The Scientist and the Spy
A True Story of China, the FBI, and Industrial Espionage
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from Wish List failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
The Scientist and the Spy
Buy Now for $26.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
James Lurie
-
Mara Hvistendahl
-
By:
-
Mara Hvistendahl
About this listen
A riveting true story of industrial espionage in which a Chinese-born scientist is pursued by the US government for trying to steal trade secrets, by a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in nonfiction.
In September 2011, sheriff’s deputies in Iowa encountered three ethnic Chinese men near a field where a farmer was growing corn seed under contract with Monsanto. What began as a simple trespassing inquiry mushroomed into a two-year FBI operation in which investigators bugged the men’s rental cars, used a warrant intended for foreign terrorists and spies, and flew surveillance planes over corn country - all in the name of protecting trade secrets of corporate giants Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer. In The Scientist and the Spy, Hvistendahl gives a gripping account of this unusually far-reaching investigation, which pitted a veteran FBI special agent against Florida resident Robert Mo, who after his academic career foundered took a questionable job with the Chinese agricultural company DBN - and became a pawn in a global rivalry.
Industrial espionage by Chinese companies lies beneath the United States’ recent trade war with China, and it is one of the top counterintelligence targets of the FBI. But a decade of efforts to stem the problem have been largely ineffective. Through previously unreleased FBI files and her reporting from across the United States and China, Hvistendahl describes a long history of shoddy counterintelligence on China, much of it tinged with racism, and questions the role that corporate influence plays in trade secrets theft cases brought by the US government. The Scientist and the Spy is both an important exploration of the issues at stake and a compelling, involving listen.
©2020 Mara Hvistendahl (P)2020 Penguin AudioCritic Reviews
“[A] fascinating and well-researched study.... Those looking for insights into the current tensions with China will be rewarded.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)
“Not since Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest has a cornfield produced so much excitement.... Hvistendahl makes industrial espionage both understandable and riveting.... This is a complex story, but it's presented clearly and vividly, thanks to Hvistendahl’s background as a science journalist here and in China; to her exquisite pacing; and to her narrative skills... Hard to put down and harder to stop thinking about.” (Booklist, starred review)
"You will learn more about China from this thrilling, real-life drama than you will from a whole stack of China-related books by lesser talents. Mara Hvistendahl has given us an utterly original, provocative, and revealing tale of the relationship between China and the United States - and what a tale it is. Intrepid, humane, and always tough-minded, she writes with the lucid precision of a science writer and the flair of a seasoned spy novelist." (Evan Osnos, author of Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China)
What listeners say about The Scientist and the Spy
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance2 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- Adam Webb
- 05-05-2020
Quite disappointing. Anti USA sentiments
I heard the authors interview on the podcast “Longform” and was immediately interested in the subject of industrial espionage. There are two narrators to this book - James Laurie who is quite good and secondly the author herself. The author is not a good narrator. She can’t maintain the even and consistent voice required to narrate professionally. Fortunately Laurie narrates the bulk of the novel. When the author narrates she has this appalling tendency to end every sentence with an upward inflexion. Just because you wrote the book doesn’t mean you should narrate it. Listening to the author narrate is akin to being forced to listen to a flock of adolescent girls talk. Needless to say I skipped the chapters she narrates after a while.
As to content, the book starts strongly on the topic of industrial espionage and was quite to my liking. But after some time, the subject strays to prosecutorial over reach of the FBI and the US Federal Government. The book becomes somewhat dull at this point and frankly, laborious. As the book progresses, an anti-USA sentiment rears its head and there is even a bit of Trump bashing in there which really diminishes the book.
Invariably, the author almost takes the side of the primary offender and sympathises with him. At the end of the day, he committed a crime and was convicted. The author cannot help but import systemic racism as a topic.
The book touches upon some interesting topics such as the ethical dilemma created by the FBI prosecuting intellectual property theft crimes on behalf of Monsanto and Pioneer given that much is made of Chinese government support for Chinese companies. This is a really interesting theme that goes unexplored.
Ultimately the book fails to thoroughly cover industrial espionage. It is at times poorly narrated and is a missed opportunity on the part of the writer.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful