The explosive New York Times bestseller!
On September 11, 2001, Doug Laux was a freshman in college, on the path to becoming a doctor. But with the fall of the Twin Towers came a turning point in his life. After graduating he joined the Central Intelligence Agency, determined to get himself to Afghanistan and into the center of the action. Through persistence and hard work he was fast-tracked to a clandestine operations position overseas. Dropped into a remote region of Afghanistan, he received his baptism by fire. Frustrated by bureaucratic red tape, a widespread lack of knowledge of the local customs and culture and an attitude of complacency that hindered his ability to combat the local Taliban, Doug confounded his peers by dressing like a native and mastering the local dialect, making contact and building sources within several deadly terrorist networks. His new approach resulted in unprecedented successes, including uncovering the largest IED network in the world, responsible for killing hundreds of US soldiers. Meanwhile, Doug had to keep up false pretenses with his family, girlfriend and friends--nobody could know what he did for a living--and deal with the emotional turbulence of constantly living a lie. His double life was building to an explosive resolution, with repercussions that would have far reaching consequences.
Douglas Laux is a former case officer for the Central Intelligence Agency, having served undercover in the Middle East and Afghanistan for seven years. Upon leaving the CIA, Doug wrote a New York Times Bestselling memoir, Left of Boom, which details his experiences serving amidst the Global War on Terror. Doug is fluent in Pashto and also speaks Japanese and Spanish. Douglas attended Indiana University, earning a bachelor's degree in political science and East Asian studies with a focus on the Japanese language.
He joined the CIA after a short stint working for the shipping company DHL following his graduation from IU. Doug was an officer in the Near East Division and served multiple tours in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Upon his departure from the CIA, he served with Joint Special Operations Command until 2016. In April 2016, Douglas published a New York Times Bestselling memoir, Left of Boom: How A Young CIA Case Officer Penetrated the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
A year later, he appeared in six episodes of the Discovery Channel series Finding Escobar's Millions, which debuted on November 3, 2017. He is also credited as the executive producer and creator of the series. In September 2017, his photography was featured in a Playboy Magazine article entitled, "In The Path of the Totality: Notes of a Veteran Chasing the Eclipse." Debuting on January 20, 2020, he appeared in eight episodes of the Bravo Channel series Spy Games. Doug's role was as an "Assessor" responsible for building challenges for contestants and then critiquing them on their performance.
In the fall of 2019, Douglas founded the non-profit organization CVLSRVNT to better support active duty veterans deployed overseas. He has been publicly recognized for his heroism and dedication to the United States by President Barrack Obama, President Joe Biden, Senator Sherrod Brown, Senator Rick Scott, Representative Warren Davidson, Representative Jim Banks, Representative Debbie
