Gray Day - Eric O'Neill

Memoir

Rating: 7/10

Jarred out of sleep by a call from his boss, who is waiting outside his house on a freezing cold Sunday morning, O’Neill had no idea how much his life was about to change.

He takes on the assignment to go undercover as an operative tasked with exposing America’s first cyber spy, in the days before spy craft moved more fully behind the desk.

Details about our mole, considered the worst in history for his twenty plus years divulging secrets, will have you scratching your head as to how he went for so long before being captured by an organization whose job it was to catch spy’s.

I enjoyed the author’s asides examining other stories of the clandestine, it gave the book more depth overall.  However, there were some editing issues which made it a bit ungainly to move back and forth.  Without this hiccup this read would have gotten a higher rating.

While this particular spy didn’t really do much digital spying, still going the old-fashioned route of dead drops, his first foray into this realm set the standard of concern.  Spy’s of today are being converted remotely and often have no awareness of their treasonous role.  Ponder that terrifying thought for a moment.

A very fascinating read!

Footnote: One of my favourite words is shenanigans. The primary definition is mischief or prankishness. Various intelligence organizations use this as a term for the following; tricking a person into doing something you need them to do without causing suspicion. Indeed.