Survive Like a Spy: Real CIA Operatives Reveal How They Stay Safe in a Dangerous World and How You Can Too

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars | 940 ratings

Price: 13.78

Last update: 01-26-2025


About this item

Follow-up to the New York Times best seller Spy Secrets That Can Save Your Life - revealing high-stakes techniques and survival secrets from real intelligence officers in life-or-death situations around the world

Everyone loves a good spy story, but most of the ones we hear are fictional. That's because the most dangerous and important spycraft is done in secret, often without anyone even noticing.

In Survive Like a Spy, best-selling author and former CIA officer Jason Hanson takes the listener deep inside the world of espionage, revealing true stories and expert tactics from real agents engaged in life-threatening missions around the world.

With breathtaking accounts of spy missions in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Korea, Japan, and elsewhere, the book reveals how to:

  • Achieve mental sharpness to be ready for anything
  • Escape if taken hostage
  • Defend yourself if detailed by foreign cops
  • Set up a perfect safe site
  • Assume a fake identity
  • Master the "Weapons of Mass Influence" to recruit others to build rapport and make allies when you need them most

With real-life spy drama that sounds like a novel paired with expert practical techniques, Survive Like a Spy is the perfect listen for fans of espionage as well as anyone who wants to stay safe in a fast-changing world.


Top reviews from the United States

  • jeff mejia
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good to have....
    Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2018
    I have the first book that I found by accident at a bookstore about a year and a half ago. Since that time I've become a member of Hanson's website and I've learned a great deal about home security and self security. I have purchased many knick knacks through Hanson's store and other sites that send you items for sale. On the outside it doesn't look like I'm armed but through Hanson's teachings and my new found insight I'm actually armed with at least three weapons that can do a great deal of damage including death.
    This new book Survive Like a Spy is an extension of Hanson's teachings from his first book and website articles. There's not a whole lot of new info if you are a member but many good examples of how to do and put into practice maneuvers if need be.
    The point I got from the first book, the member's articles and this book isn't much different from good ole' common sense.
    1. When it comes to personal safety don't ever come off as being an easy target. Always be vigilant to your surroundings. Don't come off as looking scared or nervous. Many new self defense courses are teaching that now.
    2. When it comes to personal property do the obvious--don't be an easy target yet again. Light up areas that are dark. Clear unnecessary brush and branches that an intruder can use to their advantage. If you have the money invest in security cameras.
    3. Hanson is big on cyber crime. He explains where not to use wifi and what he uses to circumvent any body trying to hack into his system.
    4. How to legally hide money in the States.
    5. In this new book there are many examples of how to detect if you're being followed.on foot.
    6. This one I feel is much more important than what was presented in the book and I want to touch on it because I feel it is underrepresented and I'll give it away for free: A password or simple phrase that only you and your significant other know in case something should ever go awry in your lives. I first came upon this by the book by the Bounty Hunter Dog. He and his wife had this code and it came to fruition while Dog was in jail in Mexico. While journalists and the Feds were questioning Dog's wife trying to get info from her some of these individuals were telling her they had spoken to Dog. She couldn't get in contact with him while he was in his Mexican jail cell. So while these individuals were claiming that they were speaking to she blew them away by saying "ok, if what you're telling me is true then Dog would have given you the password so I would know you're telling me the truth". Of course these guys didn't have the password and this actually worked in the couples favor as Dog would make it of Mexico and alive. A password is a good thing to have. You never know.
    All in all this book along with the first book is actually good if you want to make life difficult for others to find you or your money.
  • Joel C.
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating and Useful Read
    Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2018
    This was a fascinating read. And, suspenseful, liking watching a spy movie as the participants describe the situations of their overseas assignments -- except that I had the knowledge that the story was told by real people whose lives truly depended -- in real-time -- on being prepared and not making a fatal mistake.

    In each chapter, Jason explains lessons to be learned for us civilians to prepare us for whatever may be coming in the uncertain future. The image of the CIA operator preparing to traverse and work in a (somewhat) hostile environment to accomplish their assigned mission really helps to understand and reinforce the material of the lessons. I gained a great appreciation of the skill and calmness of CIA operators ("spies"), who are not being played by actors on a movie set. I now have a true appreciation of what it takes to learn the environment I am in and preparing for how to traverse it safely in times of danger, including how to traverse the environment realistically while determining whether I am being followed.

    This book is a great value at a good price.
  • S. R. Southard
    4.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for everyone
    Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2022
    This book is so useful, it’s hard to think of someone who would not benefit from reading it. Perhaps real spies already know the information, or maybe isolated hermits don’t need it, but other than them, everyone should read it.

    Based on the title alone, you’d think it might be written for would-be spies, or authors writing spy novels (as I am), but it contains useful advice for daily living in a sometimes-dangerous world.

    The book’s pattern is to narrate an actual spy operation (with names and other details changed) and then provide take-aways of value in your everyday life, or in emergency situations you may encounter.

    The author provides good advice for general preparedness in terms of equipment to consider, places to store things, basics for protecting yourself and your family, ways to stay out of danger in the first place, computer and home security, travel safety, etc.

    My only quibble is a minor one. On a couple of occasions, it’s a bit of a stretch to go from the real-life spy mission he describes to the preparedness lesson you’re supposed to draw from that. Still, I get it—it’s hard to fit an actual example to every important point you try to make. Some are bound to be weaker connections than others.

    Still, it’s a marvelous book, full of actionable advice that just might save your life. So long as you’re not an actual spy or a hermit, I highly recommend you read it.
  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Learn to avoid trouble and gain peace of mind
    Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2018
    I read Jason Hanson's first book and was eager to see the follow-on book. I travel a lot on business. I go at least once a year internationally and about 20 times a year to domestic locations. I want to be mentally prepared just in case, one of these times, I face a threat and can react smartly. Even more importantly, the knowledge that Jason passes on can help me avoid confrontations and have situational awareness to keep me out of trouble. I'm especially interested in items like tactical pens (never heard of them til the first book) that I can travel with and will give me a fighting chance if I can't avoid a confrontation and have to fight my way out. I also try to involve my wife in some of the key lessons; she is not wired to be as tactically aware as I tend to be, but when we travel together I tell her we are doing X and not Y, because Y could put us in jeopardy, and here is Y. I also gave her a tactical pen to carry when running so she has a defensive tool.

    These books are well worth it to get you thinking and keep yourself out of trouble. Go ahead, read them!

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