“Alan’s accounts of the CIA’s operational use of the polygraph are eye opening; fascinating; and absolutely amazing . . . He is truly an unsung hero!” —Phil Houston, New York Times–bestselling authorAlan Trabue chose a bizarre, dangerous way to make a living. In A Life of Lies and Spies, Trabue exposes the often perilous world of polygraphing foreign spies in support of CIA espionage programs. He recounts his incredible, true-life globe-trotting adventures, from his induction in the CIA in 1971 to directing the CIA’s world-wide covert ops polygraph program.
A Life of Lies and Spies brings readers into the high-stakes world of covert operations and the quest to uncover deceit, featuring a high-speed car chase, blown clandestine meetings, surreptitious room searches, tear-gassing by riot police, and confrontations with machine gun-armed soldiers. Liberally sprinkled with side anecdotes—such as debriefing an agent though a torturous swarm of mosquitoes in a jungle shack—Trabue’s story highlights both the humor and the intrinsic danger of conducting CIA covert activities.
Writing from a unique perspective framed by his uncommon longevity and broad experience, for which he was awarded the Career Intelligence Medal, Trabue’s memoir unveils the CIA’s use of polygraph and interrogation to validate recruited spies’ bona fides and information obtained through their acts of espionage.
The Central Intelligence Agency has not approved, endorsed or authorized this book or the use of the CIA seal, name or initials.
“Like a John LeCarré novel . . . a must read for those who are interested in the complexities of intelligence operations around the world.” —Dr. Barry McManus, author of Liar: The Art of Detecting Deception and Eliciting Responses