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David Wise

Intelligence Expert

David Wise is America’s leading writer on intelligence and espionage. His latest book, Tiger Trap: America’s Secret Spy War with China (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011) was published in June 2011 and listed by Publishers Weekly as one of the Top Ten political books of spring 2011. His book, Spy: The Inside Story of How the FBI's Robert Hanssen Betrayed America (Random House, 2002) received high praise from reviewers as the best account of the case. An earlier book, Nightmover: How Aldrich Ames Sold the CIA to the KGB for $4.6 Million (HarperCollins, 1995) was cited by The New York Times Book Review as "the most authoritative" account and was excerpted in TIME magazine.

Mr. Wise is the coauthor of The Invisible Government, the book about the Central Intelligence Agency that became the number-one best seller in the United States and has been widely credited with bringing about a reappraisal of the role of the CIA in a democratic society. He is also the author of Cassidy's Run: The Secret Spy War Over Nerve Gas, (Random House 2000), Molehunt: The Secret Search for Traitors that Shattered the CIA (Random House, 1992), The Spy Who Got Away (Random House, l988), a book about the CIA's first defector to the Soviet Union, The American Police State (Random House, 1976), and The Politics of Lying (Random House, 1973). With Thomas B. Ross, he is coauthor of The Espionage Establishment (Random House, 1967), The Invisible Government (Random House, 1964), and The U-2 Affair (Random House, 1962). Mr. Wise is also the author of three espionage novels, The Samarkand Dimension (Doubleday, 1987), The Children's Game (St. Martin's/Marek, 1983), and Spectrum (Viking, 1981), all published to enthusiastic reviews.

TIGER TRAP: America’s Secret Spy War with China is the first comprehensive account of these wars.  Drawing on unparalleled insider sourcing, Wise discloses the extraordinary successes and penetrations of American national security achieved by the Chinese.  New revelations include how the CIA learned China had discovered the details of America’s most advanced nuclear warhead, and how Chinese intelligence managed to penetrate both the FBI and the CIA.  Wise also addresses concerns about China’s recent cyper-espionage attacks.