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How to Catch a Russian Spy: The True Story of an American Civilian Turned Double Agent
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.
305 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 20, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 154 reviews
July 18, 2015
I need a new shelf for this book: wannabe thriller. I really thought this was going to be so much better than it was. Very disappointing. I am going to be very critical of the author, but he wrote this self-congratulatory book about himself with lots of details about what he thought and said.
So basically, this guy's parents came from Pakistan and France, started a corporate research company, and were asked to obtain some things by Soviet diplomat/spies back in the 70's. The FBI came in right afterward and wanted to know what the Soviets asked for. They told them to go ahead and get it. The parents continued to obtain various books, manuals, etc. for the Russians with the FBI getting to see the lists. This went on for almost 30 years. Their obnoxious son grew up wanting to be a superhero spy, and he decided in 2003-5ish (the dates are fuzzy in my head) to get the Russians to believe he could get classified material for them so that he could betray them to the FBI.
That paragraph was the succinct, useful version of the first 5 chapters of the book. The guy's little memoir about his past really drags.
The "operation" to expose these Russian spies is interesting, but the obnoxious voice of the author made me almost quit multiple times. He openly explains his need to be special, so he writes an entire book of humble brag about how awesome he was to pull this trick on the Russians on his own initiative. And while he lied to the Russian guy some...that's all he did. Lie about how much information he could get after his parents had been getting information for 20-30 years. The author keeps making dramatic comments about how deep in he was and how much cleverness and quick-thinking he had to do when all he did was sit at restaurants and talk to this guy except for one time giving him a box of pre-approved technical documents.
He basically called the FBI over and over and set up these meetings where they basically had to let him do something or he would have just lost the little watch they had on the what the Russians were interested in. He starts calling things an "operation" when all they had done is give him non-committal comments like "Good. Keep us informed." He self-reports these verbatim dialogues with the FBI agents that are so desperate and immature about how he doesn't want anyone else involved if it means that he doesn't get to be the main contact with this Russian agent. But then he'll immediately follow that with "They didn't say it, but I could feel that they respected me." It's like he's Syndrome as a little kid on the Incredibles, but he ends up being helpful just because he's the only one in place because his parents had been steady low-level contacts for decades. He admits how much he wants to belong to the club and gets mad when the FBI agents don't tell him everything. He berates them various times when they are concerned about his stupid mistakes.
In the end, the "spy" just has to leave the US. It's very anti-climactic.
He gets to give a talk at the FBI Academy at the end about the operation, and I was embarrassed for him as he lectured these agents about taking risks and how to deceive people. He records their head nods and serious looks, and says he could tell they were enthralled with him because he had spent so much more time with Russian agents than they had.
The author also keeps quoting spy/action movies, and how they inspired him and taught him how to be a spy. Seriously. His sidebars about how cool he is because he likes sports cars and running asides about how he can't believe these agents eat at places like Olive Garden are just painfully uninteresting. The author comes off like he's trying to make himself a minor celebrity and get invited on Dancing With the Stars or something.
The guy got his dream job with Naval Intelligence at the end of the book, but who would want to work with him and how useful can he be when he just wrote a book about himself? Didn't he just unconfuse the Russians by admitting he was a weird lone wolf and their larger operations weren't compromised?
So I can relate to you the interesting parts in a couple of minutes. Don't bother reading.
So basically, this guy's parents came from Pakistan and France, started a corporate research company, and were asked to obtain some things by Soviet diplomat/spies back in the 70's. The FBI came in right afterward and wanted to know what the Soviets asked for. They told them to go ahead and get it. The parents continued to obtain various books, manuals, etc. for the Russians with the FBI getting to see the lists. This went on for almost 30 years. Their obnoxious son grew up wanting to be a superhero spy, and he decided in 2003-5ish (the dates are fuzzy in my head) to get the Russians to believe he could get classified material for them so that he could betray them to the FBI.
That paragraph was the succinct, useful version of the first 5 chapters of the book. The guy's little memoir about his past really drags.
The "operation" to expose these Russian spies is interesting, but the obnoxious voice of the author made me almost quit multiple times. He openly explains his need to be special, so he writes an entire book of humble brag about how awesome he was to pull this trick on the Russians on his own initiative. And while he lied to the Russian guy some...that's all he did. Lie about how much information he could get after his parents had been getting information for 20-30 years. The author keeps making dramatic comments about how deep in he was and how much cleverness and quick-thinking he had to do when all he did was sit at restaurants and talk to this guy except for one time giving him a box of pre-approved technical documents.
He basically called the FBI over and over and set up these meetings where they basically had to let him do something or he would have just lost the little watch they had on the what the Russians were interested in. He starts calling things an "operation" when all they had done is give him non-committal comments like "Good. Keep us informed." He self-reports these verbatim dialogues with the FBI agents that are so desperate and immature about how he doesn't want anyone else involved if it means that he doesn't get to be the main contact with this Russian agent. But then he'll immediately follow that with "They didn't say it, but I could feel that they respected me." It's like he's Syndrome as a little kid on the Incredibles, but he ends up being helpful just because he's the only one in place because his parents had been steady low-level contacts for decades. He admits how much he wants to belong to the club and gets mad when the FBI agents don't tell him everything. He berates them various times when they are concerned about his stupid mistakes.
In the end, the "spy" just has to leave the US. It's very anti-climactic.
He gets to give a talk at the FBI Academy at the end about the operation, and I was embarrassed for him as he lectured these agents about taking risks and how to deceive people. He records their head nods and serious looks, and says he could tell they were enthralled with him because he had spent so much more time with Russian agents than they had.
The author also keeps quoting spy/action movies, and how they inspired him and taught him how to be a spy. Seriously. His sidebars about how cool he is because he likes sports cars and running asides about how he can't believe these agents eat at places like Olive Garden are just painfully uninteresting. The author comes off like he's trying to make himself a minor celebrity and get invited on Dancing With the Stars or something.
The guy got his dream job with Naval Intelligence at the end of the book, but who would want to work with him and how useful can he be when he just wrote a book about himself? Didn't he just unconfuse the Russians by admitting he was a weird lone wolf and their larger operations weren't compromised?
So I can relate to you the interesting parts in a couple of minutes. Don't bother reading.
July 18, 2015
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 reminds me of that one guy who was 4th string punter at a DIII school but tells everyone 'Yea I played college football. Coulda gone pro.' We get it Naveed, you singlehandedly brought down the Russian empire thanks to your brilliant mind and refusal to let the mere FBI tell you what to do. My advice to readers, pass on this.
April 29, 2017
Don't waste your time.
I had a friend in high school who wanted a job. She had heard the whole "dress for the job you want, not the job you have" bit and decided to take it a step further and just start doing the job she wanted in the hopes that they'd hire her. (It was a job at Costco, and she didn't get hired.) That's basically what this guy did--he had seen lots of spy movies and desperately wanted to be a spy, so he wormed his way into an FBI investigation and kind of sort of did stuff and insisted he stay involved and then turned around and whined about how hard his life was as a double agent and how stressful it all was.
I really only finished this book because I was so astounded by the level of arrogance and self-absorption this doofus had going on. The book made me laugh, but I was laughing at him, not with him.
I had a friend in high school who wanted a job. She had heard the whole "dress for the job you want, not the job you have" bit and decided to take it a step further and just start doing the job she wanted in the hopes that they'd hire her. (It was a job at Costco, and she didn't get hired.) That's basically what this guy did--he had seen lots of spy movies and desperately wanted to be a spy, so he wormed his way into an FBI investigation and kind of sort of did stuff and insisted he stay involved and then turned around and whined about how hard his life was as a double agent and how stressful it all was.
I really only finished this book because I was so astounded by the level of arrogance and self-absorption this doofus had going on. The book made me laugh, but I was laughing at him, not with him.
July 22, 2015
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 conversations with him in various chain restaurants, then taking him to a parking garage and giving him a USB of files that aren't actually all that classified, then going to visit two FBI agents and talking to them about it. I actually felt sorry for the Russian at the end of it all. Jamali's book is more of a love letter to himself than a story about "saving America" or "protecting our country", because he fills it with quotes from spy thrillers and talk about how he likes to drive fast cars. Honestly, I liked him better in the beginning of the book, when he was a person who was affected by 9/11 and wanted to do some good, then at the end of the book where he turned into a self-aggrandizing jerk. Skip the book, I hear they're turning it into a movie anyway.
August 31, 2015
This book is a joke. The author is trying to make a quick buck on the catchy title and the current state of international affairs.
From the very first page you are flooded by the endless flow of self-absorbed ranting of a wanna-be special services reject trying too hard to be funny. Any meaningful action can be reduced to one page of double spaced text, while the rest of the book is filled with recollections of a life so average and wasted that it is not even funny.
After goofing off through grade school and college, Mr. Jamali, inspired by the events of 9/11, decides to save the world and become an intelligence office. The Navy saw the potential of the young man and rightfully rejected his application. Hell-bent on proving his importance to the universe, Mr. Jamali forces himself onto someone he desperately hopes to be a spy. A long string of insignificant non-events follows, generously peppered with the author's reminiscences involving stupid practical jokes from elementary school and boasting about his high-performance cars (probably purchased with money mooched off his parents, as nothing that the author does in life warrants the income level to support such purchases). Now that the author is going through the mid-life crisis and realizes how meaningless his life has been, he decides to write a book to share about it with the whole wide world. The only way to sell the book is to slap a red cover on it and add "Russian Spy" to the title. Were it not for the re-emerging Cold War, no publisher would have given the story a light of day.
Save yourself some time and money and go watch a James Bond movie instead.
From the very first page you are flooded by the endless flow of self-absorbed ranting of a wanna-be special services reject trying too hard to be funny. Any meaningful action can be reduced to one page of double spaced text, while the rest of the book is filled with recollections of a life so average and wasted that it is not even funny.
After goofing off through grade school and college, Mr. Jamali, inspired by the events of 9/11, decides to save the world and become an intelligence office. The Navy saw the potential of the young man and rightfully rejected his application. Hell-bent on proving his importance to the universe, Mr. Jamali forces himself onto someone he desperately hopes to be a spy. A long string of insignificant non-events follows, generously peppered with the author's reminiscences involving stupid practical jokes from elementary school and boasting about his high-performance cars (probably purchased with money mooched off his parents, as nothing that the author does in life warrants the income level to support such purchases). Now that the author is going through the mid-life crisis and realizes how meaningless his life has been, he decides to write a book to share about it with the whole wide world. The only way to sell the book is to slap a red cover on it and add "Russian Spy" to the title. Were it not for the re-emerging Cold War, no publisher would have given the story a light of day.
