Play Audiobook Sample
Fair Game (Abridged): My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(3.00) - 1,137 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
On July 6, 2003, four months after the United States invaded Iraq, former ambassador Joseph Wilson's now historic op-ed, "What I Didn't Find in Africa," appeared in The New York Times. A week later, conservative pundit Robert Novak revealed in his newspaper column that Ambassador Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame Wilson, was a CIA operative. The public disclosure of that secret information spurred a federal investigation and led to the trial and conviction of Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Scooter Libby, and the Wilsons' civil suit against top officials of the Bush administration. Much has been written about the "Valerie Plame" story, but Valerie herself has been silent, until now. Some of what has been reported about her has been frighteningly accurate, serving as a pungent reminder to the Wilsons that their lives are no longer private. And some has been completely false -- distorted characterizations of Valerie and her husband and their shared integrity.
Valerie Wilson retired from the CIA in January 2006, and now, not only as a citizen but as a wife and mother, the daughter of an Air Force colonel, and the sister of a U.S. marine, she sets the record straight, providing an extraordinary account of her training and experiences, and answers many questions that have been asked about her covert status, her responsibilities, and her life. As readers will see, the CIA still deems much of the detail of Valerie's story to be classified. As a service to readers, an afterword by national security reporter Laura Rozen provides a context for Valerie's own story.
Fair Game is the historic and unvarnished account of the personal and international consequences of speaking truth to power.
Download and start listening now!
"Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson were caught in the net of the "Imperial Presidency" and they became victims of the neocons. Two people who spent 20+ years serving their country became collateral damage of liars who confused covering lies of the President/Vice President with what was good for the country."
— Mary (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
-
“Fair Game—which takes its title from Karl Rove’s phrase about the legitimacy of blowing Ms. Wilson’s professional camouflage—describes how intense stress wrought havoc on the Wilsons’ marriage, not to mention Ms. Wilson’s state of mind…[And] she powerfully evokes the disbelief, fury and uncharacteristic terror that came with being outed.”
— The New York Times -
“Plame had a front-row seat on both the politicization of pre-war intelligence and White House efforts to stem post-invasion criticism…[She] can be viewed as a canary in the proverbial coal mine, and her book reads like a grim testament to the noxious atmosphere of our current politics.”
— Boston Globe -
“An extraordinary account of her training and experiences, and answers many questions that have been asked about her covert status, her responsibilities, and her life.”
— Amazon.com, editorial review -
“Wilson reads clearly, with immediacy and sincerity and a note of barely suppressed anger.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Among the risks faced by men and women who volunteer to serve in our intelligence services are those which derive from American politics. This story shows us how strong the desire to serve can be and how treacherous the risks are in the minefields of Washington. Valerie Wilson volunteered at the height of the cold war. She expected to be betrayed by our enemies, not us.”
— Bob Kerrey, Former United States Senator and Vice Chairman, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence -
“Plame spent a courageous and honorable career on the front lines of terrorism only to come home and meet the ultimate betrayal, her own country—unethical politicians and unscrupulous journalists. Plame’s story is a modern odyssey, a cautionary tale that should make Americans think twice before sacrificing their patriots.”
— Lobert Baer, Former CIA Case Officer and the author of See No Evil and Sleeping With The Devil -
Among the risks faced by men and women who volunteer to serve in our intelligence services are those which derive from American politics. This story shows us how strong the desire to serve can be and how treacherous the risks are in the minefields of Washington. Valerie Wilson volunteered at the height of the cold war. She expected to be betrayed by our enemies, not us.
— Bob Kerrey, Former U.S. Senator and Vice Chairman, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence -
Plame spent a courageous and honorable career on the front lines of terrorism only to come home and meet the ultimate betrayal, her own country -- unethical politicians and unscrupulous journalists. Plame's story is a modern odyssey, a cautionary tale that should make Americans think twice before sacrificing their patriots.
— Lobert Baer, Former CIA Case Officer and the author of See No Evil and Sleeping With The Devil -
Plame had a front-row seat on both the politicization of pre-war intelligence and White House efforts to stem post-invasion criticism....[She] can be viewed as a canary in the proverbial coal mine, and her book reads like a grim testament to the noxious atmosphere of our current politics.
— The Boston Globe -
Fair Game -- which takes its title from Karl Rove's phrase about the legitimacy of blowing Ms. Wilson's professional camouflage -- describes how intense stress wrought havoc on the Wilsons' marriage, not to mention Ms. Wilson's state of mind....[And] she powerfully evokes the disbelief, fury and uncharacteristic terror that came with being outed.
