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A Thin Line Between Love and Hate

A Black Man's Journey Through Life and the CIA

By Darryl A. Lansey

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Overview

A Thin Line Between Love and Hate: A Black Man's Journey Through Life and the CIA, is Darryl A. Lansey's autobiographical memoir. The memoir details Darryl's journey from a childhood growing up in a working-class Black family in Baltimore, Maryland to the secretive halls of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for more than 30 years. Despite the personal hurdles Darryl faced at CIA due to systemic racism, he worked throughout his career to transform CIA's diversity and inclusion and leadership cultures for the better, so future generations of employees are able to thrive. 

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Description

Author James Baldwin once said, "A journey is called that because you cannot know what you will discover on the journey, what you will do, what you will find, or what you find will do to you." In A Thin Line Between Love and Hate: A Black Man's Journey Through Life and the CIA, Darryl A. Lansey takes readers on a journey from his childhood growing up in a working-class Black family in Baltimore, Maryland to the secretive halls of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). During his more than 30 years with CIA, Darryl traveled the world collecting and analyzing secret information in support of six presidents' administrations from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump. Darryl describes his tenure with CIA as a "strange love affair." He loved the Agency and the work of trying to keep the United States safe from its enemies. Yet, he also describes the mental and physical pain he endured as CIA's deeply rooted systemic racism and its white managers repeatedly thwarted his career aspirations.

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About The Author

Darryl A. Lansey was CIA's Director of Leadership Learning prior to his retirement in March 2018. He was responsible for creating and executing CIA's vision, guiding philosophy, and strategy for providing enterprise-level training for new supervisors to senior executives. Previous to Leadership Learning, he was the National Reconnaissance Office's Chief and Deputy Chief Learning Officer. During Darryl's CIA career, he served in four of five Directorates, including more than 20 years in the Directorate of Intelligence where he authored and managed analyses on an array of topics including: chemical and biological weapons proliferation, counternarcotics, counterterrorism, and the Balkans. Upon Darryl's retirement, CIA awarded him with its Career Commendation Medal, which was the last of more than 30 exceptional performance awards and citations that he received during his career. In retirement, Darryl is seeking mastery of his photography skills, which has been a hobby for more than 45 years.

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Book details

  • Genre:biography & autobiography
  • Sub-genre:Personal Memoirs
  • Language:English
  • Pages:328
  • Duration9 Hours 56 Minutes
  • eBook ISBN:9781098318888
  • Paperback ISBN:9781098318871
  • Audiobook ISBN:9798350933673

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Book Reviews

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Sesil
A Thin Line Between Love and Hate I purchased the audio book as well as the ebook version. It was a great listen as I travelled in my car in addition to listening in the house. It was very relatable if you are african american and have experienced and witnessed others that have encountered similar situations. I really enjoyed the author's telling his story and couldn't wait to get back to the book to continue his career at the CIA. Thanks for sharing you story. Read more
chasya
How One Black Man’s Journey in the CIA Holds a Mirror to America Brilliantly written, A Thin Line Between Love and Hate A Black Man’s Journey through Life in the CIA is a tour de force ! I strongly feel this book should become required reading in high schools, colleges and universities across America. Lansey begins by laying the contextual foundation of his life experience . The narrative continues to gain momentum and intensity propelling the reader forward into a masterfully articulated personal Journey of pain, growth, failure, success and deepened insights into human nature, The protagonist and reader emerge together profoundly changed by the resulting awareness, insight, knowledge and wisdom that follows. Darryl Lansey writes with compassion, humor, fairness and honesty. The power of this book to refute our nation’s denial, minimizing, and resistance to own its systemic racism both historically and in the present day lies in that the setting of Lansey’s story is the CIA - an indisputably all American institution. Lansey’s observations are nuanced and perceptive. He shows how racism is not exclusive to any one race and neither is virtue and integrity. I highly recommend this book for teens, young adults and adults alike. A Thin Line Between Love and Hate, A Black Man’s Journey through Life in the CIA by Darryl A Lansey has made a permanent impact on my perspective and my life.- Chasya Raher Read more