Blowing My Cover: My Life as a CIA Spy and Other Misadventures -- Lindsay Moran

You know how Full Metal Jacket is kind of two movies stuck together--the boot camp part and the Vietnam part, with the boot camp half being (by far) the superior?  That's what this book was like.  I loved the first half--the part about getting into, and then training for, the CIA:

After the physical exam, we took a series of multiple-choice tests.  One particularly asinine test contained in excess of two thousand questions.  There were bizarre true/false statements like "I would rather be a florist than a firefighter," and confusingly worded ones such as "I rarely like to torture small animals." 

I found the second part of the book--the part where she was actually a spy--less interesting.  But because of the strength of the first half, ultimately, I thought that the book was worth it. 

The major things I took away from it? 

One:

Contrary to popular jargon, a CIA agent is not the actual employee of the CIA but rather the hapless schlub who has been recruited by a CIA case officer to spy on behalf of the United States, usually in exchange for money.  The whole process of spotting, assessing, developing, and enlisting foreign agents is called, "The Recruitment Cycle."

Two:

They spend a CRAPLOAD of money.  Especially during the wining-and-dining portion of training (obviously, it doesn't add up to gazillions of dollars, but it still seems excessive).

Three:

I can't really think of another one, other than that there were WAY too many typos in this book.

Oh, and in case anyone was worried:

The material in this book has been reviewed and approved by the CIA.  That review neither constitutes CIA authentication of information nor implies CIA endorsement of the author's views.