Save yourself some time and money and go watch a James Bond movie instead.
June 24, 2015
This should have been called "I did a few google searches a year for the Russians." They are making this into a movie? Seriously?
The title "How to Catch a Russian Spy" implies that said spy is, in fact, caught. I kept turning pages waiting for that moment, but (spoiler alert!) the actual ending has the "Russian Spy" heading safely back to Russia just as he had always planned.
I spent most of my reading time cringing at this "real-life double agent"'s naive self importance. If the movie focuses on that, it might be interesting. It will not be interesting based on the plot in the book.
The title "How to Catch a Russian Spy" implies that said spy is, in fact, caught. I kept turning pages waiting for that moment, but (spoiler alert!) the actual ending has the "Russian Spy" heading safely back to Russia just as he had always planned.
I spent most of my reading time cringing at this "real-life double agent"'s naive self importance. If the movie focuses on that, it might be interesting. It will not be interesting based on the plot in the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 13, 2016
Another book by a millennial who's watched too many movies and too much TV and confuses the fantasy gaming world with real life. A slacker who's gotten by using humor and what passes for witty repartee, he decides after 9/11 to change his ways and contribute to the nation's safety by joining Naval Intelligence - skipping the queue of applicants through a direct commission process. When that doesn't happen right away, and driven by his new-found motivation, he manufactures a double-agent spy role out of a relationship between Russian diplomats and his parents's business. He entices the FBI to go along. Lacking any formal training, he relies on books, movies, television, and his innate sense of theater to guide him through what could have been a dangerous escapade. The constant references to pop culture bring an occasional smile but underline a lack of depth in a narrative better suited to an article in Playboy magazine.
September 18, 2015
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
February 13, 2018
I try not to swear for the most part, but most of what popped into my head while reading this book was profanity.
Jamali is a narcissistic jerk who's convinced himself he is super-duper amazing. The book synopsis gave me the impression that he actually became a "double agent," and that he initiated this, and his relationship with the FBI, all by himself. No, he did not. In reality, his parents had a very minor relationship with the FBI and a Russian diplomat who recruits assets in the U.S. (This relationship consists of the diplomat ordering printed material from his parents' research company every few months and then the parents relating to the FBI what exactly he ordered.) Jamali decides he wants to be a "spy," like all the people he hears about in books and movies, and pushes his parents out of the way to become the new contact for the FBI. This is pretty much all that happens. The diplomat goes back to Russia after his 3-year contract is up, so there's not even an arrest.
I really can't say enough about how obnoxious Jamali is. He keeps repeating how funny he is and how much people like and respect him, but nothing about the interactions he recorded gave me that impression. He prattles on about his reckless, fast driving and he obviously thinks this makes him cool. He revels in the fact that he keeps his reckless driving a "secret" from the FBI.
He repeats many times how "cheap" the diplomat was (he apparently took advantage of the free materials the business offered), yet he also mentions many times that he left generous tips with every single purchase. He never reconciled these observations.
Jamali decides he has to come up with a "whole new persona" for when he was around the Russian diplomat. He states, "I got to be a much bigger a**hole with [the diplomat] than I ever was in real life. Constantly impatient. Quick to anger. Cocky. Obnoxious. Self-absorbed." (p 128) Ha! Nope, this is actually his true self. The fact that he thinks otherwise is both hilarious and disconcerting.
A few asides: There's quite a bit of language, and the authors have a bad habit of listing complete addresses when describing where Jamali was headed. As in, even the zip codes were included. This got really old.
I would highly encourage potential readers to save their precious time and skip this read. I wish I had read reviews beforehand and done the same.
Jamali is a narcissistic jerk who's convinced himself he is super-duper amazing. The book synopsis gave me the impression that he actually became a "double agent," and that he initiated this, and his relationship with the FBI, all by himself. No, he did not. In reality, his parents had a very minor relationship with the FBI and a Russian diplomat who recruits assets in the U.S. (This relationship consists of the diplomat ordering printed material from his parents' research company every few months and then the parents relating to the FBI what exactly he ordered.) Jamali decides he wants to be a "spy," like all the people he hears about in books and movies, and pushes his parents out of the way to become the new contact for the FBI. This is pretty much all that happens. The diplomat goes back to Russia after his 3-year contract is up, so there's not even an arrest.
I really can't say enough about how obnoxious Jamali is. He keeps repeating how funny he is and how much people like and respect him, but nothing about the interactions he recorded gave me that impression. He prattles on about his reckless, fast driving and he obviously thinks this makes him cool. He revels in the fact that he keeps his reckless driving a "secret" from the FBI.
He repeats many times how "cheap" the diplomat was (he apparently took advantage of the free materials the business offered), yet he also mentions many times that he left generous tips with every single purchase. He never reconciled these observations.
Jamali decides he has to come up with a "whole new persona" for when he was around the Russian diplomat. He states, "I got to be a much bigger a**hole with [the diplomat] than I ever was in real life. Constantly impatient. Quick to anger. Cocky. Obnoxious. Self-absorbed." (p 128) Ha! Nope, this is actually his true self. The fact that he thinks otherwise is both hilarious and disconcerting.
A few asides: There's quite a bit of language, and the authors have a bad habit of listing complete addresses when describing where Jamali was headed. As in, even the zip codes were included. This got really old.
I would highly encourage potential readers to save their precious time and skip this read. I wish I had read reviews beforehand and done the same.
