The C.I. Desk : FBI and CIA Counterintelligence as Seen from My Cubicle

"Fascinating and often times very funny stories overlooked in the literature and films about spying are those of the people working in the offices of intelligence agencies. From . . . Christopher Lynch's book, The C.I. Desk; FBI and CIA Counterintelligence As Seen From My Cubicle (Dog Ear Publishing, 2010), comes enthralling stories of these brilliant people who can be just as competitive and inspiring, or bored, misinformed, and petty as anyone." - EspionageMagazine.comThe "very entertaining storytelling" of The C.I. Desk follows the author from the mailroom to the locked doors of compartmented "special projects" in Headquarters-level counterintelligence. Readers won't be able to put down this fascinating insider's look at undercover agents, double agents, illegals, moles, and traitors from the perspective of both FBI and CIA Headquarters. In 1976, Chris Lynch joined the FBI Intelligence Division mailroom in Washington, D.C. He soon moved on to the first of many C.I. "desks," where he focused especially on an "in place" penetration of the KGB. Over the years, he became the FBI's "go-to guy" for information on KGB practices and personnel, and was often called upon for a "fresh look" at FBI C.I. targeting techniques. Moving to the CIA in 1985, Lynch's specialties included detecting hostile control and analysis of CIA operations, working on cases that spanned the globe. He was part of the initial CIA effort to investigate the losses of Soviet sources eventually attributed to the mole Aldrich Ames. His story includes unique details on convicted spy Robert P. Hanssen, who was Lynch's FBI supervisor for two years, and the dramatic case of a KGB officer whose cooperation with the FBI was exposed by both Ames and Hanssen. The C.I. Desk is a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes, told with wry, self-effacing humor, showing the routine, the thrilling, and the sometimes funny or tragic human side of the work of FBI agents, CIA officers, and the unsung people on Headquarters desks.