{"product_id":"spooked-book-barry-meier-9780062950680","title":"Spooked","description":"\u003cp\u003eA Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist's journey\u003cbr\u003e into a billon-dollar secret industry that is shaping our world - the\u003cbr\u003e booming business of private spying, operatives-for-hire retained by companies,\u003cbr\u003e political parties  and the powerful to dig\u003cbr\u003e up dirt on their enemies and, if need be, destroy them. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor decades, private eyes from Allan Pinkerton, who formed\u003cbr\u003e the first detective agency in the U.S., to Jules Kroll, who transformed the\u003cbr\u003e investigations business by giving it a corporate veneer, private spies were\u003cbr\u003e content to stand in the shadows. Now, that is all changing. High-profile stories\u003cbr\u003e grabbing recent headlines - the Steele Dossier, Black Cube, the Theranos\u003cbr\u003e scandal, Harvey Weinstein's attacks on his accusers -  all share a common thread, the involvement of private\u003cbr\u003e spies.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eToday, operatives-for-hire are influencing presidential\u003cbr\u003e elections, the news media, government policies and the fortunes of companies..\u003cbr\u003e They are also peering into our personal lives as never before, using off-the\u003cbr\u003e shelf technology to listen to our phone calls, monitor our emails, and decide\u003cbr\u003e what we see on social media. Private spying has never been cheaper and the\u003cbr\u003e business has never been more lucrative--just as its power has never been more\u003cbr\u003e pervasive.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eSpooked is a fast-paced, disturbing and, at times, hilarious\u003cbr\u003e tour through the shadowlands of private spying and its inhabitants, a grab-bag\u003cbr\u003e collection of ex-intelligence operatives, former journalists and lost souls. In\u003cbr\u003e this hidden world, information is currency, double-crosses are commonplace, and\u003cbr\u003e hacking can be standard procedure.  Drawing\u003cbr\u003e on his journalistic expertise and unique access to sources, Barry Meier uncovers\u003cbr\u003e the secrets private spies want to keep hidden.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49724952051985,"sku":"CIN0062950681VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50128368173329,"sku":"CIN0062950681G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53112363778321,"sku":"GOR014747967","price":19.28,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0062950681.jpg?v=1786109345","url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/products\/spooked-book-barry-meier-9780062950680","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}