Anonymous Male: A Life Among Spies
A no-holds-barred memoir about identity, from a former Hostage Rescue Team sniper who left the FBI on 9/11 only to lose himself, moving deeper into a world of spies.

In September 2001, Christopher Whitcomb was the most visible FBI agent in the world. His bestselling memoir, Cold Zero, had led to novels, articles in GQ, and op-eds in The New York Times. He appeared on Imus in the Morning, Larry King, and Meet the Press; he was nominated for a Peabody reporting for CNBC. He played poker with Brad Pitt while contracting for the CIA.

Then one day in 2006, without warning, Whitcomb packed a bag, flew into Somalia, and dropped off the face of the earth. For fifteen years, he waged a mercenary war on himself, traveling the world with aliases, cash, and guns. He built a private army in the jungles of Timor-Leste, working contracts for intelligence agencies, where he survived a coup d'état only to lose his friends, abandon his family, and give up on God.

And though many stories might have ended there, Anonymous Male is a tale of redemption. While surfing the wilds of Indonesia, Whitcomb found himself trapped beneath a giant wave, where, at the edge of drowning, he came to terms with the chaos of his own clandestine life. He survived the wave to find his way home and rebuild the world that he had abandoned.

Anonymous Male is a riveting memoir about loss and recovery, a deeply intimate story that spans continents, war, politics and the media. It is a confession, and a cautionary tale of what happens to people whom the government trains to lie, even to themselves.
1146577630
Anonymous Male: A Life Among Spies
A no-holds-barred memoir about identity, from a former Hostage Rescue Team sniper who left the FBI on 9/11 only to lose himself, moving deeper into a world of spies.

In September 2001, Christopher Whitcomb was the most visible FBI agent in the world. His bestselling memoir, Cold Zero, had led to novels, articles in GQ, and op-eds in The New York Times. He appeared on Imus in the Morning, Larry King, and Meet the Press; he was nominated for a Peabody reporting for CNBC. He played poker with Brad Pitt while contracting for the CIA.

Then one day in 2006, without warning, Whitcomb packed a bag, flew into Somalia, and dropped off the face of the earth. For fifteen years, he waged a mercenary war on himself, traveling the world with aliases, cash, and guns. He built a private army in the jungles of Timor-Leste, working contracts for intelligence agencies, where he survived a coup d'état only to lose his friends, abandon his family, and give up on God.

And though many stories might have ended there, Anonymous Male is a tale of redemption. While surfing the wilds of Indonesia, Whitcomb found himself trapped beneath a giant wave, where, at the edge of drowning, he came to terms with the chaos of his own clandestine life. He survived the wave to find his way home and rebuild the world that he had abandoned.

Anonymous Male is a riveting memoir about loss and recovery, a deeply intimate story that spans continents, war, politics and the media. It is a confession, and a cautionary tale of what happens to people whom the government trains to lie, even to themselves.
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Anonymous Male: A Life Among Spies

Anonymous Male: A Life Among Spies

by Christopher Whitcomb

Narrated by Christopher Whitcomb

Unabridged — 10 hours, 46 minutes

Anonymous Male: A Life Among Spies

Anonymous Male: A Life Among Spies

by Christopher Whitcomb

Narrated by Christopher Whitcomb

Unabridged — 10 hours, 46 minutes

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Overview

A no-holds-barred memoir about identity, from a former Hostage Rescue Team sniper who left the FBI on 9/11 only to lose himself, moving deeper into a world of spies.

In September 2001, Christopher Whitcomb was the most visible FBI agent in the world. His bestselling memoir, Cold Zero, had led to novels, articles in GQ, and op-eds in The New York Times. He appeared on Imus in the Morning, Larry King, and Meet the Press; he was nominated for a Peabody reporting for CNBC. He played poker with Brad Pitt while contracting for the CIA.

Then one day in 2006, without warning, Whitcomb packed a bag, flew into Somalia, and dropped off the face of the earth. For fifteen years, he waged a mercenary war on himself, traveling the world with aliases, cash, and guns. He built a private army in the jungles of Timor-Leste, working contracts for intelligence agencies, where he survived a coup d'état only to lose his friends, abandon his family, and give up on God.

And though many stories might have ended there, Anonymous Male is a tale of redemption. While surfing the wilds of Indonesia, Whitcomb found himself trapped beneath a giant wave, where, at the edge of drowning, he came to terms with the chaos of his own clandestine life. He survived the wave to find his way home and rebuild the world that he had abandoned.

Anonymous Male is a riveting memoir about loss and recovery, a deeply intimate story that spans continents, war, politics and the media. It is a confession, and a cautionary tale of what happens to people whom the government trains to lie, even to themselves.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

I can think of no recent book that so deeply penetrates the layers civilization has sifted atop the world, the one that’s always seething away at the bottom of all things. It’s not a pretty picture but a searingly beautiful one, in the way of beauty that can scorch your hand. Or your soul. I can’t explain it—read this book and you’ll understand.”—Jeffrey Lent, author of Before We Sleep

“Mr. Whitcomb writes he had a ‘backstage pass to the world.’ He tells us about it here with candor and with the stunning courage to admit he admires Emily Dickinson.”—David Mamet

“Traveling with Whitcomb on his self-assigned adventures is entertaining. . . . A deftly written romp through the fantastical world of federal agents, warlords, journalists, and the men who bankroll them.”Kirkus Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

2025-05-03
Looking for a fight.

Whitcomb’s last book, the bestsellingCold Zero: Inside the FBI, recounted his escapades in the 1990s as a sniper on the FBI’s elite Hostage Rescue Team (remember the Ruby Ridge and the Branch Davidian standoffs of the early 1990s?). Whitcomb quit the Bureau in 2001 for a new career as a journalist and celebrity commentator on terror for a parade of media organizations. In his new book, he invites readers on a roller-coaster ride through his life’s evolving pursuits, from his childhood on a New Hampshire farm to conflict-resolution G-man and then aspiring foreign correspondent. In 2006 he takes an off-ramp to Somalia to be a freelance intelligence operative and conflict trouble-shooter for hire. “I needed that feeling again, of taunting death but surviving,” he writes. “I needed war, but I needed a war I could manage. As it turned out, I knew just the place.” The place is East Timor, an overgrown island between Indonesia and Australia. On arriving, he describes the scene: “All you could see were sheets of rusted tin, sun-bleached tarps, women with plastic pails, skinny kids running around with sticks. Men sat in packs, trying to look tough. Maybe three thousand people. ‘Watch yerself, mate,’” he’s told. “‘These blokes will stone their mums.’” In East Timor, Whitcomb assembles a small army charged with guaranteeing security for the fledgling Timorese government (and Australian natural resources prospectors). His company becomes the island’s biggest employer—but he can’t manage what happens after a deadly coup attempt. Whitcomb survives, only to drop by death’s door in the face of a giant wave while surfing in Bali. Traveling with Whitcomb on his self-assigned adventures is entertaining and mostly a pleasure, but this memoir is short on defining facts and conclusions, incidental and moral.

A deftly written romp through the fantastical world of federal agents, warlords, journalists, and the men who bankroll them.

Product Details

BN ID: 2940193353232
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Publication date: 08/19/2025
Edition description: Unabridged
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