November 8, 2015
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 this whole story was.
April 24, 2019
I'm amazed that people don't seem to like this book. I enjoyed it. What amazed me most is that it's a true story. I expected right the way through that things would turn out very differently than I as reader was being led to expect. The author was so idealistic and eager that I anticipated constantly his getting terribly hurt. But that didn't happen. If there had been a surprise ending and all the reader's assumptions had been turned upside down I do think it would have been a better book. But that isn't how it happened and it's a true story. The author had no experience in espionage and got himself into a situation of considerable danger that required considerable quick thinking. I did not really think the FBI and CIA would support such a situation. But indeed they did. That gives me pause for thought BTW. I thought this young man was very clever. It's true as some reviewers say that he was influenced by a lot of books and movies about spies. But in fact many people choose their careers in that way. Unfortunately, it's often necessary. One cannot for example know what it's like to be a doctor until one has gone to medical school, done a residency, and begun practicing. By then it's too late to change one's mind. So while it's true that a romanticized fictionalized film concept of a spy influenced the author's choices, I'm puzzled why people think that's reprehensible or even unusual. Also I think what is getting interpreted as ego is a combination of a style he had to develop in himself in order to do the spying well as well as a quite simple and genuine excitement about what he was doing and the success he was having. Why begrudge him that?
November 1, 2024
I heard about 10 minutes of an interview with Jamali on Think (a local show on NPR) and thought this would be an entertaining way to spend New Year's Eve. (OK, my NYE date is a book - deal with it.) Turns out, the most entertaining thing about it is the title. The book is essentially Jamili's ode to himself. While he did, technically, become a double agent, his sense of the importance of what he did certainly seems inflated. The only person in the book who seemed to have a realistic perspective is Jamali's wife, who indulged his dramatic flair without getting caught up in it.
Honestly, the most frightening thing about the story is that Jamali now works for Naval Intelligence. You know, maybe he meant to say "navel intelligence." He spends enough time studying his own that he'd probably be very good at that.
Honestly, the most frightening thing about the story is that Jamali now works for Naval Intelligence. You know, maybe he meant to say "navel intelligence." He spends enough time studying his own that he'd probably be very good at that.
June 15, 2015
A vivid, entertaining and fast paced account of counter-espionage.
Naveed Jamili had always dreamed of being a spy. His parents run a research and bookselling business which deals with Russian diplomats at the UN. When a Russian visits his shop with a list of books he wants, Jamili seizes his opportunity.
With no formal training and the knowledge he has gleaned from spy films on the TV Jamili works with the FBI for 3 years. The story is comedic at times with the counterpoint of the serious nature of his work.
There’s lots of detail on his tradecraft as well as the emotional and physical strains of working as a double agent. This is the nearest you’ll get to being a spy without joining the FBI or CIA.
A highly entertaining read!
Naveed Jamili had always dreamed of being a spy. His parents run a research and bookselling business which deals with Russian diplomats at the UN. When a Russian visits his shop with a list of books he wants, Jamili seizes his opportunity.
With no formal training and the knowledge he has gleaned from spy films on the TV Jamili works with the FBI for 3 years. The story is comedic at times with the counterpoint of the serious nature of his work.
There’s lots of detail on his tradecraft as well as the emotional and physical strains of working as a double agent. This is the nearest you’ll get to being a spy without joining the FBI or CIA.
A highly entertaining read!
November 29, 2018
Alternate title: "I'm Really Cool"
While Naveed likely did contribute to the FBI's overall counter-espionage campaign, the book read like a 12 year old boy's diary. I kept waiting for the good story to begin, but it was all just a lot of minute detail about nothing crazy, and by the end I was still wondering what he had actually done other than identify a Russian as a spy and figure out that supposedly controlled documents weren't actually well controlled. (This is not a spoiler.) Most laughable is how he obviously craves attention, applause, and coolness, and how naive he is about the military.
While Naveed likely did contribute to the FBI's overall counter-espionage campaign, the book read like a 12 year old boy's diary. I kept waiting for the good story to begin, but it was all just a lot of minute detail about nothing crazy, and by the end I was still wondering what he had actually done other than identify a Russian as a spy and figure out that supposedly controlled documents weren't actually well controlled. (This is not a spoiler.) Most laughable is how he obviously craves attention, applause, and coolness, and how naive he is about the military.
September 28, 2017
Tremendously bad book with a completely misleading title written by an author who seems to be the sort of guy that winks at himself in the mirror. He knows little to nothing about Russia let alone foreign policy in general.
p.s - Turns out he is on twitter and he seems to be obsessed with irresponsibly smearing people as 'Russian agents', perhaps unsurprising considering the political climate of the past several years and his attempt to cash in on it with this book
p.s - Turns out he is on twitter and he seems to be obsessed with irresponsibly smearing people as 'Russian agents', perhaps unsurprising considering the political climate of the past several years and his attempt to cash in on it with this book
June 21, 2017
I really don't know why people give this book a mediocre review. I love Naveed! This is an immensely interesting story that gives us an peek into the true nature of our current relationship with Russia. I even read the acknowledgements for goodness' sakes. Highly recommend!!
September 29, 2017
He thinks an awful lot of himself. I wouldn't recommend anyone read this childishly written piece of nonsense.
January 15, 2018
Perfect fit as a show for the CW Network. Double Agent is overused and inaccurate. Don’t let this bozo fool you.
