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Thinker, Sailor, Black Man, Spy

A Memoir

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Thinker, Sailor, Black Man, Spy

By: Malcolm Nance
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About this listen

New York Times bestselling author Malcolm Nance tells the swashbuckling story of his life as a modern-day spy.

For over thirty-five years, Malcolm Nance served his nation loyally, honorably, and in near-complete secrecy. As a spy, he lived the values he learned growing up in a family whose military service stretched back to the Civil War, becoming a multilingual Middle East counterterrorism intelligence expert in the US Navy.

Thinker, Sailor, Black Man, Spy follows Nance’s action-filled trajectory through international conflicts. From skyjackings and genocide to wars in Kuwait, Iran, Iraq, Libya and Bosnia, Nance provided some of the most critical intelligence that safeguarded the lives of the American people. Throughout his career, the tools of the espionage war at the NSA changed dramatically and Nance was adept at exploiting these advanced electronic capabilities. He helped develop training for US forces to survive captivity and torture by al-Qaeda/ISIS terrorists and became noteworthy for testifying against its abuse by the CIA. When the full-scale invasion of the Ukraine began, he joined the Ukrainian Army’s International Legion to defend their fledgling democracy.

Nance’s stellar career offers a compelling argument for the value of a culturally diverse espionage force. Both a behind the scenes look at America’s Signals Intelligence spy world and an eye-opening treatise on the clash between professionalism, meritocracy and racism, Thinker, Sailor, Black Man, Spy could not be more timely.

Critic Reviews

Praise for They Want to Kill Americans

“Nance is one of the great unsung national security geniuses of the modern era." —Rachel Maddow

“We must heed the warnings of the risks to our beloved system of government…. To that end, we can have no better Paul Revere than Malcolm Nance." —Rob Reiner

“A stark warning to be taken seriously." —Kirkus

“A frightening and provocative thought experiment." —PW

“A clarion call from a true patriot to save our democracy from the Trump insurgency before its too late." —Stephanie Miller

"There are great writers and there are those who have lived the words on the page; Malcolm Nance is both. He pulls no punches.” —Chip Franklin, Host, KGO Radio, San Francisco

"Most national security analysts break down what you're seeing. Nance breaks down what's yet to be seen…. A voice you need to hear.” —Paul Reickoff, President and Founder, Righteous Media

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