Spy Stories : Inside the Secret World of the RAW and the I.S.I.
- Downloads：9537
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-10-02 06:51:16
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Adrian Levy
- ISBN：9391165141
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
From 9/11 to 26/11， Burhan Wani to Kulbhushan Jadhav – the India–Pakistan relationship told from the perspective of the R。A。W。 and the I。S。I。 With unprecedented access to the R。A。W。 and the I。S。I。， the world’s most inscrutable spy agencies， Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark describe the workings of bitter rivals， mapping their complicated history from the 1960s to the present day。 From the Parliament attacks to Pulwama， 9/11 to Osama bin Laden’s assassination， the rise of terror’s shadow armies to the fall of Kulbhushan Jadhav， here are some of the key events that have shaped the region， told from the split viewpoints of duelling enemies。 Levy and Scott-Clark also uncover a darker seam – of the destructive impact of C。I。A。 interference， and how the I。S。I。 fought for its life against dark forces it once funded， while the R。A。W。 created ghost enemies to strengthen its hand。 Revelatory and unputdownable， Spy Stories clears the fog to reveal the spies and their assets， as you have never seen them before。
Reviews
Abhishek Rao
，
Read 1/3。 Was initially exciting。 But got boring after that。
Vikram Ketkar
，
Interesting。 Though seems to be lot more of the ISI than RAW。 Maybe since they are more active and devious。 Kind of stops abruptly。 But I guess the game continues and two。poor countries continue s to suffer。
Yoginder Agarwal
，
An absolute page turner of a book！ I had read 'Siege' by them a long time back。 I have missed their other books。 But this book， their latest has cemented their position as the best investigative writers in recent times。 They have put their lives at stake in doing the research for this book。 Not only in Pakistan， but they have dredged out secrets on the Indian side also， which is unbelievable。 Pure class！ The 'Burhan Wani'， Commander Jadhav chapters are the best。 They have destroyed mainstream be An absolute page turner of a book！ I had read 'Siege' by them a long time back。 I have missed their other books。 But this book， their latest has cemented their position as the best investigative writers in recent times。 They have put their lives at stake in doing the research for this book。 Not only in Pakistan， but they have dredged out secrets on the Indian side also， which is unbelievable。 Pure class！ The 'Burhan Wani'， Commander Jadhav chapters are the best。 They have destroyed mainstream beliefs and raised so many questions。 No wonder the spy agencies on both sides are revered and hated at the same time by the opposing powers。 For those of us who want pure， unadulterated truth behind popular episodes in the past some decades， this is the book。 A must read for those who believe that dark sub-continental back room affairs are not only by the CIA but by these inseparable， intertwined partners - ISI and RAW。 。。。more
Vikas Anand
，
Terrible effort from the authors who have earlier given wonderful books。 Many issues are left hanging。 Most of the material is from published media reports。 Subtle attempt to put Pakistan on a pedestal。 Sad to see such biased and at times factually inaccurate narrative by the authors
Louis Olakkengal
，
Thou the book is quite detailed， I think in the Pulmawa attach the vehicle used was a Maruti， not a Scorpio as said in the book。It was quite a read about the games the spies play。
Pranav
，
An above average read。 I applaud the research capabilities of the writer。 There are some factual inaccuracies related to the Pulwama Terrorist attack。
Sapthagiri
，
Thrillingly DangerousAuthors have done an extensive research regarding the operations of RAW & ISI。Just read to know the depth of the complications involved。
Shikhar Amar
，
“R。A。W。’s great achievement is to endure brickbats for its presumed pacifism and inactivity when it is frantically sculpting India’s image as a benign state。 Its second achievement is spilling blood invisibly。 To explain the second would be to undermine the first。”The book clearly tries to whitewash ISI and project India's RAW as a bloodthirsty intelligence agency。 The major flaw of this book is that it is quick to point flaws with the Indian political and security settings but not that of Pakis “R。A。W。’s great achievement is to endure brickbats for its presumed pacifism and inactivity when it is frantically sculpting India’s image as a benign state。 Its second achievement is spilling blood invisibly。 To explain the second would be to undermine the first。”The book clearly tries to whitewash ISI and project India's RAW as a bloodthirsty intelligence agency。 The major flaw of this book is that it is quick to point flaws with the Indian political and security settings but not that of Pakistan。 If we try to leave those biases aside then this book does present a somewhat satisfying picture of the conflict between intelligence agencies of India and Pakistan。 It skims through 50 years of conflict， and focuses on the current conflicts in major parts。Anyone interested to know about the permanent war in the Indian subcontinent would not be dissatisfied。 。。。more
Karthik S
，
Please give a pass，not worth itIt was not engaging read at all，very disappointed。Was expecting cracker of book given the reputation of writers but proved just otherwise。
Siddharth Raman
，
Fast paced narrative that keeps you engrossed。 The access they have got to former agents from both ISI and RAW provide interesting nuggets and insights on how these two organisations operate。 Don’t want to provide any spoilers！
Varunkumar
，
