Where can I learn about CIA safe houses?

May 15, 2013 1:02 PM

I'm interested in writing something about CIA safe houses and need to do some research. Are there any good books/docs/etc that detail how these safe houses worked and specifically about what it meant to be a CIA agent overseas? Thanks!
posted by You Guys Like 2 Party? to Society & Culture (7 answers total)

You don't specify if you want fiction or non-fiction. John Le Carre is the spymaster, and his fiction is based on two decades with both MI5 and MI6. Smiley's People deals with safe houses and The Honourable Schoolboy deals with foreign stations.

Also, why would you say "worked"? Are you under the impression safe houses are no longed in use for some reason?
posted by DarlingBri at 1:27 PM on May 15, 2013

Haha, I'm not so naive. I didn't mean to choose that word. Preferably, I'd like non-fiction stuff but fiction stuff is good too. Thank you!
posted by You Guys Like 2 Party? at 2:39 PM on May 15, 2013

I don't know about this specifically, but I know the first place I'd go to look is the International Spy Museum. If you happen to be in the DC area, a trip down there might be a good idea. Even if you aren't, they have lots of digital information on their website, including a list of recommended reading on various topics and an excellent podcast. There is some information at least similar to what you are looking for in the episodes that involve people stationed in Berlin during the cold war (though it's only tangentially related). I don't remember any podcasts about safehouses specifically, but I may have just forgotten.

If you're serious about the research, you can almost certainly send an e-mail to someone on staff there to see if they can point you in the right direction.
posted by 0x006DB0 at 3:33 PM on May 15, 2013

I went there all the time when I lived in the area growing up (seriously, I loved that damn museum). But I'll go ahead and email them and check out the site. Thanks!
posted by You Guys Like 2 Party? at 4:23 PM on May 15, 2013

A note on jargon: an agent is someone who betrays his country. The guy who gets that guy to betray his country is a case officer. Unless you actually MEAN what it means to be the guy who betrays his country - then carry on :-)
posted by scolbath at 4:42 PM on May 15, 2013

The best fiction is by Charles McCarry, who was in the CIA, in deep cover.
posted by Ideefixe at 5:02 PM on May 15, 2013

Ideefixe, thanks for the recommendation. Charles McCarry is new to me. In a similar vein, an author that I am familiar with is David Ignatius. If you really want to know what life is like for a CIA officer, read his novels. A good one to start with is Agents of Innocence.
posted by seasparrow at 5:28 PM on May 15, 2013