— The New York Times -
...Plame's own account of her life reveals her as a patriotic true believer in the CIA and its mission.
— Los Angeles Times
Awards
-
A New York Times bestseller
Fair Game Listener Reviews
-
" It looked interesting but lacked a lot. Hard to plow through. "
— Bernadette, 2/19/2014 -
" Man, did they (the Bush Republican machine) screw her. "
— Leofwin, 1/20/2014 -
" If the Cheney cabal can do this to a highly trained CIA operative and her former ambassador husband, then what might the ordinary citizen expect. "
— Ann, 1/18/2014 -
" This is a must read. "
— Jennifer, 1/13/2014 -
" A lot of redaction in the book, but overall an okay read. Basically the story of the spy who was outed by the White House from the spy's perspective. "
— Mylinda, 1/1/2014 -
" The book was educational in CIA 101 and character assassination. Important read. However, Incredibly repetitive. Could have been half the length and still hit the mark. The numerous passages that were redacted by the CIA didn't bother me. "
— Florence, 12/28/2013 -
" Plame Wilson comes across well here, articulate and likable. But all the redacted prose here is disorienting and frustrating with words, sentences and sometimes entire paragraphs completely removed. Even after reading this book, I felt like her complete story still eluded me. "
— Richard, 12/1/2013 -
" Hard to read with many words/sentences crossed out literally. "
— Aysharoberts, 11/1/2013 -
" Taken aback at first by the redacted text. "
— Cheryl, 9/21/2012 -
" Inspiring yet frightening and heart-breaking. The redactions are annoying, but illustrative. "
— Steve, 6/10/2012 -
" I enjoyed learning about this story that had so much news coverage. It was very frustrating to muddle through all the blocked text yet glad I read it. It was also cool to learn more about the CIA. "
— Angela, 6/9/2012 -
" Reading between the lines was both annoying and enticing, but the epilogue explained things that were left unanswered. "
— Jasonspaul, 12/8/2011 -
" I was really looking forward to reading this book. That is until I started it and found out that half of it has been blacked out! I read about 50 pages and had to put it down. "
— Kelly, 9/24/2011 -
" It feels like a quarter of it is censored, although the essay at the end helps put things in perspective. I still am confused why everyone cared so much about Joe's supposed "boondoggle". What did that have to do with anything? "
— Julie, 5/4/2011 -
" It had potential, but ultimately all the blocked out portions just became too much.. it was really disjointed. Plus, I kind of felt like she and her husband were a little on the whiny side. "
— Colleen, 4/26/2011 -
" Too bad so much of the book was redacted by the CIA, but still an excellent story. "
— Kathy, 4/25/2011 -
" Amazing what Governments can get away with. "
— Sandra, 4/25/2011 -
" basically a great book, but SO redacted it's a real challenge to read. the low rating has nothing to do with the quality of writing or content, just the overall readability of the thing. with so much redacted, it's almost impossible to follow. shame on you, CIA... "
— Jacob, 4/23/2011 -
" Interesting insight into the Valerie Wilson scandal, the Bush administration, and the CIA. "
— Megan, 4/3/2011 -
" I did not finish this book. It was alright, but didn't really grab me. I think it might make a better movie. "
— Bethany, 3/13/2011 -
" Full of good guys and bad guys like a novel. Too bad the redacting makes it so disjointed. I can't wait to see the movie. Good people seem to get screwed by republicans every day. I have yet to be convinced that there are any republicans with integrity. "
— Lorie, 3/8/2011 -
" Loved this book - a fascinating look at the lengths to which the Bush White House would go to justify its war with Iraq. Full disclosure: I wrote an article about the "outing" of Wilson as a CIA officer for a legal journal, so there was almost no way I wouldn't devour this book. "
— Michelle, 3/7/2011 -
" Bit heavy on politics, low on scandal & action thus far "
— Toni, 2/19/2011 -
" I suspect that Ms. Wilson has a fascinating story to tell, but I can't be sure, because she's such a terrible writer. If a book ever made the case for the advantages of using the services of a professional ghost writer, this is it.<br/> "
— Hank, 2/13/2011
About Valerie Plame Wilson
Valerie Plame Wilson, former CIA covert operations officer, was born on Elmendorf Air Force base in Anchorage, Alaska, in 1963. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University and master’s degrees from the London School of Economics and Political Science and the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium. Her career in the CIA included extensive work in counterproliferation operations, working to ensure that enemies of the United States could not threaten America with weapons of mass destruction, until Richard Armitage leaked her identity. She and her husband, Ambassador Joe Wilson, live in New Mexico with their children.