The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames

Kai Bird tells the life of Robert Ames, a CIA officer who spent his career in the Middle East and tried to build relationships with Palestinian and Arab contacts, including Ali Hassan Salameh. Ames died in the 1983 bombing of the US embassy in Beirut. Bird uses his story to describe American diplomacy and intelligence in the region over several decades.

For readers who want to understand the history of US-Middle East relations from the inside. It is also a portrait of a quiet, skilled intelligence officer.

Outward-looking; a moderate read.

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