Entry 103 · Book chapter 104

October 6 1944

Back in Naples, Lewis finds the section overworked, understaffed, and increasingly worn down by illness after months of dispersal. He reflects that the strange fascination of the intelligence work itself — a kind of legalised eavesdropping on humanity — is what keeps him working dangerously long hours despite the toll.

Reflections

The addictive pull of intelligence work

Lewis attributes his declining health partly to overwork, describing the strange excitement of 'legalised eavesdropping on humanity' as a fascination that keeps him working up to fifteen-hour days — to the point of falling asleep at the wheel on three recent occasions.

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