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The Scientist and the Spy

A True Story of China, the FBI, and Industrial Espionage

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The Scientist and the Spy

By: Mara Hvistendahl
Narrated by: James Lurie, Mara Hvistendahl
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About this listen

 A riveting true story of industrial espionage in which a Chinese-born scientist is pursued by the U.S. 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 herreporting 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 U.S. government. The Scientist and the Spy is both an important exploration of the issues at stake and a compelling, involving read. Espionage Freedom & Security International Politics & Government True Crime China War
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This book caught my imagination when purchased, yet when reading the thoroughness of seed plantation did not need to be more or less spoken for 6 hours before the book broke into life. I understand people need a basic knowledge and understanding of the subject to hand, but it felt as though it was a degree I was study for, yet not knowing what examination questions would be at the end so read and learnt anything and everything for a few “meaningful matters”. Last two hours very gripping intense and insightful in what racism still is in our world. The first 6 hours very disappointing with minimal information needed for the conclusion.

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A really interesting performance with the story and analysis were split between two narrators.

its about 2 worlds I knew very little about and helps to open your eyes especially around the thought of China stealing IP which you'd assume from the media is a huge problem but perhaps we need to think about this narrative a bit more

An interesting trip in two world i knew little of

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