Listen free for 30 days

  • Fair Play

  • The Moral Dilemmas of Spying
  • By: James M. Olson
  • Narrated by: Joel Richards
  • Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (1 rating)

One credit a month, good for any title to download and keep.
Unlimited listening to the Plus Catalogue - thousands of select Audible Originals, podcasts and audiobooks.
Exclusive member-only deals.
No commitment - cancel anytime.
Fair Play cover art

Fair Play

By: James M. Olson
Narrated by: Joel Richards
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £25.69

Buy Now for £25.69

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

Revolutionary War officer Nathan Hale, one of America's first spies, said, "Any kind of service necessary to the public good becomes honorable by being necessary." A statue of Hale stands outside CIA headquarters, and the agency often cites his statement as one of its guiding principles. But who decides what is necessary for the public good, and is it really true that any kind of service is permissible for the public good?

These questions are at the heart of James M. Olson's book, Fair Play: The Moral Dilemmas of Spying. Olson, a veteran of the CIA's clandestine service, takes listeners inside the real world of intelligence to describe the difficult dilemmas that field officers face on an almost daily basis. Far from being a dry theoretical treatise, this fascinating book uses actual intelligence operations to illustrate how murky their moral choices can be. Listeners will be surprised to learn that the CIA provides very little guidance on what is, or is not, permissible.

Rather than empowering field officers, the author has found that this lack of guidelines actually hampers operations. Olson believes that US intelligence officers need clearer moral guidelines to make correct, quick decisions.

©2006 Potomac Books, Inc. (P)2018 Tantor

What listeners say about Fair Play

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

No Reviews are Available
Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for C
  • C
  • 05-04-19

overall best description boring

I didn't realize just how boring this book would be. made it through but quite boring.

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Jeremy
  • Jeremy
  • 18-12-18

A well researched and worth a listen

This is an interesting book that makes you think. It presents various ethical scenarios and gives multiple perspectives to the issues at hand. In some situations I found I was persuaded by the arguments presented. Production solid. Overall definitely worth a credit.

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Dave953
  • Dave953
  • 07-05-23

Great scenarios to get you thinking

A brilliant approach to tackling scenarios that can be faced. An interesting way to see how your own thoughts and perspectives align with others having diverse backgrounds and experiences.

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Amazon Customer
  • Amazon Customer
  • 31-10-21

Makes you think

The scenarios in this book were very interesting. They often put you in a difficult situation and makes you second guess what the right decision would be. Very fun book to listen to