The Company We Keep

January 17, 2011
Robert and Dayna Baer's initial meeting was slightly unusual—both were on a covert mission in Sarajevo for the CIA. In this intermittently intriguing memoir, they describe their careers in "the Company," their romance, and the difficulty they have in establishing a balanced life outside the world of secret agents. Their travels take them to interesting places in interesting times—from Bosnia and Lebanon during civil wars, to Syria under the Assads, the mansions of sheiks, and the safe houses of terrorist groups. As the Baers drift away from family and see friends die, they learn the costs of covert life. Told in chapters that alternate between each partner's perspective, their story is best when discussing the minutiae of agency work. In understated prose, the couple effectively narrate the long bouts of tedium interspersed with moments of paranoia and fear that make up a CIA agent's life. On most assignments, they never learn if their efforts have any positive result—often, they don't even know their co-workers' real names. When the personal becomes the subject, however, the understatement feels inadequate. The Baers give us so little insight into their mutual attraction that it feels like another state secret. After they leave the agency, they seem adrift, and the book loses focuses as well.

January 1, 2011

Two CIA spooks form a romantic bond while globe-hopping between trouble spots.

In this unusual memoir, a husband and wife alternate chapters in describing their careers and connection. Robert Baer (The Devil We Know: Dealing with the New Iranian Superpower, 2009, etc.) is well-known to espionage fans as the basis for George Clooney's character in Syriana (2005). Dayna had a more secretive career. Initially, she performed background checks, but then, to her surprise, she was selected for the "shooter" course, which prepares the CIA's little-known cohort of Protective Agents. Despite this potentially thrilling detour, Dayna emphasizes that "what I end up doing has nothing to do with banging down doors and firefights...The moment a gun comes out, the mission is compromised." Meanwhile, Robert was posted to places like Tajikistan and Iraq, where he was "caught up in a plot by a handful of Iraqi generals to oust Saddam Hussein," which led to his near-prosecution by the FBI. Yet he was admittedly addicted to the political intrigues of the Middle East, even as his first marriage was disintegrating. The early chapters have propulsive momentum, and the authors give a good sense of the improvisational nature of the CIA in the 1990s, as clandestine veterans like Robert tried to tie up the messy loose ends of the Cold War. Both Baers write affectingly of their experiences in Sarajevo, "a city radiant with sorrow," where they met during a covert operation. Dayna's initial impressions of Robert were decidedly negative, and their romance took some time to blossom. Unfortunately, once they wind up together, the narrative pace slackens (the love affair is only vaguely depicted). Eventually, they decided to leave the agency (Robert permanently, Dayna on a leave of absence) in order to build a family and pursue an international adoption in Pakistan, where the CIA is not highly regarded. Despite some chilling moments involving a Taliban-aligned judge, the book meanders toward a conclusion of domestic contentment.

An intermittently engaging but not entirely satisfying tale of love and espionage.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

October 15, 2010

Longtime CIA operative Baer has several best sellers to his name, including See No Evil, the basis of Syriana; wife Dayna Baer was his CIA "shooter." Together, they found quitting "the Company" a big challenge. Yes, this is being pitched as the story of a real-life Mr. and Mrs. Smith and will likely have wide appeal.

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2010
When they met in Croatia in the early 1990s, he didnt know her real name. His alias was Howard, but he introduced himself as Bob. By that time, he was a seasoned CIA spook, with 15 years of international intrigue under his belt. Dayna, a relatively new field agent, was expecting that her new friend's veterans counsel would increase her quickly growing knowledge of the spy game; she wasnt expecting to fall in love. This fascinating memoir, written by Bob and Dayna in alternating chapters, traces their lives from before they metshe was carrying out security checks in L.A.; he was in Tajikistan, scoping out the former Soviet republicand follows them as they fell in love and began to build a life together. The book is full of insight into the world of international intelligence-gathering, and it contains some interesting surprises, too (at one point, after he resigned from the CIA, Bob came awfully close to taking a job in Kabul, working with the Taliban). An engaging narrative that should appeal to readers of spy-themed literature, factual or fictional. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Expect the publisher of this real-life spy and love story to take full advantage of the off-the-book-page human-interest angle. Comparisons to Mr. and Mrs. Smith and to Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson (and the recent biopic starring Sean Pean and Naomi Watts) wont hurt a bit.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)