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Spy Stories
Publisher:
JUGGERNAUT
| Author:
Levy, Adrian/Scott-Clark, Cathy
| Language:
English
| Format:
Paperback
Publisher:
JUGGERNAUT
Author:
Levy, Adrian/Scott-Clark, Cathy
Language:
English
Format:
Paperback
Original price was: ₹799.₹599Current price is: ₹599.
In stock
Ships within:
7-10 Days
In stock
ISBN:
Page Extent:
360
From 9/11 to 26/11, Burhan Wani to Kulbhushan Jadhav – the India–Pakistan relationship told from the perspective of the R.A.W. and the I.S.I. With unprecedented access to the R.A.W. and the I.S.I., the world’s most inscrutable spy agencies, Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark describe the workings of bitter rivals, mapping their complicated history from the 1960s to the present day. From the Parliament attacks to Pulwama, 9/11 to Osama bin Laden’s assassination, the rise of terror’s shadow armies to the fall of Kulbhushan Jadhav, here are some of the key events that have shaped the region, told from the split viewpoints of duelling enemies. Levy and Scott-Clark also uncover a darker seam – of the destructive impact of C.I.A. interference, and how the I.S.I. fought for its life against dark forces it once funded, while the R.A.W. created ghost enemies to strengthen its hand. Revelatory and unputdownable, Spy Stories clears the fog to reveal the spies and their assets, as you have never seen them before.
Reviews
Description
From 9/11 to 26/11, Burhan Wani to Kulbhushan Jadhav – the India–Pakistan relationship told from the perspective of the R.A.W. and the I.S.I. With unprecedented access to the R.A.W. and the I.S.I., the world’s most inscrutable spy agencies, Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark describe the workings of bitter rivals, mapping their complicated history from the 1960s to the present day. From the Parliament attacks to Pulwama, 9/11 to Osama bin Laden’s assassination, the rise of terror’s shadow armies to the fall of Kulbhushan Jadhav, here are some of the key events that have shaped the region, told from the split viewpoints of duelling enemies. Levy and Scott-Clark also uncover a darker seam – of the destructive impact of C.I.A. interference, and how the I.S.I. fought for its life against dark forces it once funded, while the R.A.W. created ghost enemies to strengthen its hand. Revelatory and unputdownable, Spy Stories clears the fog to reveal the spies and their assets, as you have never seen them before.
About Author
Former award-winning writers and foreign correspondents for The Sunday Times and then The Guardian, Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott- Clark have also produced documentaries for HBO, PBS, BBC 1, BBC 2, C4, Facebook, and VICE TV. In 2010, their film City of Fear, on Pakistan’s bloodiest year, was nominated at the Edinburgh International Television Festival. Their C4 documentary Torture Trail won the 2013 Amnesty International award, was shortlisted for the Grierson award, and was a finalist in the Rory Pecks. Chinese Murder Mystery, an investigation into a Communist Party killer, was longlisted for a BAFTA and nominated for the Monte Carlo Television Awards. They produced episodes for the Emmy-winning Vice on HBO. Currently, they are producing a feature documentary, Forever Patient, directed by Academy Award winner Alex Gibney, investigating C.I.A. enhanced interrogation. Their first book, The Stone of Heaven (2001), was a finalist in Borders New Voices competition. Their second, The Amber Room (2004), was a New York Times Book of the Year. Deception (2008) was a finalist in the Royal United Services Institute, Duke of Westminster’s medal for Military History. The Meadow, published by Penguin (2012), won the Ramnath Goenka Award. The Siege (2013), an account of 26/11, won the CWA Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction. Their sixth non-fiction book, The Exile (2017), is a kitchen sink drama of the bin Ladens.
Reviews
Pre-script: I had given it three stars. But as I finished my review, I was inclined to drop it down to two stars.
The authors deserve commendation for the efforts they have put into gathering all the stories and stringing them into narrative work in their book. They have chronicled the last twenty years of espionage and counter-espionage of the two nuclear-powered states in one of the most volatile regions of the world. They have discussed all the epochal events that have shaped the two main spy agencies of ISI and RAW and other allied agencies to safeguard their borders.
