NOW IN PAPERBACK—with a new preface by the author An insider’s account of why the CIA is ill-prepared to protect America, and why it must be replaced without delay

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“A devastating portrait of the agency’s culture—with details that only an insider would know.”
—David Ignatius, Washington Post columnist and author of Body of Lies

“Faddis, a career CIA operations officer, pulls no punches in this provocative critique of the iconic and dysfunctional spy agency. . . . In a world where threats are multiplying and becoming more complex, [his] bleak assessment of the CIA should be required reading.”

—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

In Beyond Repair, one of the Central Intelligence Agency’s most respected former operatives mounts a scathing critique of the preparedness of today’s CIA—and, specifically, the Directorate of Operations at its core—to defend America against the dizzying dangers of the twenty-first century. In a compelling blend of analysis and fascinating true-life stories, Charles S. Faddis argues that the CIA has devolved into a low-risk or, often, no-risk bureaucracy of careerists whose mantra might be summed up thus: “Don’t fall.” He discusses the birth of the CIA, how the agency works from the inside out, why things have gone awry—and how to build a new entity that will maintain the midnight watch, so Americans can sleep well at night.