Overworld
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A vivid and gripping portrait of a spy at every stage of his life and career, from the son of a spymaster who became a spy himself.
Larry Kolb was born into a house of spies. Raised all over the world as the son of a high-ranking American spymaster, Kolb was taught by his father to think, look, and listen like a spy. But when Kolb himself was recruited to join the CIA, he declined, choosing instead to pursue a career in business. He became, among other things, Muhammad Ali's agent, a role that turned out to be a circuitous route back to the world of espionage.
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At Ali's side, Kolb had invitations to the parties, palaces, boardrooms, and bedrooms-especially in the Middle East-of many of the world's wealthiest and most powerful people. At one of those parties, Kolb befriended Adnan Khashoggi, then the richest man in the world, and the world's most prominent arms dealer; Kolb ended up marrying one of his daughters. Kolb's extraordinary access made him irresistible to legendary spymaster and CIA cofounder Miles Copeland. Beginning with secret negotiations with the Ayatollah Khomeini and a covert mission to Beirut with Ali to negotiate the release of an American hostage, Kolb found his way back to the family business, becoming Miles Copeland's eyes and ears and sometimes mouth in Libya, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Peru, the Philippines, and Pakistan.
Unlike any book before it, Overworldcaptures what it genuinely means and feels like to be a spy-from the practical to the emotional, revealing how the world of espionage and covert statecraft actually works-and exposing the dark heart of a life spent betraying confidences. In itself an adventure story of the highest order, Overworldreads like the best of John le Carre-but it's all true.
Liked Overworld? Here’s where I’d start.
These suit anyone who liked Overworld. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.
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The Great Game: The Myth and Reality of Espionage Shares espionage, intelligence, history -
A Century of Spies: Intelligence in the Twentieth Century Shares espionage, intelligence, history -
Good Hunting: An American Spymaster's Story Shares espionage, memoir, intelligence -
The Human Factor: Inside the CIA's Dysfunctional Intelligence Culture Shares intelligence, espionage, memoir
“People who read Overworld tend to reach for these next.”
“If you want more of the same (spy thriller about spy), start with these.”
“If it was the espionage that hooked you, try one of these.”
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Man Without A Face: The Autobiography Of Communism's Greatest Spymaster
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Intelligence Wars: American Secret History from Hitler to Al-Qaeda
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Traitors Among Us: Inside the Spy Catcher's World
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The Spy Next Door: The Extraordinary Secret Life of Robert Philip Hanssen, the Most Damaging FBI Agent in U.S. History
