The Spook Who Sat by the Door (novel)
Cover of the 2002 Lushena Books edition
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| Author | Sam Greenlee |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | London, UK: Allison & Busby; New York: USA: Richard W. Baron Publishing Co. |
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Publication date
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March 1969 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 182 |
| OCLC | 491599651 |
| 813/.5/4 | |
| LC Class | PZ4.G8146 Sp PS3557.R396 |
| Followed by | Blues for an African Princess |
The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1969), by Sam Greenlee, is the story of Dan Freeman, the first Black CIA officer, and of the CIA's history of training persons and political groups who later used their specialized training in gathering intelligence, political subversion, and guerrilla warfare against the CIA.
The author, Sam Greenlee, was told by Aubrey Lewis (1935–2001), one of the first Black FBI agents recruited to the Bureau in 1962, that The Spook Who Sat by the Door was required reading at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Greenlee's spy novel first was published in March 1969; by Allison & Busby in the UK, and by the Richard W. Baron Publishing Company, in the U.S. It was also translated into several languages, including French, Italian, Dutch, Japanese, Swedish, and German. The cinematic version, The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973), was directed by Ivan Dixon, and the novel's author co-wrote the screenplay.
The Spook Who Sat by the Door occurs in the late 1960s and early 1970s, in the Chicago of Mayor Richard J. Daley. The story begins with Senator Hennington, a white, liberal senator who is facing a tight re-election vote, and so is looking for ways to win the Negro vote. His wife suggests that he accuse the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of racial discrimination, because the Agency has no black officers. Consequent to Senator Hennington's investigation, which assured a comfortable re-election, the CIA is required, for political reasons, to recruit Black Americans for training as case officers. Only Dan Freeman, secretly a black nationalist, successfully completes the training; of his recruitment class, he earned the highest grades and best marks for athleticism. Stationed in South Korea during the Korean War (1950–53), Freeman is an expert in hand-to-hand combat, especially judo; and played football at Michigan State University.
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