Publishers Weekly
The tools and tricks once used in the name of geopolitics have increasingly been applied to the private sector, according to this engaging overview of the rise of corporate espionage. With the end of the Cold War, spies on both sides of the Iron Curtain discovered there was money to be made renting out their skills to clients in such fields as pharmaceuticals, banking, and agriculture. Although the historical sections can drag in places, the book gathers steam every time Javers turns his focus to the technologies that have moved the field forward. From early wiretaps to the use of satellites, the author expertly explains how spies help clients sabotage corporate competitors or buy and sell stocks based on expected fluctuations in the price of corn. Generally more interested in strategy and gadgets than the ethical components of spying, the book flirts with painting a romantic picture of the profession before noting the less-than-glamorous occupations of corporate spies, including participating in the battle for supremacy in the pet food market.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From the Publisher
Eamon Javers has produced a remarkable book about the secret world of business warfare—a world filled with corporate spies and covert ops and skullduggery. This is an important book that has the added pleasure of reading like a spy novel.” — David Grann, author of The Lost City of Z
“Eamon Javers is one of Washington’s best reporters. In Broker, Trader, Lawyer, Spy, he has told a wonderfully readable tale with great characters and high stakes, and the dubious practices by corporations and intelligence agents he exposes are going to ignite an important public debate.” — John F. Harris, author of The Survivor
“If only the mainstream press would follow Eamon Javers’ lead and expose the powerful saboteurs and predators of the corporate underworld, this would be a different country. But it’s not too late. Read this book and roll up your sleeves.” — Bill Moyers
“Turns out there are far more cloaks and quite a few more daggers in this country than most of us realized. That’s one of the many lessons of this terrific book. Eamon Javers is as talented a writer as he is a reporter. What a great read.” — Tucker Carlson
“This is a must-read, excellent book.” — Booklist
“From early wiretaps to the use of satellites, the author expertly explains how spies help clients sabotage corporate competitors or buy and sell stocks based on expected fluctuations in the price of corn.” — Publishers Weekly
“Stunning, revelatory.” — John Stewart, The Daily Show
David Grann
Eamon Javers has produced a remarkable book about the secret world of business warfare—a world filled with corporate spies and covert ops and skullduggery. This is an important book that has the added pleasure of reading like a spy novel.
John F. Harris
Eamon Javers is one of Washington’s best reporters. In Broker, Trader, Lawyer, Spy, he has told a wonderfully readable tale with great characters and high stakes, and the dubious practices by corporations and intelligence agents he exposes are going to ignite an important public debate.
John Stewart
Stunning, revelatory.
Bill Moyers
If only the mainstream press would follow Eamon Javers’ lead and expose the powerful saboteurs and predators of the corporate underworld, this would be a different country. But it’s not too late. Read this book and roll up your sleeves.
Tucker Carlson
Turns out there are far more cloaks and quite a few more daggers in this country than most of us realized. That’s one of the many lessons of this terrific book. Eamon Javers is as talented a writer as he is a reporter. What a great read.
Booklist
This is a must-read, excellent book.
Booklist
This is a must-read, excellent book.