June 8, 2019
The title is really exciting. The book (audiobook), was not.
If a book was titled “How to Catch a Unicorn”, I’d expect something kind of intriguing. Maybe something like: first you mix the secret unicorn bait, then you give it to the centaur who’s friends with the gnome who knows the secret pathway to the glitter laced aquifer in the hills up yonder. I would not, on the other hand, expect the story to say: first you go out to lunch with the unicorn for three years and sell him low-level, largely insignificant government documents. Then, after one lunch at Hooters, you have the FBI arrest the unicorn in the parking lot.
So, yeah, I’m underwhelmed.
If a book was titled “How to Catch a Unicorn”, I’d expect something kind of intriguing. Maybe something like: first you mix the secret unicorn bait, then you give it to the centaur who’s friends with the gnome who knows the secret pathway to the glitter laced aquifer in the hills up yonder. I would not, on the other hand, expect the story to say: first you go out to lunch with the unicorn for three years and sell him low-level, largely insignificant government documents. Then, after one lunch at Hooters, you have the FBI arrest the unicorn in the parking lot.
So, yeah, I’m underwhelmed.
August 23, 2015
I kept expecting mention of "Spies Like Us" to pop up among the movies the author used to "research" how to be a spy. Save your money and track down a copy of Scott Carmichael's "True Believer", where the spy actually gets caught.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 23, 2020
A few weeks ago I learnt of a quote which went along the lines of "I prefer to write for children, because they don't look at reviews." That spurred within me the idea that I shouldn't look at ratings or reviews before I choose to read a book. Unfortunately, after reading this, I'm pretty sure I'll be referring to Goodreads before I ever borrow/buy a book again.
Good things first: I quite liked the secondary characters (so basically everyone except for Naveed, who has clearly made himself the centre of attention in this). Ava and Ted, in particular, sounded like people I'd want to be friends with.
Right. That was it. Now for the bad things. Jamali seemed to think phrasing his sentences and paragraphs like this made for a good read. Short sentences with four or less words cropped up on every page and eventually became a huge bore. The ending also fell flat - However, I'll admit this seems more like the editor's fault, and that spy stories like these aren't usually my cup of tea.
What CAN be attributed to Jamali, however, is his obvious sense of ego which seeps through every word until you want to put the book down before you even get a third of the way through. I only finished the book for the sake of finishing a book on Goodreads. In the beginning, when he describes his class clownery and lackadaisical approach to school, Jamali is alright. He's even admirable when he describes how 9/11 made him a true patriot, but my oh my does it go downhill from there. I'm just going to quote some parts of the book instead of describing how sickening and tiring his overinflated ego is. My sincerest apologies for slipping into second person.
p.226 "I didn't appreciate the not-so-subtle reminder that I'd given away a report without authorization." - On p.220 you literally said if this was exported unlawfully (which you BASICALLY DID SINCE YOU DIDN'T HAVE THE PERMISSION OF THE FBI TO DO SO) the penalty was up to 10 years imprisonment, or a fine of 1 million USD, or both. You still get to live out your spy fantasy, so WHY ARE YOU COMPLAINING???
p. 238 "And now the plan was to "arrest" me? I seethed." - This is YOUR spy fantasy. Do you seriously think spies always get to do the cool stuff??? You're not even really being arrested. And do you really think you know better than the FBI, who have ACTUAL EXPERIENCE in this field?
p. 245 " "Absolutely not," I said, startling them. "What if somebody recognizes me? I don't want some random person I know seeing me getting arrested by the FBI, and then they hear nothing else. No way. I'm not comfortable with that. We have to come up with something better." - see above. the egotistical vibes are just oozing out.
There's also a part (unfortunately I didn't write down the page) where Terry says "Godspeed" and Jamali completely flips out, saying he didn't ask for such a corny thing or whatnot. Then he proceeds to quote his favourite line from one of his many spy movies. Did somebody say hypocrite??
Finally, my FAVOURITE QUOTE, from page 103: "In the hands of a boring speaker, PowerPoint squeezed the life from the very ideas it was supposed to enhance. Whatever the topic - replacing a toilet seat or invading Iraq- PowerPoint imposed its mind-numbing uniformity, turning even an interesting subject into an undifferentiated blob. The famous speech by Martin Luther King Jr. wasn't "I have a [pause/dissolve/new slide] Dream." IF I had to sit through another list of PowerPoint bullets, I might have to put one of them in my head."
Good lord.
Good things first: I quite liked the secondary characters (so basically everyone except for Naveed, who has clearly made himself the centre of attention in this). Ava and Ted, in particular, sounded like people I'd want to be friends with.
Right. That was it. Now for the bad things. Jamali seemed to think phrasing his sentences and paragraphs like this made for a good read. Short sentences with four or less words cropped up on every page and eventually became a huge bore. The ending also fell flat - However, I'll admit this seems more like the editor's fault, and that spy stories like these aren't usually my cup of tea.
