Agent Without a Name, A True Story of an Exceptional Life as a Private Security Consultant and Undercover Agent, offers readers a captivating glimpse into your extraordinary life as a lifelong spy and double agent and the lessons you learned over the years. What inspired you to share your story?

I know that not many people are afforded the opportunity to do what I’ve done in my life for so many different countries over a relatively long period of time. As long as I’ve been working with intelligence, I’ve never met anyone else quite like me: a “freelance” agent for five, six, (or more) countries simultaneously. I humbly believe that I have some unique insights into some of the major challenges of our times, such as terrorism, from an international perspective. My hope is that people can learn from my experiences and hard-earned lessons and also enjoy a surprising, true-life story about espionage.

What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?

There are a few important ideas that I hope readers take away from the book. I’ll name a few.

First, the fight against terrorism cannot be constrained by borders. Terrorists don’t respect borders, and to win against them, there needs to be close cooperation between law enforcement, military, and intelligence between allies.

Second, the more the media covers terrorist acts, the more likely copycat crimes will occur. The public needs to be informed about terrorism, but the coverage should not glorify the terrorists, which it sometimes seems to do.

Third, the “West,” or the free world, needs to stick together to defend our freedoms and our security.

Fourth, I’m fluent in four and a half languages – Italian, French, German, English, and Russian, my mother tongue, is the half, I joke (because I rarely use it anymore). I believe language is important and should be taught from a young age.

Fifth, I hope the book is a message to people in the future who find themselves in similar situations.

And finally, there’s no better time to act to fix a problem than right now!

How did you balance the need to be honest and authentic with the need to protect your privacy and that of others in your memoir?

First, let me say that the book is all truthful. While we’ve changed the names of (most) people and organizations, the story is faithful to reality. While this made writing the book a bit more challenging, it does not detract from the reader’s ability to follow the story. Changing someone’s name doesn’t alter the impact or authenticity. What’s important is how I worked with my colleagues, how they collaborated with me, how we trusted each other, and how we all reacted to the circumstances that we found ourselves in – many unpredictable and potentially deadly. I believe that the themes and lessons should resonate just as well 100 years from now because they’re stories about real people.

What is one thing that people point out after reading your book that surprises you?

I’ve known many of my colleagues for nearly 50 years. I consider some of them to be my closest friends. But part of the nature of this business (intelligence and espionage) is that you know when you shouldn’t ask too many questions. So many of my friends and colleagues did not know my full life story and how I got started in this business. After my friends finished the book, many of them said, “Now I know who you are, really!” For most people, it probably seems funny that people you’ve known for five decades would have this reaction. However, when your “business” is secrecy, maybe it shouldn’t be so surprising!

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“You never really retire from a life of counterterrorism, international counterfeit rings, and haute cuisine,” says Serge Smith.

Born in Italy shortly before the start of WW2 to a Russian-Jewish mother, Serge spoke Russian at home, Italia on the streets, and learned German at school. Later, he learned French and English. That set him up for a double life: as a private security consultant and an intelligence asset for select countries around the world.From humble beginnings as a Russian émigré, Serge went from working in secure computer centers to living a high life of danger and intrigue as an undercover agent. Working with Italian, German, British, and other intelligence services in counterterrorism and breaking counterfeit rings across the globe, he became “the guy to call” whenever something needed fixing. In a time when terrorism and organized crime dominated the headlines, Serge forged a life full of sting operations, travel, and fast cars.Agent Without a Name chronicles the life of an international man of mystery. Full of historical intrigue, breakthrough business deals, high-stakes counterterrorism, and international crime-busting during the Cold war era, this memoir, coauthored by William Michael, is Serge Smith’s true life story.

Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2024/09/29/the-fight-against-terrorism/