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A Drop of Treason
Philip Agee and His Exposure of the CIA
by Jonathan Stevenson
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Pub Date
May 21 2021
| Archive Date
May 01 2021
Description
Philip Agee’s story is the stuff of a John le Carré novel—perilous and thrilling adventures around the globe. He joined the CIA as a young idealist, becoming an operations officer in hopes of seeing the world and safeguarding his country. He was the consummate intelligence insider, thoroughly entrenched in the shadow world. But in 1975, he became the first such person to publicly betray the CIA—a pariah whose like was not seen again until Edward Snowden. For almost forty years in exile, he was a thorn in the side of his country.
The first biography of this contentious, legendary man, Jonathan Stevenson’s A Drop of Treason is a thorough portrait of Agee and his place in the history of American foreign policy and the intelligence community during the Cold War and beyond. Unlike mere whistleblowers, Agee exposed American spies by publicly blowing their covers. And he didn’t stop there—his was a lifelong political struggle that firmly allied him with the social movements of the global left and against the American project itself from the early 1970s on. Stevenson examines Agee’s decision to turn, how he sustained it, and how his actions intersected with world events.
Having made profound betrayals and questionable decisions, Agee lived a rollicking, existentially fraught life filled with risk. He traveled the world, enlisted Gabriel García Márquez in his cause, married a ballerina, and fought for what he believed was right. Raised a conservative Jesuit in Tampa, he died a socialist expat in Havana. In A Drop of Treason, Stevenson reveals what made Agee tick—and what made him run.
Philip Agee’s story is the stuff of a John le Carré novel—perilous and thrilling adventures around the globe. He joined the CIA as a young idealist, becoming an operations officer in hopes of seeing...
Description
Philip Agee’s story is the stuff of a John le Carré novel—perilous and thrilling adventures around the globe. He joined the CIA as a young idealist, becoming an operations officer in hopes of seeing the world and safeguarding his country. He was the consummate intelligence insider, thoroughly entrenched in the shadow world. But in 1975, he became the first such person to publicly betray the CIA—a pariah whose like was not seen again until Edward Snowden. For almost forty years in exile, he was a thorn in the side of his country.
The first biography of this contentious, legendary man, Jonathan Stevenson’s A Drop of Treason is a thorough portrait of Agee and his place in the history of American foreign policy and the intelligence community during the Cold War and beyond. Unlike mere whistleblowers, Agee exposed American spies by publicly blowing their covers. And he didn’t stop there—his was a lifelong political struggle that firmly allied him with the social movements of the global left and against the American project itself from the early 1970s on. Stevenson examines Agee’s decision to turn, how he sustained it, and how his actions intersected with world events.
Having made profound betrayals and questionable decisions, Agee lived a rollicking, existentially fraught life filled with risk. He traveled the world, enlisted Gabriel García Márquez in his cause, married a ballerina, and fought for what he believed was right. Raised a conservative Jesuit in Tampa, he died a socialist expat in Havana. In A Drop of Treason, Stevenson reveals what made Agee tick—and what made him run.
Advance Praise
The Bookseller
: “Stevenson portrays Philip Agee’s thrilling story and what made him take action against his country.”
Clay Risen, author of The Crowded Hour: “With A Drop of Treason, Stevenson does more than give us a readable, much-needed biography of Philip Agee's wild life, taking us from the lawns of Notre Dame to the streets of Hamburg and the plazas of Havana. By placing Agee's life in the context of the transatlantic left, he illuminates an often-overlooked facet of the Cold War with cloak-and-dagger elan and historical sweep.”
Ali Soufan, former FBI special agent and author of The Black Banners (Declassified): “Set against the backdrop of the Cold War, A Drop of Treason reads like a spy thriller, chronicling the life of turned CIA officer Philip Agee. Stevenson masterfully brings together a real-life story of espionage, betrayal, and the dramatic consequences that befell one of the first Americans to publicly turn on the CIA.”
The Bookseller
: “Stevenson portrays Philip Agee’s thrilling story and what made him take action against his country.”
Clay Risen, author of The Crowded Hour: “With A Drop of Treason, Stevenson does...
Advance Praise
The Bookseller
: “Stevenson portrays Philip Agee’s thrilling story and what made him take action against his country.”
Clay Risen, author of The Crowded Hour: “With A Drop of Treason, Stevenson does more than give us a readable, much-needed biography of Philip Agee's wild life, taking us from the lawns of Notre Dame to the streets of Hamburg and the plazas of Havana. By placing Agee's life in the context of the transatlantic left, he illuminates an often-overlooked facet of the Cold War with cloak-and-dagger elan and historical sweep.”
Ali Soufan, former FBI special agent and author of The Black Banners (Declassified): “Set against the backdrop of the Cold War, A Drop of Treason reads like a spy thriller, chronicling the life of turned CIA officer Philip Agee. Stevenson masterfully brings together a real-life story of espionage, betrayal, and the dramatic consequences that befell one of the first Americans to publicly turn on the CIA.”
