The Spook Who Sat by the Door, Second Edition

By Sam Greenlee and Natiki Hope Pressley

A classic in the black literary tradition, The Spook Who Sat by the Door is both a comment on the civil rights problems in the United States in the late 1960s and a serious attempt to focus on the issue of black militancy.

Dan Freeman, the "spook who sat by the door," is enlisted in the CIA's elitist espionage program. Upon mastering agency tactics, however, he drops out to train young Chicago blacks as "Freedom Fighters" in this explosive, award-winning novel.

As a story of one man's reaction to ruling-class hypocrisy, the book is autobiographical and personal. As a tale of a man's reaction to oppression, it is universal.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wayne State University Press
• Release date: Jun 28, 2022
• ISBN: 9780814349977

Book preview

Reviews for The Spook Who Sat by the Door, Second Edition

[magonistarevo-625111 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A blistering read. A black revolutionary joins the CIA and learns all about revolutions overseas, then quits and uses his knowledge to organize a street gang into a revolutionary cadre. When the Detroit ghetto rises up, the cadre attacks the National Guard, sends out organizers to other major cities to organize cadre there, and the Black revolution breaks out across the United States. Tragically, it is not a feminist book.

[vikkilaw · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I really wanted to like this book, but the writing style just made me cringe. The only well-written segment is the riot scene.