The Triple Agent

The al-Qaeda Mole who Infiltrated the CIA

By: Joby Warrick

Narrated by: Sunil Malhotra

Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

A stunning narrative account of the mysterious Jordanian who penetrated both the inner circle of al-Qaeda and the highest reaches of the CIA, with a devastating impact on the war on terror.

In December 2009, a group of the CIA’s top terrorist hunters gathered at a secret base in Khost, Afghanistan, to greet a rising superspy: Humam Khalil al-Balawi, a Jordanian double-agent who infiltrated the upper ranks of al-Qaeda. For months, he had sent shocking revelations from inside the terrorist network and now promised to help the CIA assassinate Osama bin Laden’s top deputy. Instead, as he stepped from his car, he detonated a 30-pound bomb strapped to his chest, instantly killing seven CIA operatives, the agency’s worst loss of life in decades.

In The Triple Agent, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Joby Warrick takes us deep inside the CIA’s secret war against al-Qaeda, a war that pits robotic planes and laser-guided missiles against a cunning enemy intent on unleashing carnage in American cities. Flitting precariously between the two sides was Balawi, a young man with extraordinary gifts who managed to win the confidence of hardened terrorists as well as veteran spymasters. With his breathtaking accounts from inside al-Qaeda’s lair, Balawi appeared poised to become America’s greatest double-agent in half a century - but he was not at all what he seemed. Combining the powerful momentum of Black Hawk Down with the institutional insight of Jane Mayer’s The Dark Side, Warrick takes the readers on a harrowing journey from the slums of Amman to the inner chambers of the White House in an untold true story of miscalculation, deception, and revenge.

©2011 Joby Warrick (P)2011 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

" The Triple Agent is a spy thriller like no other. Never has such a giant intelligence debacle been chronicled this vividly, this intimately. Riveting and harrowing, laden with deception and duplicity, it is a remarkable, behind-the-curtain account of the CIA’s darkest day in Afghanistan." (Rajiv Chandrasekaran, author of Imperial Life in the Emerald City)

“Absolutely first-rate, breakthrough reporting.”(Bob Woodward, author of Obama’s Wars)

“ The Triple Agent is a superlative piece of reporting and writing. Joby Warrick manages to take the reader inside the CIA, Jordanian intelligence, and al-Qaeda. His intimate portraits of intelligence officers and the terrorists they stalk are unforgettable. The Triple Agent is one of the best true-life spy stories I have ever read.” (David Ignatius, columnist for the Washington Post and author of Bloodmoney)

Riveting Account of Debacle at Camp Chapman

Joby Warrick has not just peered in, but also pried open, the distressing story behind the deaths of CIA agents eager to speak to an informant at their base in Afghanistan. The informant himself and the chain of events leading to the tragic suicide bombing he undertood serve as a textbook exercise of the dangers of departing from standard procedures to secure information about the Taliban and Al Qeida. The CIA is portrayed as being ill-equipped in military security matters to match their unparelleled success in targeting enemy Islamic jihadists for drone attaks. The lives of murdered agents are fleshed out in details almost too dreadful to hear knowing the outcome.

Pretty good, needs to be updated

pretty good, but really should be updated now that more facts are known. Kind of makes you wonder how accurate the whole story is.

Almost speechless

Riveting book that sucks you in and doesn’t let go. Such a tragedy that most of the world has never heard about. Narrator was great. As someone who has read/listened to many war/seal/delta books this one is of my favorites.

Fantastic! Exceedingly well paced! super narration

A Great book for anyone interested in espionage, the cia, the nsa or any of the like but not only for just them...This is a great book for anyone who enjoyed a well paced book with a fascinating subject matter wrapped up with a great, attention keeping narration. Its well worth a credit!

A TRAGIC TRUE-LIFE THRILLER

Would you consider the audio edition of The Triple Agent to be better than the print version?

It can be a little hard keeping characters straight in an audio presentation--especially if there are a lot of them and when they have foreign names. But the author did a pretty good job of providing little clues to keep the listener on track. I love audio books, in general, and believe a good reader, as this book had, adds to the understanding of the text. What isn't easy to do, of course, is go back and reread a paragraph or page.

What other book might you compare The Triple Agent to and why?

Although this was a true-life story, it was paced like a fictional thriller, with the author skillfully building tension and bringing out aspects of the characters that made them engaging people, whose fates the listener cared about. Amazingly, the tension was sustained, despite knowing the episode's outcome. I'd compare it, in its exploration of the ambiguous realities of Afghanistan and what Americans face there, to Frederick Forsyth's The Afghan (an audiobook I've listened to twice).

What about Sunil Malhotra’s performance did you like?

The reader did an excellent job of text interpretation and character differentiation.

Any additional comments?

I read some 50 books in 2012--including several prize-winners--and listened on audio to at least a dozen more. This was one of my half-dozen favorites. From thousands of miles away, it can be easy to put Iraq and Afghanistan out of our minds; this book made the real sacrifices of real people very, very painfully present.

Outstanding writing and narration. Insightful.

Surprisingly entertaining with strong research. Outstanding narration of this tragic time.
Warrick is accomplished storyteller.
Weaves the complex into understanding.

Great listen

Overall this was a very interesting book to listen to. I have listened to Sunil before and remember that I liked his readings. Just got lucky with this one. This gave a good behind the scenes listen to another senseless suicide bombing. I would recommend this to anyone interested in listening to the operational aspects of what is going on in the middle east right now.

Fantastic story

This was a fantastic story that revealed some history not only about this particular incident, but why Barrack Obama's foreign policy changed so drastically early into his presidency.

I love hearing stories behind the stories. You don't have to love foreign policy to love this story.

After the story I looked up many of the people to learn more about their lives. It was a devastating tragedy to lose them.

Amazing untold story- Told

Not everything exactly how I remember it but dam close. It was something I definitely needed to read. Descriptions of people, location, and events made me feel like I was reliving it and was able to process these memories more fully. Not everything exactly what I remembered but it doesn’t have any real impact on the story. I stumbled upon the book when I stumbled across information about the anniversary. I’m thinking now I can share the story with my family.

Brilliant book and Brilliant narration

I enjoyed this book. Well written content and moving. The narration was first class. Great job