Description: In the high-stakes world of spying, do the ends justify the means?
Brief description: I was born and raised in Iowa. I studied mathematics and economics at the University of Iowa. I then took a commission in the U.S. Navy, serving aboard guided missiles destroyers and frigates. After that, I returned to Iowa to study law at the University of Iowa. I had every intention of practicing law in a small county seat town in Iowa when the CIA approached me and invited me to apply for a position in the clandestine service.
Review Quotes: "A thoughtful, provocative analysis of practically every possible moral dilemma that is ever likely to prick the conscience of an assiduous case officer. The scenarios presented by James Olson, himself a veteran insider, have the authentic whiff of cordite that suggest little has been drawn from his imagination, but much has been looted from the operational files."--Nigel West, author of The Third Secret: The CIA, Solidarity and the KGB's Plot to Kill the Pope