Gray Work
Confessions of an American Paramilitary Spy
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Gray Work
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Narrated by:
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Jeff Gurner
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By:
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Jamie Smith
About this listen
In this unprecedented audiobook, a paramilitary contractor with more than two decades of experience gives us a firsthand look into the secret lives of America's private warriors and their highly covert work around the world. Author Jamie Smith has planned and executed hundreds of missions on behalf of government agencies and private industry in some of the world's most dangerous hot spots - and lived to tell the tale.
They are elite warriors who run highly dangerous missions deep inside foreign countries on the brink of war. Jamie Smith knows these men well. Not only is he one of them, but he was the founding director of one of the most successful global, private military contracting firms. For the first time, he breaks his silence, pulling back the curtain to reveal in raw, intimate terms exactly what paramilitary spies and operators like him do when the government cannot act or take public responsibility.
Combining the thrilling narrative of an international spy thriller with bracing boots-on-the-ground realism, Gray Work follows Smith through grinding CIA training and his career as an operative, his work with Blackwater Security, and the creation of his own successful company. Here is the grit and gristle of modern warfare, from espionage and assassinations, rescues and renditions, from the dark corners of the Arab Spring and the fall of Qadhafi to black ops from Syria to Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, and beyond. Smith has fought terrorists and won; he was ambushed on a mission in Pakistan and took a bullet through his shoulder and to his back and subsequently survived a grueling mountain trek that almost cost him his life.
As founding director of Blackwater Security and then as head of his own company, Smith has helped shape a decade of war. His book powerfully illustrates how the men who serve in this gray area between the public and private worlds are transforming the art and science of modern warfare.
©2015 Jamie Smith (P)2015 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Gray Work
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anthony
- 28-06-16
Entertaining and insightful
Well written showing a lot of depth whilst managing to keep casual and at times humorous
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 20-08-18
Brave
An Eye Opening account to what really happens in this dark and secretive world of operators etc.
Thoroughly Recommend it!
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Simon
- 24-11-16
American propaganda
book spoiled by gos is great and America is the greatest at everything bias. makes everything feel exaggerated
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Chris Berry
- 05-06-16
Gritty and funny
At times I found myself on the edge of my seat feeling as if I was in those dusty streets with the author and then a small quip would make me burst out laughing
Busier than a one winged bird will be part of my life for ever more
Thank you for your service
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- ander64
- 11-04-18
A must listen.
insight into the dark world of the intelligence industry. Great operational detail and training explained by an experienced operator.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Tom
- 06-05-17
More fairytales than Disney
I should have googled the author before buying the book. It's basically fiction. He is as right wing as they come and is totally delusional. The book was winding me up with the cobblers he was telling, it got to the point I actually found it funny in a perverse way. At one point he mentions something in the Quran and says "they actually believe this stuff" then he quotes the Bible in the next paragraph. He actually believes that stuff, I'd say you couldn't make it up but he did.
He scams a retired couple of 12mil and gives that a paragraph.
I think he's got some sort of disorder.
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 10-02-17
jamie smith seems to see himself as john wayne!!!
What disappointed you about Gray Work?
interesting experiences in contemporary conflict situation, let down by right wing view that increased conflict would have solved problems in Iraq, Jamie smith is clearly anti-Obama and rabidly keen on conflict as the solution but then I suppose that how he makes his living
What will your next listen be?
andy mcnad immediate action
How did the narrator detract from the book?
narrator was ok
You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?
interesting in that it gave a first person account of Libya and other conflict regions as they started to implode
Any additional comments?
more suitable to American audience, reinforces stereotypes of how some americans view the rest of the world
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Mark
- 31-10-18
Extremely Disappointing
Not a lot to say really. The story is extremely well narrated.
Initially I was extremely taken in by the supposedly extraordinary exploits of this so called paramilitary spy. I decided to do a little digging to find more about the man behind the book and what I found was that this man has no credibility from the security services whatsoever and the majority, if not all, of his claims are unfounded. Although the CIA can never confirm or deny his involvement within their ranks a number of senior ex CIA operatives have spoken out at his claims and fundamentally dismiss his claims.
This book must be taken as a fictional book and not fact. I have read a lot of books like this and Jamie Smith seems to know his stuff however my suspicions were first aroused by his exceptional memory of events which happened 15 years ago. His recollection of conversations and descriptive details are in line with the best fictional spy writers and will easily drag you into his world.
I advise you to do a little research on Jamie Smith before you decide to read this book as it turns out he is a habitual liar and a bit of a con man. please read https://www.outsideonline/1926591/spy-who-scammed-us.
If you can get past this then it is a very good FICTIONAL book.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Richard
- 01-12-16
Obviously not true from the first page
Furious at how the publisher misrepresented this book. I didn't need to read the reviews to tell me the author was a fraud, i just listened to the first bravado filled
cliche chapter
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Alistair
- 23-11-16
Pretty depressing
If you're right thinking in your politics, voted for Trump, and have no ethical dilemmas with private contractors turning huge profits interfering in other countries wars then this is most definitely the book for you!!!! Me not so much
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