Spooked: The Trump Dossier, Black Cube, and the Rise of Private Spies
A Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist’s journey into a billon-dollar secret industry that is shaping our world – the booming business of private spying, operatives-for-hire retained by companies, political parties  and the powerful to dig up dirt on their enemies and, if need be, destroy them. 

For decades, private eyes from Allan Pinkerton, who formed the first detective agency in the U.S., to Jules Kroll, who transformed the investigations business by giving it a corporate veneer, private spies were content to stand in the shadows. Now, that is all changing. High-profile stories grabbing recent headlines – the Steele Dossier, Black Cube, the Theranos scandal, Harvey Weinstein’s attacks on his accusers –  all share a common thread, the involvement of private spies.

Today, operatives-for-hire are influencing presidential elections, the news media, government policies and the fortunes of companies.. They are also peering into our personal lives as never before, using off-the shelf technology to listen to our phone calls, monitor our emails, and decide what we see on social media. Private spying has never been cheaper and the business has never been more lucrative—just as its power has never been more pervasive.
 

Spooked is a fast-paced, disturbing and, at times, hilarious tour through the shadowlands of private spying and its inhabitants, a grab-bag collection of ex-intelligence operatives, former journalists and lost souls. In this hidden world, information is currency, double-crosses are commonplace, and hacking can be standard procedure.  Drawing on his journalistic expertise and unique access to sources, Barry Meier uncovers the secrets private spies want to keep hidden.

1136623418
Spooked: The Trump Dossier, Black Cube, and the Rise of Private Spies
A Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist’s journey into a billon-dollar secret industry that is shaping our world – the booming business of private spying, operatives-for-hire retained by companies, political parties  and the powerful to dig up dirt on their enemies and, if need be, destroy them. 

For decades, private eyes from Allan Pinkerton, who formed the first detective agency in the U.S., to Jules Kroll, who transformed the investigations business by giving it a corporate veneer, private spies were content to stand in the shadows. Now, that is all changing. High-profile stories grabbing recent headlines – the Steele Dossier, Black Cube, the Theranos scandal, Harvey Weinstein’s attacks on his accusers –  all share a common thread, the involvement of private spies.

Today, operatives-for-hire are influencing presidential elections, the news media, government policies and the fortunes of companies.. They are also peering into our personal lives as never before, using off-the shelf technology to listen to our phone calls, monitor our emails, and decide what we see on social media. Private spying has never been cheaper and the business has never been more lucrative—just as its power has never been more pervasive.
 

Spooked is a fast-paced, disturbing and, at times, hilarious tour through the shadowlands of private spying and its inhabitants, a grab-bag collection of ex-intelligence operatives, former journalists and lost souls. In this hidden world, information is currency, double-crosses are commonplace, and hacking can be standard procedure.  Drawing on his journalistic expertise and unique access to sources, Barry Meier uncovers the secrets private spies want to keep hidden.

28.99 In Stock
Spooked: The Trump Dossier, Black Cube, and the Rise of Private Spies

Spooked: The Trump Dossier, Black Cube, and the Rise of Private Spies

by Barry Meier
Spooked: The Trump Dossier, Black Cube, and the Rise of Private Spies

Spooked: The Trump Dossier, Black Cube, and the Rise of Private Spies

by Barry Meier

Hardcover

$28.99 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Ships in 1-2 days
  • PICK UP IN STORE

    Your local store may have stock of this item.

Related collections and offers


Overview

A Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist’s journey into a billon-dollar secret industry that is shaping our world – the booming business of private spying, operatives-for-hire retained by companies, political parties  and the powerful to dig up dirt on their enemies and, if need be, destroy them. 

For decades, private eyes from Allan Pinkerton, who formed the first detective agency in the U.S., to Jules Kroll, who transformed the investigations business by giving it a corporate veneer, private spies were content to stand in the shadows. Now, that is all changing. High-profile stories grabbing recent headlines – the Steele Dossier, Black Cube, the Theranos scandal, Harvey Weinstein’s attacks on his accusers –  all share a common thread, the involvement of private spies.

Today, operatives-for-hire are influencing presidential elections, the news media, government policies and the fortunes of companies.. They are also peering into our personal lives as never before, using off-the shelf technology to listen to our phone calls, monitor our emails, and decide what we see on social media. Private spying has never been cheaper and the business has never been more lucrative—just as its power has never been more pervasive.
 

Spooked is a fast-paced, disturbing and, at times, hilarious tour through the shadowlands of private spying and its inhabitants, a grab-bag collection of ex-intelligence operatives, former journalists and lost souls. In this hidden world, information is currency, double-crosses are commonplace, and hacking can be standard procedure.  Drawing on his journalistic expertise and unique access to sources, Barry Meier uncovers the secrets private spies want to keep hidden.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780062950680
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: 05/18/2021
Pages: 336
Sales rank: 990,073
Product dimensions: 6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

Barry Meier is a former New York Times reporter and a member of the Times’ team that won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting. He is also a two-time winner of the prestigious George Polk Award for Investigative Reporting and other professional honors. Prior to joining the Times in 1989, he worked for the Wall Street Journal and New York Newsday. He is also the author of Pain Killer and Missing Man. Meier lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

Prologue Stalking Mr. Steele 1

Chapter 1 Journalism for Rent 15

Chapter 2 "Lapdance Island" 33

Chapter 3 "OPPO" 55

Chapter 4 The London Information Exchange 71

Chapter 5 Bad Blood 85

Chapter 6 Ukraine Tomorrow 101

Chapter 7 Table Number 6 113

Chapter 8 Glenntourage 127

Chapter 9 The Pee Tape 141

Chapter 10 Outed, Episode 1 163

Chapter 11 Outed, Episode 2 181

Chapter 12 Trojan Wars 185

Chapter 13 Rock Stars 207

Chapter 14 Episode 1: "Double Agent" 223

Chapter 15 Shiny Object 233

Chapter 16 Dinner with Natalia 247

Chapter 17 The Collector 259

Afterword 275

Acknowledgments 279

Note on Sources 283

Notes 285

Index 307

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews