Surprise, Kill, Vanish: The Secret History of CIA Paramilitary Armies, Operators, and Assassins

Annie Jacobsen

May 2019 · Hachette Audio · Narrated by Annie Jacobsen

About this audiobook

From Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen, the untold USA Today bestselling story of the CIA's secret paramilitary units.
Surprise . . . your target. Kill . . . your enemy. Vanish . . . without a trace.
When diplomacy fails, and war is unwise, the president calls on the CIA's Special Activities Division, a highly-classified branch of the CIA and the most effective, black operations force in the world.
Originally known as the president's guerrilla warfare corps, SAD conducts risky and ruthless operations that have evolved over time to defend America from its enemies. Almost every American president since World War II has asked the CIA to conduct sabotage, subversion and, yes, assassination.
With unprecedented access to forty-two men and women who proudly and secretly worked on CIA covert operations from the dawn of the Cold War to the present day, along with declassified documents and deep historical research, Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen unveils -- like never before -- a complex world of individuals working in treacherous environments populated with killers, connivers, and saboteurs.
Despite Hollywood notions of off-book operations and external secret hires, covert action is actually one piece in a colossal foreign policy machine.
Written with the pacing of a thriller, Surprise, Kill, Vanish brings to vivid life the sheer pandemonium and chaos, as well as the unforgettable human will to survive and the intellectual challenge of not giving up hope that define paramilitary and intelligence work. Jacobsen's exclusive interviews -- with members of the CIA's Senior Intelligence Service (equivalent to the Pentagon's generals), its counterterrorism chiefs, targeting officers, and Special Activities Division's Ground Branch operators who conduct today's close-quarters killing operations around the world -- reveal, for the first time, the enormity of this shocking, controversial, and morally complex terrain. Is the CIA's paramilitary army America's weaponized strength, or a liability to its principled standing in the world? Every operation reported in this book, however unsettling, is legal.

Ratings and reviews

I LOVE READING BOOKS BUT THESE AUDIOBOOKS ARE A LOT BETTER BECAUSE SOMETIMES I DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO READ SO TO BE ABLE TO JUST LISTEN TO A GREAT BOOK IS A BLESSING.I CAN CLEAN THE HOUSE, DO ALL OF MY CHORES,COOK DINNER, TAKE A NAP WHILE THE AUDIOBOOK IS PLAYING, I CAN EVEN TAKE A SHOWER... THANKS FOR THE GREAT AUDIOBOOKS.

I found out so many things about secret programs with this book. I don't even know what to think about my government now...great book! Well worth a read.

I had read Mrs. Jacobsen's book on Area 51 and was thoroughly impressed with her ability to keep the reader engaged. this book delivers the same effect! the public owes a huge debt to her for attempting to keep us accountable for actions that some try to keep hidden. keep them coming, Annie!!!

About the author

Annie Jacobsen was a contributing editor at the Los Angeles Times Magazine and is the author of the New York Times bestseller Area 51. A graduate of Princeton University, she lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons.