Uddannelse af en spionjæger
James Jesus Angleton was born in Boise, Idaho, in 1917, grew up in Ohio, and moved to Italy with his family when he was 14. His father, a former cavalry officer who had served under General John G. Pershing in Mexico, sent his first-born son to Malvern, a prestigious British public school. In England, Angleton adopted the ways of a British upper-class schoolboy, which shaped his thinking and dictated his personal style throughout his life. He always played down the fact that his mother was Mexican and Roman Catholic, and that she had chosen his middle name (with the Spanish pronunciation) as an affirmation of her faith. Angleton seldom used his middle name.
In 1937, he returned to America and entered the freshman class at Yale. Tall, slender, and darkly handsome, he was often mistaken for a European, and his self-confidence and maturity impressed everyone who met him. He was not an outstanding student and received poor grades, but his passion was poetry. He served as editor of the Yale literary magazine, Rasende, der offentliggjorde værkerne fra sådanne berømte digtere som Ezra Pound og E.E. Cummings.
På college begyndte Angleton at lide af søvnløshed, et problem, der hjemsøgte ham hele sit liv. Han kunne ikke hvile, han ville ofte spille poker eller terninger, indtil solen steg op, og han kunne starte en anden dag.
En yngre James Jesus Angleton
Efter uddannelsen fra Yale blev han optaget i Harvard Law School, men tilbragte kun et år der, lige længe nok til retten Cicely andre , en 19-årig coed fra Vassar. De giftede sig i 1943, men med 2. verdenskrig, der rasede i Europa, blev Angleton udkastet til hæren kun uger efter ceremonien. Angletons far og en af hans Yale-professorer brugte deres indflydelse for at få ham en stilling hos Office of Strategic Services, forløberen for CIA, der arbejdede i den kryptisk navngivne X-2, OSS's Counterintelligence Unit. Hans træning til jobbet koncentrerede sig om måder at holde hemmeligheder i sikkerhed såvel som håndværket af modspionage, identificere og neutralisere dobbeltagenter, individer, der sværger deres troskab mod De Forenede Stater, når de faktisk arbejder i hemmelighed for fjenden.
Få dage før jul 1943 rejste korporal James Angleton til London, hvor han blev tildelt X-2s italienske enhed. På det tidspunkt var Cicely gravid med deres første barn.