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Available Editions
| EDITION |
Other Format |
| ISBN |
9780226356686 |
| PRICE |
$30.00 (USD)
|
| PAGES |
328
|
Additional Information
Available Editions
| EDITION |
Other Format |
| ISBN |
9780226356686 |
| PRICE |
$30.00 (USD)
|
| PAGES |
328
|
Average rating from 4 members
Featured Reviews
David M, Media/Journalist
Stevenson, Jonathan. A Drop of Treason: Phillip Agee and His Exposure of the CIA. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press: 2021. 328 Pages. $27.50
The U.S. Intelligence Community in the mid-1970s was rife with investigations by Congress, the press, and exposé’s biographies written by former intelligence operatives. Phillip Agee wrote Inside the Company: CIA Diary after he left the CIA. The book chronicled CIA operations in Latin America and soon become one of the top reads for students in intelligence studies programs worldwide. Jonathan Stevenson is an editor at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) and was previously professor of strategic studies at the U.S. Naval War in his new book looks at Agee from his early years in a devout Catholic family, attending Notre Dame University, joining the CIA, and the decades after leaving the agency as a “stateless” man.
Phillip Agee and fellow CIA officer Victor Marchetti left the CIA within months of each other, both were disillusioned with CIA operations conducted overseas and U.S. foreign policy. Both wrote exposés that exposed operations and named names of CIA officers and foreign agents. However, Stevenson points out “Agee was certainly the only publicly disaffected American intelligence officer to confront the CIA on full-fledged ideological grounds and to oppose American Strategy and foreign policy on a wholesale basis.”
After authoring the book Inside the Company, Agee remained what Steven called Agee “a public pest” after having the U.S. State Department denied him a U.S. passport Agee spent his years in Europe and Latin America writing and supporting governments that were counter to the established U.S. foreign policy. The CIA often considered him to be under the control of either the Soviet Union’s KGB or Cuban Intelligence. His work became the foundation for the U.S. Congress to pass the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982 or as it was known in the Intelligence Community as the “anti-Agee Act” which makes the disclosure of intelligence officers’ identities unlawful.
Stevenson’s work is professionally researched and documented he leads the reader through many of the tumultuous periods of U.S. foreign policy such as the Iran-Contra Affair as well as Agee personal issues with the U.S. and foreign governments. His writing is well balanced and makes for an enjoyable read for both the historian and the intelligence aficionado. I highly recommend A Drop of Treason to anyone interested in the U.S Intelligence Community.
Lesley D, Reviewer
This is the first biography of Philip Agee, a CIA operative in the 1950's and 60's who worked to support several authoritarian regimes as part of his job. Name a linchpin hotspot during those years, and he was probably there. However, Agee reached a point where he could no long square this work with his conscience and he resigned from intelligence work. He went public about what he had been doing for the U.S. government and, most significantly, revealed the identities of agents and others who had worked undercover for the CIA. There is still controversy over whether many of these people were later murdered as a result, but there is no doubt that careers were ruined.
This book is on the academic side and for readers who have been following the life cycles of the CIA, this book will definitely fill in some important gaps in what has been written about. Agee was a colorful character, and this book does his story justice.
Featured Reviews
David M, Media/Journalist
Stevenson, Jonathan. A Drop of Treason: Phillip Agee and His Exposure of the CIA. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press: 2021. 328 Pages. $27.50
The U.S. Intelligence Community in the mid-1970s was rife with investigations by Congress, the press, and exposé’s biographies written by former intelligence operatives. Phillip Agee wrote Inside the Company: CIA Diary after he left the CIA. The book chronicled CIA operations in Latin America and soon become one of the top reads for students in intelligence studies programs worldwide. Jonathan Stevenson is an editor at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) and was previously professor of strategic studies at the U.S. Naval War in his new book looks at Agee from his early years in a devout Catholic family, attending Notre Dame University, joining the CIA, and the decades after leaving the agency as a “stateless” man.
Phillip Agee and fellow CIA officer Victor Marchetti left the CIA within months of each other, both were disillusioned with CIA operations conducted overseas and U.S. foreign policy. Both wrote exposés that exposed operations and named names of CIA officers and foreign agents. However, Stevenson points out “Agee was certainly the only publicly disaffected American intelligence officer to confront the CIA on full-fledged ideological grounds and to oppose American Strategy and foreign policy on a wholesale basis.”
After authoring the book Inside the Company, Agee remained what Steven called Agee “a public pest” after having the U.S. State Department denied him a U.S. passport Agee spent his years in Europe and Latin America writing and supporting governments that were counter to the established U.S. foreign policy. The CIA often considered him to be under the control of either the Soviet Union’s KGB or Cuban Intelligence. His work became the foundation for the U.S. Congress to pass the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982 or as it was known in the Intelligence Community as the “anti-Agee Act” which makes the disclosure of intelligence officers’ identities unlawful.
Stevenson’s work is professionally researched and documented he leads the reader through many of the tumultuous periods of U.S. foreign policy such as the Iran-Contra Affair as well as Agee personal issues with the U.S. and foreign governments. His writing is well balanced and makes for an enjoyable read for both the historian and the intelligence aficionado. I highly recommend A Drop of Treason to anyone interested in the U.S Intelligence Community.
Lesley D, Reviewer
This is the first biography of Philip Agee, a CIA operative in the 1950's and 60's who worked to support several authoritarian regimes as part of his job. Name a linchpin hotspot during those years, and he was probably there. However, Agee reached a point where he could no long square this work with his conscience and he resigned from intelligence work. He went public about what he had been doing for the U.S. government and, most significantly, revealed the identities of agents and others who had worked undercover for the CIA. There is still controversy over whether many of these people were later murdered as a result, but there is no doubt that careers were ruined.
This book is on the academic side and for readers who have been following the life cycles of the CIA, this book will definitely fill in some important gaps in what has been written about. Agee was a colorful character, and this book does his story justice.
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