What CAN be attributed to Jamali, however, is his obvious sense of ego which seeps through every word until you want to put the book down before you even get a third of the way through. I only finished the book for the sake of finishing a book on Goodreads. In the beginning, when he describes his class clownery and lackadaisical approach to school, Jamali is alright. He's even admirable when he describes how 9/11 made him a true patriot, but my oh my does it go downhill from there. I'm just going to quote some parts of the book instead of describing how sickening and tiring his overinflated ego is. My sincerest apologies for slipping into second person.
p.226 "I didn't appreciate the not-so-subtle reminder that I'd given away a report without authorization." - On p.220 you literally said if this was exported unlawfully (which you BASICALLY DID SINCE YOU DIDN'T HAVE THE PERMISSION OF THE FBI TO DO SO) the penalty was up to 10 years imprisonment, or a fine of 1 million USD, or both. You still get to live out your spy fantasy, so WHY ARE YOU COMPLAINING???
p. 238 "And now the plan was to "arrest" me? I seethed." - This is YOUR spy fantasy. Do you seriously think spies always get to do the cool stuff??? You're not even really being arrested. And do you really think you know better than the FBI, who have ACTUAL EXPERIENCE in this field?
p. 245 " "Absolutely not," I said, startling them. "What if somebody recognizes me? I don't want some random person I know seeing me getting arrested by the FBI, and then they hear nothing else. No way. I'm not comfortable with that. We have to come up with something better." - see above. the egotistical vibes are just oozing out.
There's also a part (unfortunately I didn't write down the page) where Terry says "Godspeed" and Jamali completely flips out, saying he didn't ask for such a corny thing or whatnot. Then he proceeds to quote his favourite line from one of his many spy movies. Did somebody say hypocrite??
Finally, my FAVOURITE QUOTE, from page 103: "In the hands of a boring speaker, PowerPoint squeezed the life from the very ideas it was supposed to enhance. Whatever the topic - replacing a toilet seat or invading Iraq- PowerPoint imposed its mind-numbing uniformity, turning even an interesting subject into an undifferentiated blob. The famous speech by Martin Luther King Jr. wasn't "I have a [pause/dissolve/new slide] Dream." IF I had to sit through another list of PowerPoint bullets, I might have to put one of them in my head."
Good lord.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 16, 2021
I just didn’t buy any of this story. And the author was pretty annoying.
He’s a Pakistani-French American. So, fine. He claims he was a bit of a lazy student, until he sort of wormed his way into college, and met the right woman. Also, 9/11, and he was there in New York. He got obsessed with war and history, and got it into his head that he wanted to be in the Naval Reserves as an intelligence analyst. Which wasn’t completely ridiculous, as he had some computer-y chops. He doesn’t quite get into the program, as it’s quite competitive. (Again, in part because it’s not too long after 9/11, and everyone wants to do Patriotic Things.)
He thinks he needs more useful experience. This is where it sort of loses me; maybe I have too much guilty knowledge, but I can think of a lot of ways that someone with good computer chops can get useful experience. But… what he does is take over his parents’ business---retrieving hard-to-get documents for those who need them. And years prior, a random guy from the UN Russian delegation had wandered in their business, looking for some things; shortly followed by some FBI folks, who want to know what the Russians know. So the author offers to help the FBI to keep tabs on, and then “catch” this spy.
It was never clear to me that the author was offering anything useful. They knew the various Russians over the years (including the most recent) were trying to spy, and what they were looking for. So… well, the author starts offering to get more and more stuff. Which… well, we know what the Russian wants, and the FBI knows. So… they’re making him pay for stuff that isn’t very useful? They’re making the Russians expend energy on something in the hopes that they’ll get… what? But the FBI is also expending resources. It never makes sense, and the author didn’t convince me he was being useful; well, I guess he did convince the FBI, so what do I know?
The writing was… just bad. He was pretty full of himself, and it came off as a HS student trying to convince me that he was important. I would read one chapter at a time; there were times when I had some time carved out, and the chapters were short. Still, I rarely really really wanted to know what happened next to just go ahead and read.
He’s a Pakistani-French American. So, fine. He claims he was a bit of a lazy student, until he sort of wormed his way into college, and met the right woman. Also, 9/11, and he was there in New York. He got obsessed with war and history, and got it into his head that he wanted to be in the Naval Reserves as an intelligence analyst. Which wasn’t completely ridiculous, as he had some computer-y chops. He doesn’t quite get into the program, as it’s quite competitive. (Again, in part because it’s not too long after 9/11, and everyone wants to do Patriotic Things.)
He thinks he needs more useful experience. This is where it sort of loses me; maybe I have too much guilty knowledge, but I can think of a lot of ways that someone with good computer chops can get useful experience. But… what he does is take over his parents’ business---retrieving hard-to-get documents for those who need them. And years prior, a random guy from the UN Russian delegation had wandered in their business, looking for some things; shortly followed by some FBI folks, who want to know what the Russians know. So the author offers to help the FBI to keep tabs on, and then “catch” this spy.
It was never clear to me that the author was offering anything useful. They knew the various Russians over the years (including the most recent) were trying to spy, and what they were looking for. So… well, the author starts offering to get more and more stuff. Which… well, we know what the Russian wants, and the FBI knows. So… they’re making him pay for stuff that isn’t very useful? They’re making the Russians expend energy on something in the hopes that they’ll get… what? But the FBI is also expending resources. It never makes sense, and the author didn’t convince me he was being useful; well, I guess he did convince the FBI, so what do I know?
The writing was… just bad. He was pretty full of himself, and it came off as a HS student trying to convince me that he was important. I would read one chapter at a time; there were times when I had some time carved out, and the chapters were short. Still, I rarely really really wanted to know what happened next to just go ahead and read.
