Charles McCarry

Charles McCarry worked under deep cover as a CIA operations officer in Europe, Asia, and Africa. He is the author of thirteen critically acclaimed novels, including The Shanghai Factor and the classic spy thriller The Tears of Autumn, as well as numerous works of nonfiction.

Born in Massachusetts in 1930, McCarry began his writing career in the army, as a correspondent for Stars and Stripes. In the 1950s he served as a speechwriter for President Eisenhower before taking a post with the CIA, for whom he traveled the globe as a deep cover operative. He left the Agency in 1967, and set about converting his experiences into fiction.

His first novel, The Miernik Dossier (1971), introduced Paul Christopher, an American spy who struggles to balance his family life with his work. McCarry has continued writing about Christopher and his family for decades, producing ten novels in the series to date. A former editor-at-large for National Geographic, McCarry has written extensive non-fiction, essays and book reviews for various national publications.