This book is more about ISI and less about RAW。 Considering the wider exposure that ISI has received in America's war on terror， in the manner of funds， intelligence resources and activities， has definitely produced more stories - both good and bad。 RAW in this book comes across as a poorer and less mature cousin which has only recently started punching， but still below India's weight。 Nevertheless， this is an important source to get a little look inside the shaded world in which both these agen This book is more about ISI and less about RAW。 Considering the wider exposure that ISI has received in America's war on terror， in the manner of funds， intelligence resources and activities， has definitely produced more stories - both good and bad。 RAW in this book comes across as a poorer and less mature cousin which has only recently started punching， but still below India's weight。 Nevertheless， this is an important source to get a little look inside the shaded world in which both these agencies operate 。。。more
Vineeth Nair
，
Typical Adrian Levy - Cathy Scott work。 Reveals a lot on the way RAW & ISI function。 Revelations on Pulwama blasts are the same as those covered in Rahul Pandita's latest。 Overall a good read。 Typical Adrian Levy - Cathy Scott work。 Reveals a lot on the way RAW & ISI function。 Revelations on Pulwama blasts are the same as those covered in Rahul Pandita's latest。 Overall a good read。 。。。more
Sanjay Banerjee
，
The authors - known for their earlier research and work on Indo-Pak rivalry and ‘goings on’ in places like Kashmir， Afghanistan and other places in the sub-continent - have conducted a fairly diligent study after contacting and interviewing various echelons of the RAW， ISI and security establishments of both countries and CIA。 They describe the workings of the bitter rivals， mapping their complicated history from the 60’s to the present day （Parliament attacks， Pulwama， capture of Kulbhushan Jad The authors - known for their earlier research and work on Indo-Pak rivalry and ‘goings on’ in places like Kashmir， Afghanistan and other places in the sub-continent - have conducted a fairly diligent study after contacting and interviewing various echelons of the RAW， ISI and security establishments of both countries and CIA。 They describe the workings of the bitter rivals， mapping their complicated history from the 60’s to the present day （Parliament attacks， Pulwama， capture of Kulbhushan Jadhav etc）。 They uncover a darker seam - of the destructive impact of CIA interference， how the ISI fought for its life against the forces it had earlier funded， how RAW created ghost enemies to strengthen its hand。Finally， as an Indian， I would agree with the observation of a veteran IB officer who was quoted as follows :“Make no mistake， there is an enemy outside India。 Pakistan will always be there。 But like Pakistan， we in India now have to tackle the hyper-religious， para-nationalists who are trying to dismantle the secular state。”Sad but true！ 。。。more
AG Chandrsekar
，
Pakistan’s ISI sponsored and funded book written to spread stories of ISI。 Not as balanced third party view book。 Don’t waste your money and timeI am really regret for buying and reading this book
Arvind Radhakrishnan
，
This is a very interesting and enjoyable book。 The writers have put in decades of painstaking research。They have had very extensive discussions with senior officials from both ISI and R&AW，as well as numerous others including policy makers，army officers， intel assets，sources，and， renegades。It reveals a lot about the 'Deep State' in both India and Pakistan。This book deserves far more media attention than what it's presently getting and its startling content needs to be widely discussed in the pub This is a very interesting and enjoyable book。 The writers have put in decades of painstaking research。They have had very extensive discussions with senior officials from both ISI and R&AW，as well as numerous others including policy makers，army officers， intel assets，sources，and， renegades。It reveals a lot about the 'Deep State' in both India and Pakistan。This book deserves far more media attention than what it's presently getting and its startling content needs to be widely discussed in the public sphere。 。。。more
Dhaval Pandya
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 While the book covers lots of stuff， it's not as greatly engaging as others from the authors。 One can't help but notice the bias the authors have against BJP government。 "Saffron terror" stuff comes across as more of a conjecture and agenda driven by IB officers in service in deference to their certain political masters， and those officers are considered to be truthful about what they're saying rather conveniently。 India's eroding "secular" fabric is another Western myopic view of India and tota While the book covers lots of stuff， it's not as greatly engaging as others from the authors。 One can't help but notice the bias the authors have against BJP government。 "Saffron terror" stuff comes across as more of a conjecture and agenda driven by IB officers in service in deference to their certain political masters， and those officers are considered to be truthful about what they're saying rather conveniently。 India's eroding "secular" fabric is another Western myopic view of India and totally ignoring India's civilisational history。 Not a vary bad book， but I wouldn't really recommend it。 。。。more
Ruchik
，
Uneven， inconsistent writing， pro Pakistan bias :the book tries to justify terrorism at several places makes it an average read。 Read only if you are a left liberal。
Bhanuj Kappal
，
Excellent account of two secret services at war It's a pretty good look at the histories of two agencies that have been at war since their inception。 An enjoyable read， though it perhaps doesn't go as deeply as I would have preferred （no doubt due to the lack of declassified documents and access issues） and raises quite a few questions that are left unsatisfactorily answered。 Excellent account of two secret services at war It's a pretty good look at the histories of two agencies that have been at war since their inception。 An enjoyable read， though it perhaps doesn't go as deeply as I would have preferred （no doubt due to the lack of declassified documents and access issues） and raises quite a few questions that are left unsatisfactorily answered。 。。。more
SAPTARSHI BHOWMICK
，