However, what they have been clearly successful in is painting the two agencies in their own shades. The ISI comes out to be compromised and utterly incompetent in regulating terror outfits that they had patronised for years. The RAW comes out as bureaucratic, slow, and of late saffron-shaded. The two main sources of info they have used are a severely compromised agent who turned on his own agency and another whose carefully spoken words betray her political leanings.
While the authors have covered all major events in a detailed manner, there are a few passages that clearly show how they want to portray India: as a clear opposite of Pakistan, a sectarian, recently turned majoritarian, and sometimes incompetent, sometimes vile nation (in terms of national security). However, there are a few passages that are either factually wrong or inferred in a certain way to push their own agenda that even an amateur like me could see through.
They mentioned that the valley voted BJP to power where it formed an alliance with PDP. It is abundantly clear that the valley did not for the BJP. It was the regions of Jammu and Ladakh that did so.
Then, they mention that the security forces fired live rounds. It was all over the news that they had to resort to pellet guns. The authors have tried their best to show that the security forces have aggressors, even when we have seen a gun-wielding security person being beaten mercilessly by a maddening crowd.
Their bit on CAA conveniently skips over the fact that religious minorities are persecuted in the three countries. It clearly glosses over the fact that this Act was just to speed up the process and that Muslims from these countries are not barred from applying for citizenship in India. But then, why let facts come in the way of propaganda? Clearly, they have borrowed a leaf from the book of Hasan Minhaj.
The laughable bit about Arnab having prior information on Balakot strikes is exactly that: laughable. Everyone knew that the Indian government would extract their pound of flesh after Pulwama because everyone had seen how India responded after the reprehensible Uri massacre. And if my memory serves me right, in the chats, there was no mention of Balakot. Just that something big will happen.
The icing on the cake is their report on the ceasefire violations committed by India, as alleged by Pakistan. However, the same information was not taken from the Indian side.
This book has tried to paint Pakistan as a state that is desperately trying to hold itself from religious fanaticism but does little to question how did it manage to come to this position.
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Sumit Banerjee –
Pre-script: I had given it three stars. But as I finished my review, I was inclined to drop it down to two stars.
The authors deserve commendation for the efforts they have put into gathering all the stories and stringing them into narrative work in their book. They have chronicled the last twenty years of espionage and counter-espionage of the two nuclear-powered states in one of the most volatile regions of the world. They have discussed all the epochal events that have shaped the two main spy agencies of ISI and RAW and other allied agencies to safeguard their borders.
However, what they have been clearly successful in is painting the two agencies in their own shades. The ISI comes out to be compromised and utterly incompetent in regulating terror outfits that they had patronised for years. The RAW comes out as bureaucratic, slow, and of late saffron-shaded. The two main sources of info they have used are a severely compromised agent who turned on his own agency and another whose carefully spoken words betray her political leanings.
While the authors have covered all major events in a detailed manner, there are a few passages that clearly show how they want to portray India: as a clear opposite of Pakistan, a sectarian, recently turned majoritarian, and sometimes incompetent, sometimes vile nation (in terms of national security). However, there are a few passages that are either factually wrong or inferred in a certain way to push their own agenda that even an amateur like me could see through.
They mentioned that the valley voted BJP to power where it formed an alliance with PDP. It is abundantly clear that the valley did not for the BJP. It was the regions of Jammu and Ladakh that did so.
Then, they mention that the security forces fired live rounds. It was all over the news that they had to resort to pellet guns. The authors have tried their best to show that the security forces have aggressors, even when we have seen a gun-wielding security person being beaten mercilessly by a maddening crowd.
Their bit on CAA conveniently skips over the fact that religious minorities are persecuted in the three countries. It clearly glosses over the fact that this Act was just to speed up the process and that Muslims from these countries are not barred from applying for citizenship in India. But then, why let facts come in the way of propaganda? Clearly, they have borrowed a leaf from the book of Hasan Minhaj.
The laughable bit about Arnab having prior information on Balakot strikes is exactly that: laughable. Everyone knew that the Indian government would extract their pound of flesh after Pulwama because everyone had seen how India responded after the reprehensible Uri massacre. And if my memory serves me right, in the chats, there was no mention of Balakot. Just that something big will happen.
The icing on the cake is their report on the ceasefire violations committed by India, as alleged by Pakistan. However, the same information was not taken from the Indian side.
This book has tried to paint Pakistan as a state that is desperately trying to hold itself from religious fanaticism but does little to question how did it manage to come to this position.