A master spy and decorated espionage veteran tells of his career as an officer in the CIA's clandestine service during the last years of the cold war, starting from his early training through his senior tours as a chief of station. He expounds on the principles and practice of clandestine operations, and he elucidates the interaction between clandestine information and analysis in the so-called "intelligence cycle." His narrative is replete with war stories not only about operational activities but about his struggles with the CIA bureaucracy. This book contains a devastating account of CIA management as it was in his day, and debunks much of the public's perception of the clandestine service. Sometimes amusing and sometimes dead serious, this entertaining memoir of an American spy's career will fascinate espionage buffs, foreign policy aficionados, and institutional managers.