February 28, 2019
The Author, Naveed Jamali is in no way a hero spy master. He needs you to like him, and he needs to be important. His desperate need for both of these things lead him to a very low stakes set of events, which he then writes an entire self-congratulatory book about.
He was rejected from Naval Intelligence, so instead of finding another real job, he starts hobby-spying on Russian diplomats who happen to shop at his parents’ bookstore. Mr. Jamali is not a hero civilian called to a higher duty who makes personal sacrifice for his government. Instead, Mr. Jamali comes across as an attention-seeking fan-boy who can’t handle the rejection that the US government doesn’t want his services, so he forces himself on the FBI by spying on his neighbors anyway. The sections of the book where the FBI is trying to brush him off, as he is clearly a nobody fan-boy, are super cringe-y.
The way the book is written you would think he was at great personal risk for a higher calling, but instead he was dealing publicly accessible, unclassified material in chain restaurants with little to no personal risk. In the end, the scandal he uncovered was really just the embarrassment that the Russians had been associated with someone as unimportant as him. His actions have no real value to the US. I feel sorry for the Russians by the end because this guy is way more of a waste of everyone’s time than any sort of intelligence gatherer. The only thing worse than a snoozy spy thriller, is when the main character turns out to be a self-aggrandizing nobody pretending to be a hero.
He was rejected from Naval Intelligence, so instead of finding another real job, he starts hobby-spying on Russian diplomats who happen to shop at his parents’ bookstore. Mr. Jamali is not a hero civilian called to a higher duty who makes personal sacrifice for his government. Instead, Mr. Jamali comes across as an attention-seeking fan-boy who can’t handle the rejection that the US government doesn’t want his services, so he forces himself on the FBI by spying on his neighbors anyway. The sections of the book where the FBI is trying to brush him off, as he is clearly a nobody fan-boy, are super cringe-y.
The way the book is written you would think he was at great personal risk for a higher calling, but instead he was dealing publicly accessible, unclassified material in chain restaurants with little to no personal risk. In the end, the scandal he uncovered was really just the embarrassment that the Russians had been associated with someone as unimportant as him. His actions have no real value to the US. I feel sorry for the Russians by the end because this guy is way more of a waste of everyone’s time than any sort of intelligence gatherer. The only thing worse than a snoozy spy thriller, is when the main character turns out to be a self-aggrandizing nobody pretending to be a hero.
March 15, 2022
I have to give Mr. Jamali credit, when I approached this book, I was beyond intrigued. I mean, a Pakistani-French American double agent who works to bring down a Russian spy ring. You can’t make that stuff up. And, apparently, Jamali did not. This is truly life, imitating fiction. But, in a way, I wish that he HAD taken the novelized route. Perhaps this would have been more interesting and slightly less irritating.
Granted, Jamali’s story is a mildly fascinating read. The story of how his Pakistani father and French mother “meet cute” and come to America to live the American dream has Hollywood story woven neatly into its narrative. And, you have to give them credit, how many immigrants end up as quasi-spies for the FBI.
But, it’s Jamali’s telling of both his and his parents tale, that befuddles the plot. No matter how hard I tried, I could never warm up to Jamali or his haphazard journey. And, yes, I get that that is part of the essence of the story, he’s not your average Joe, nor is he Bond or Bourne. It’s just, I kept waiting for him to stop doing truly irrational things that were diametrically opposed to the intellect both he and his parents professed to possess.
I kept waiting for it to get to the true “espionage” but at the end of the day, he was just a guy to happen to foil a subpar Russian operative.
Sorry – I can’t recommend this one.
TD
Granted, Jamali’s story is a mildly fascinating read. The story of how his Pakistani father and French mother “meet cute” and come to America to live the American dream has Hollywood story woven neatly into its narrative. And, you have to give them credit, how many immigrants end up as quasi-spies for the FBI.
But, it’s Jamali’s telling of both his and his parents tale, that befuddles the plot. No matter how hard I tried, I could never warm up to Jamali or his haphazard journey. And, yes, I get that that is part of the essence of the story, he’s not your average Joe, nor is he Bond or Bourne. It’s just, I kept waiting for him to stop doing truly irrational things that were diametrically opposed to the intellect both he and his parents professed to possess.
I kept waiting for it to get to the true “espionage” but at the end of the day, he was just a guy to happen to foil a subpar Russian operative.
Sorry – I can’t recommend this one.
TD
January 9, 2022
So 9/11 happened in your lifetime. You are frustrated with how slow the government is at dealing with the perps, or wonder if the government is so determined to follow every rule it has crippled its efforts. Terrorists get caught in dribs and drabs but still, years later, some of the big names walk free.
Some private citizens signed up with the various US military Reserves. Jamali tried to, seemed like a strong candidate, but was rejected.
A few private citizens went to foreign lands to claim rewards or simply locate a terrorist or two. Government hands may be tied but private citizens' were loose cannons running around the Middle East or GoogleMaps.
Jamali saw an angle with his parents' business and pursued it, working with FBI agents. If you were one of the loose cannons you may want to read this in order to nod along. If, at not insignificant risk and expense, you turned in locations only to see no follow-up or God Forbid, reward, read along just to see what could have happened if they hadn't blown you off.
Russia vs Middle East: same dynamics. So what if your personality isn't FBI. You did your part and so did Jamali.
Some private citizens signed up with the various US military Reserves. Jamali tried to, seemed like a strong candidate, but was rejected.
