In Obscura is a savory literary confection detailing its author's move from the light of day in publishing and journalism into the "dark" world of the CIA's clandestine analysis, counterterrorism, and black site work ... via Damascus, the Golan Heights, and Hollywood. A National Geographic fieldworker based in Los Angeles, Theroux doubled as a practitioner of a hidden profession-translation-and found kindred spirits in other hidden professionals, the stunt actors who double as movie stars. When he takes things a step further, into the entirely covert world of intelligence, he gives us a guided tour of the upside-down world where fame is anathema and career success is measured by deeper and darker assignments.
Inspired by Hollywood memoirs that explain the world of movie making in nuts-and-bolts fashion to cinema buffs, Theroux writes In Obscura as a nuts-and-bolts account of what CIA officers do all day-whether they report to work at Headquarters, the White House, or a war zone.