Gray Work

Confessions of an American Paramilitary Spy

By: Jamie Smith

Narrated by: Jeff Gurner

Length: 15 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

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 Publishers

Best book to read before entering an Intel Job

If you want to get an idea of what it's like to own private intelligence and security company or become a paramilitary contractor, this book is the best one to read, in fact it might be one of the only books of its kind as the story of this man is a unique one!

Great book

The narrators long dragged breath was a little distracting otherwise great book. I’d recommend to friends.

Very Good and Interesting

As a retired Soldier, I enjoyed this, very interesting. I am very familiar with contractors supporting the DoD and this provides a behind the scenes look at what I already knew.

Fun story but...

...this will trip your BS meter quickly. Parts of it read more like an Ian Fleming or Tom Clancy book. Within 10 minutes I had paused the story and spent an hour googling the author. It was an interesting tale.

In depth look into a true working patriot

Really enjoyed the book, it was very thorough in his descriptions of all his endeavors from his youth to his time in the CIA and everything in between. He was very well accomplished in his life served for country and for employer. I enjoyed his in depth breakdown of his training and how he would use it throughout his life. Just really enjoyed it and was very informative and insightful.

Riveting

Revealing, insightful, witty at times yet chilling. The author is a good man. Great read.

Deceptive but Moderately Entertaining

The man reading this audio book is excellent. The author, on the other hand, is deceptive at best. There is a reason our wonderful country is hated, he is the reason. Claims to be a mult-millionaire.. .. I don't think so. He lost a law suit for swindling an elderly couple. He brags of ripping off 3rd world countries too. According to him, he trained the Army, Navy, Airforce and the Marines. Ultra right wing politics, you bet. I guess it's a good thing he is also minister who marries couples. Book is mildly entertaining. He should have just written it as fiction.

Let's start from the beginning

This is basically a collection of stories put together to make a book. Some stories are pretty good, others not so much. The time line jumps around which makes you feel like you're all over the place and would have been better if it was in chronological order. I felt as if some stories weren't complete and others were hard to follow when a chapter ended and the next started decades earlier. Some stories ended abruptly and we're never returned to. Overall, it had some good stories but would have felt complete if it started at the beginning.

If you don't mind a breathy narrator...

It's a good story, however, the narrator is very breathy. Hearing a loud inhale everytime he starts/ends a sentence was incredibly distracting.

phenomenal!

there's too much to say of how great this book is. educational, intriguing, attention grabbing, patriotic and action packed. one might even say motivating.