Stories from Langley

Edward Mickolus is the founder and president of Vinyard Software, Inc., and served in analytical, operational, and management positions at the Central Intelligence Agency for thirty-three years. He is the author or editor of more than fifty books, including More Stories from Langley: Another Glimpse inside the CIA (Potomac, 2020), The Terrorist List, and The Secret Book of CIA Humor.

• Introduction    Part 1: Speaking Truth to Power: CIA Intelligence AnalystsGetting In: Why Join the Directorate of Intelligence?1. Careers in Intelligence Analysis    Volko F. Ruhnke2. The Best Speech I Ever Gave, the Best Thing I Ever Wrote    Martin PetersenBriefing the President3. Working with Words and Enjoying the View    John Hollister Hedley4. Never Boring, Often Meaningful, and Almost Fun    Henry Appelbaum5. Briefing Presidential Candidates     John HelgersonMonitoring Soviet Military Capabilities6. The Soviets Go on the LAMM    Michael D. Flint and Boyd Sutton7. Making the World Safe through SAFE    Michael D. Flint8. Getting the Facts Right    Tony WilliamsWinning the Cold War9. An Economist’s Look at the Soviet Union, and Beyond    Robert E. Leggett10. Two of the “Coolest” Things I Did Working for the CIA    Robert Blackwell11. A Cold War CIA Analyst Remembers    Anne Campbell GrunerA Wealth of Options12. Reminiscences of a Checkered Past    Nicholas Starr13. Reflections on an Eclectic CIA Career    Alan More14. A Geographer Looks Back at 50 Years with the CIA    Will Rogers15. An “Out-of-Body Experience”: Seeing the DI with New Eyes    Jon Nowick16. Peasant at the Creation: The Agency’s First Terrorism Analyst and Beyond    Edward MickolusDealing with The Rest of the World17. Satellite Imagery and the Afghan Task Force    Tom Sheridan18. Slideshow    Jeri DiGiulio19. Meanwhile, in Asia . . .     Merrily BairdPart 2: Heroes Behind the Heroes: CIA Support OfficersA Quick Look at Oversight20. On Planet Congress    Martin Petersen21. In Support, You Never Know Where You Might End Up-and What You Might Learn along the Way    Dan King22. What Is a Promise Worth?     Dan King23. An Adventure in the Far East    Robert A. Morgan Jr.24. First Tour Adventures: The Mysterious Case of the Missing Missionary    Hugh S. Pettis25. Out of the Barn, Into the Beltway    Hazel Harrison26. Ed and a Secretary: How I Ended Up at the CIA    Martin Petersen27. Traveling with the President    Frank Ryan28. KH601    Richard IrwinA Hero’s Story29. Our Man in Havana’s Jails: Temporary Duty Assignment in Hell    Walter E. SzuminskiA Word from Our Predecessors30. Operation Oshima    John BehlingAnd from the Next Generation31. The Other Side of the CIA: My Life as a CIA Analyst    Gregor S.Vision, Mission, and Values Statement of the Central Intelligence Agency    Suggested Reading    Contributors

“Stories from Langley provides an invaluable behind-the-scenes look at professional life inside the CIA. While many have written about great operational exploits, few have focused on the daily lives and challenges of analysts, support officers, and engineers, members of the organization whose work is as essential if not as glamorous in the public eye. Young men and women wondering about what to expect in these varied CIA careers will find the book fascinating, revealing, and perhaps even enticing.”-George Tenet, former director of Central Intelligence “One of the most difficult aspects of intelligence is trying to convey to outsiders what that life-especially as an analyst-is really like. Most fiction is overblown and inevitably focuses on operations and spying. Stories from Langley is a delightful foray into the actual experiences of a broad range of intelligence officers and fills an important gap in our intelligence literature. Anyone interested in the nuts and bolts of an intelligence career will find this a useful and worthwhile read.”-Mark Lowenthal, former assistant director of Central Intelligence for analysis and production