Spooked

A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist's revelatory look inside the sinister world of private spies.

A spy story like no other.

Private spies are the invisible force that shapes our modern world: they influence our elections, effect government policies and shape the fortunes of companies. More deviously, they are also peering into our personal lives as never before, using off-the shelf technology to listen to our phone calls, monitor our emails and decide what we see on social media.

Spooked takes us on a journey into a secret billion-dollar industry in which information is currency and loyalties are for sale. An industry so tentacular it reaches from Saddam Hussein to an 80s-era Trump, from the Steele dossier written by a British ex-spy to Russian oligarchs sitting pretty in Mayfair mansions, from the devious tactics of Harvey Weinstein to the growing role of corporate spies in politics and the threat to future elections.

Spooked reads like the best kind of spy story: a gripping tale packed with twists and turns, uncovering a secret side of our modern world.

“Meier sets out to investigate the investigations industry . . . a revealing read”

-- Brendan Daly Business Post
A gobsmacking book detailing the rise of wannabe James Bonds . . . an enjoyable romp through the stranger-than-fiction world of private intelligence agencies... Meier is a Pulitzer-winning former New York Times reporter, and he stirs an incredible amount of well-researched material into this book . . . a mad whirl of double-cross, Machiavellian machinations and, of course, money. -- Darragh McManus Irish Independent

Barry Meier is a Pulitzer Prize-winning former New York Times investigative reporter. He's twice won the George Polk award for Investigative Reporting. Prior to joining the New York Times in 1989, he worked for the Wall Street Journal and New York Newsday.

A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist's revelatory look inside the sinister world of private spies. A spy story like no other. Private spies are the invisible force that shapes our modern world: they influence our elections, effect government policies and shape the fortunes of companies. More deviously, they are also peering into our personal lives as never before, using off-the shelf technology to listen to our phone calls, monitor our emails and decide what we see on social media. Spooked takes us on a journey into a secret billion-dollar industry in which information is currency and loyalties are for sale. An industry so tentacular it reaches from Saddam Hussein to an 80s-era Trump, from the Steele dossier written by a British ex-spy to Russian oligarchs sitting pretty in Mayfair mansions, from the devious tactics of Harvey Weinstein to the growing role of corporate spies in politics and the threat to future elections. Spooked reads like the best kind of spy story: a gripping tale packed with twists and turns, uncovering a secret side of our modern world.

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