Openculture iconOpencultureSep 28, 2026

Read the CIA’s Manual of Trickery and Deception, Written by a Professional Stage Magician

The idea of a youngster vacillating between whether to become a magician or join the Central Intelligence Agency may sound implausible, but those two working environments have deeper commonalities than it would seem. So, in any case, believes John McLaughlin, whose more than 30 years at the CIA included periods as its deputy director and […]

Read the CIA’s Manual of Trickery and Deception, Written by a Professional Stage Magician

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The idea of a youngster vacillating between whether to become a magician or join the Central Intelligence Agency may sound implausible, but those two working environments have deeper commonalities than it...

So, in any case, believes John McLaughlin, whose more than 30 years at the CIA included periods as its deputy director and […]

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The idea of a youngster vacillating between whether to become a magician or join the Central Intelligence Agency may sound implausible, but those two working environments have deeper commonalities than it would seem. So, in any case, believes John McLaughlin, whose more than 30 years at the CIA included periods as its deputy director and […]

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