Left of Boom: How a Young CIA Case Officer Penetrated the Taliban and Al-Qaeda

I genuinely can't tell if this is fiction or not. For one this is blatant propaganda for the CIA. Secondly the character writes in a style that is incongruent with his own description of himself.

If it is genuine then I guess this is why everyone hates the CIA. It's staffed by people like this who have no conscience or even self-awareness. As long as they are having a blast and fulfilling their patriotic fantasies the rest of the world can (and will) burn. Unless you're American you're not even considered a human being. I'm sure Americans are glad the CIA is operating outside of their borders because if I had this sort of organisation I'd want it as far away from me as humanly possible too.

The money quote for me was when the main show more character was being hired and the lady who was interviewing him was complaining to him about his cluelessness and asking him whether he had read any books on the history and operations of the CIA. The main character hadn't which explains a lot of his attitudes and general level of awareness of the world. show less

Glad I read this. Talented intelligent young man. Very much a know-it-all, but I can forgive him that. Doug, I'm thankful for your service and hope that what you all are doing for the rest of us didn't ruin the rest of your life. I still don't understand it all over there, but this at least gave me a bit of a POV.