapter where he’s in one place then the next few paragraphs start with something like “on another occasion I was…”. While I believe the CIA has many crowning achievements the only one you hear about repeatedly is providing stinger missiles to stop Russia invading Afghanistan.
Thought it was a good recap of a long career in the intelligence service and not a biography.

[Taras Filonenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Пізнавальна книга, в якій автор крізь призму своєї кар'єри в ЦРУ привідкриває завісу діяльності розвідки США, а також проведених нею таємних операцій. Автор розкриває досить цікаві історичні аспект в частині роботи і ролі ЦРУ під час холодної війни, методів проведення таємних операцій, вербовки агентів в іноземних державах та впливу на політичні процеси, а також про виявлених "кротів" в ЦРУ та ФБР, які працювали на КДБ та ФСБ.

*переклад українською мовою першого накладу Видавництва Фоліо має певні неточності, які в цілому не впливають на розуміння загального контексту

[David Barol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Hunting not only tells the life story of one of America’s greatest public servants, but it gives the inside look at a lot of US History over a thirty year period. Sometimes what you think is true turns out not be, when you can learn from those who helped make the history happen. This book is a must read for anyone concerned with America’s place in the world and what we must do to maintain it.

[Candace Mac · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so torn trying to decide if this book was a 3 or 4. The writing was exceptional and while Mr. Devine provided a factual overview of his time at the CIA, I did not learn anything new. Mr. Devine did not to shy away from the agency's mistakes/failures he also did not exalt their successes.
Perhaps it was my expectation that I would learn about some new and possible salacious or heinous events and they weren't forthcoming

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book focusing on a Case Officers rise through the ranks of CIA, from regime change operations in South America to the arming of Afghan Mujahideen to the Global War on Terror. Focuses on “good” v “bad” covert action, the importance of Intelligence Oversight, and the glut of the IC through GWOT. Attack transnational issues on the demand-side rather than the supply-side (drugs, terrorism).

[David Szatkowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting autobiography and look at the intelligence community. It's a bit dated (published 2014) but worthy all the same. I think the author makes his experience relevant to any reader and helps to show the role of the CIA in shaping US policy.

[Vinayak Malik · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit slanted but a rundown of all the greatest hits of the CIA. By a person who was actually there. Little light on op details though

[Fiona Johnston · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very American book from an American point of view.

I didn't learn anything new about the CIA or its operations.

[Tim Duff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very detailed book of Jack Devine's career in the CIA. Excellent insight on how the intelligence community works and recommendations for the future.

[Vince · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good history on the CIA, but Mr. Devine brags a bit too much.

[Beercules · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning 2/3rds of the book was almost like reading an educational spy thriller. The last third was a lot drier.

[Shargrim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Для людей які з дитинсва захоплювалися детективами шпигунськими історіями і тд. Розповідь людини яка з низів піднялася на вищі командуючі посади в ЦРУ. Багато цікавої інформації про конфлікт в Афганістані перевороти на Кубі і холодну війну зрадників і героїв ЦРУ.