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  • Gray Work

  • Confessions of an American Paramilitary Spy
  • By: Jamie Smith
  • Narrated by: Jeff Gurner
  • Length: 15 hrs and 17 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (108 ratings)

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Gray Work

By: Jamie Smith
Narrated by: Jeff Gurner
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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

What listeners say about Gray Work

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Not worth it even if free.

This would of been very difficult to write as he would only be able to type with one hand as the other was very busy down his pants. Very hard to listen to as any chance of a story pales in comparison to this guy talking himself up so high i though it was written by Steven Segal.

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5 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Disappointed

Got halfway through this book and thought this is a lot of information that you normally wouldn't expect someone who has done this type of work to be writing about, so I decided to google the author.
I would recommend anyone looking at reading this book to do the same before purchasing.
I think this book would be better to be marketed in the fantasy section.

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4 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

The mans a dreamer!!!

Got the book thinking it would be interesting hearing from a real life operator, the story is great but very dissatisfied that he is a Walter Mitty and no one believes any of it. It’s spoiled a good book for me.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

great story and narrator

really interesting story. was more gritty and realistic than many others in the genere. no posturing or muscle flexing to look like a bigger badder tough guy.

I'll admit that Im an atheist so the few parts where he mentions bible things to use chapters as examples and says some sh+t about Jesus. it was pretty infrequent which was good. but when I did hear it I would feel rather irritated listening to someone spout fairytales after just surving violent war zones.
but it was infrequent enough that even a very unforgiving atheist such as myself was able to ignore the such passages.

other than that it was a great book and I would recommend it to anyone who loves non-fiction soldiers in action, gritty and bloody type books.
I should note that he is a private military and espionage style contractor.

I'm glad I had the opportunity to listen to it and once again id like to give a shout out to the narrator Jeff Gurner for a job well done. he's no David Attenborough ;-) but I never once got sick of his voice. great job all around.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great Title!

Loved listening to this audiobook from the moment it started as it draws you in and holds your attention, I highly recommend it!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting book.

I found a few of the things in this book a bit questionable but i have say that if it's not all true as claimed by some then the writer certainly has a vivid imagination.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Narrator was ok... except for

Audible intake of breath before every... single...sentence.. was pretty distracting. Other than thay the author was ok. Story was decent too. Jumped all over the place though.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Interestingly drawn-out

Not a bad book, good insight into this line of work. The book is a bit long and can be slow at times. Good listen though, the narrating is great!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

An engaging and fascinating insight

This is the memoir of a major player in the defence and security contractor business (what once world have been termed mercenaries) over the past 20 years. It provides a fascinating glimpse into the shadowy and ambiguous world of contemporary geopolitical paramilitary operations and "gray work". This guy is ideologically an unreserved 'America first' type, but that comes with the terrain. Apart from that, the author's authorial voice strays from time to time from that of neutral narrator to letting his domestic political views come through strongly; but mostly this book provides a riveting first person account of on-the-ground operations as exciting as any novel or movie.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A greyt read

But seriously, good stuff. Great stories and great direction. Well written and informative but friendly

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