A few private citizens went to foreign lands to claim rewards or simply locate a terrorist or two. Government hands may be tied but private citizens' were loose cannons running around the Middle East or GoogleMaps.
Jamali saw an angle with his parents' business and pursued it, working with FBI agents. If you were one of the loose cannons you may want to read this in order to nod along. If, at not insignificant risk and expense, you turned in locations only to see no follow-up or God Forbid, reward, read along just to see what could have happened if they hadn't blown you off.
Russia vs Middle East: same dynamics. So what if your personality isn't FBI. You did your part and so did Jamali.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 20, 2017
Mildly entertain book about Naveed Jamali: business owner, officer in the Naval Reserve, and low-level double agent. The good news is a that it is a quick read, and don't need to invest a great deal of time in the book.
After 9/11, the author decides to do something about the enemies of the United States. He decides after taking over his parent's book and research company to front as a civilian double-agent for the FBI by trying to ensnare a Russian diplomat. Mind you he's doing this with the ultimate goal of enlisting in as an officer in the Naval Reserve.
The anecdotes are fun-to-read, but can be tedious at times. The cloak-and-dagger is minimal, and if you're looking for a catharsis where the Russian diplomat turned spy gets his comeuppance, then you won't find it. The author tries his hardest to write an exciting true-to-life spy novel that mainly takes place...in strip malls.
I'm sure that Naveed Jamali is a patriot, and was doing tihs in service of his country. However, his choice to write a book about it to make some money makes it seem...less genuine.
After 9/11, the author decides to do something about the enemies of the United States. He decides after taking over his parent's book and research company to front as a civilian double-agent for the FBI by trying to ensnare a Russian diplomat. Mind you he's doing this with the ultimate goal of enlisting in as an officer in the Naval Reserve.
The anecdotes are fun-to-read, but can be tedious at times. The cloak-and-dagger is minimal, and if you're looking for a catharsis where the Russian diplomat turned spy gets his comeuppance, then you won't find it. The author tries his hardest to write an exciting true-to-life spy novel that mainly takes place...in strip malls.
I'm sure that Naveed Jamali is a patriot, and was doing tihs in service of his country. However, his choice to write a book about it to make some money makes it seem...less genuine.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 24, 2015
I totally agree with Patrick's review. This is a juvenile, self-congratulatory book. Perhaps it belongs in the Young Adult section, since it never rises above a 14-year-old level. If you are looking for a thriller, this is not it. There is no actual threat to the author, he is simply meeting with a Russian attached to the UN, attempting to ingratiate himself with the objective of developing a clandestine relationship. He hopes this will get him an appointment to a selective naval intelligence officers' program. (I wonder if anyone in that select program has read the book and is having second thoughts about working with this him). As Patrick notes, it ends anti-climatically. Unless you are thrilled by the fact that he made a 'huge' contribution (according to him) to the work of the NYC FBI.
For an excellent non-fiction spy thriller I highly recommend A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal by Ben Macintyre.
For an excellent non-fiction spy thriller I highly recommend A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal by Ben Macintyre.
April 16, 2019
I am going to say this book was interesting, in a good way. It wasn't thrilling and the text wasn't compelling, but since it is based on real events, it is worth the read. Basically, Naveed Jamali is American born to two highly educated immigrants and takes his life for granted until 911. Then he decides he wants to get into intelligence in the Navy but he is very young and needs more experience. His parents have been working with Russian spies for years and are getting near retirement so he decides to amp up his resume, he will take over and take it to the next level. Working with the FBI, who his parents have been reporting to all along about what books the Russians wanted, he offers more than books and the Russian takes him up on it. I won't spoil it by letting you know if his plan worked and he got into the Navy. There is some language as you might expect, but not as bad as some books of this nature.
November 14, 2016
Great title, which is what attracted me, but quite possibly the worst book I've read this year and I'm a little confused how it got published.
Perhaps Jamali really did something and that it was too classified to be included in the book (in which case the book probably shouldn't have been written), but I'm really confused as to what he accomplished or why he was so nervous. The Soviets had been visiting his parent's shop for 20+ years and Oleg was just the newest. It was pretty obvious he was a spy, indeed it seems the FBI already knew that, so what did Jamali accomplish other than confirming he was indeed a spy? It seems that despite the victory lap he was given by the FBI, he really didn't achieve anything other than earning himself a sweet book deal and watching a lot of spy movies, which he constantly referenced...
Perhaps Jamali really did something and that it was too classified to be included in the book (in which case the book probably shouldn't have been written), but I'm really confused as to what he accomplished or why he was so nervous. The Soviets had been visiting his parent's shop for 20+ years and Oleg was just the newest. It was pretty obvious he was a spy, indeed it seems the FBI already knew that, so what did Jamali accomplish other than confirming he was indeed a spy? It seems that despite the victory lap he was given by the FBI, he really didn't achieve anything other than earning himself a sweet book deal and watching a lot of spy movies, which he constantly referenced...
February 5, 2016
I am semi-upset that I took NPR's recommendation blindly and bought this without any research. I thought it had it all but unfortunately, so did the author. The author starts off strongly writing a relatable character with normal human flaws and gets you wrapped up but either he loses passion or just direction as a writer somewhere near the first quarter. Throughout the book he becomes more and more distant and falls flat. His obsession with cars feels over reaching. His love of talking and for himself becomes the driving force versus the development with the Russian spy game.
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