The 19 Rules of Jason Bourne

In Robert Ludlum's Bourne series, we learn some of Jason Bourne's tradecraft rules. "Tradecraft" is the favored term over the older term "spycraft".


For your consideration, some rules/aspects of tradecraft can be used for the common man's self-defense. After all, a spy/secret agent, like the samurai of old, live with the possibility of death daily. They needed some rules of thumb for their survival.

Hope these help!

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1. You are not helpless. You will find your way. (The Bourne Identity pg 43, 88)
2. Instinct. Follow your instincts, reasonably, of course. (The Bourne Identity pg 88)
3. Don’t crucify yourself. (The Bourne Identity pg 43)
4. Nothing can be disregarded. (The Bourne Identity pg 123)
5. To blend in, change your appearance, your hair your face.
6. Read the newspapers every day. (The Bourne Identity pg 174)
7. Stay controlled. (The Bourne Identity pg 289)
8. The success of any trap lies in its fundamental simplicity. The reverse trap by the nature of its single complication must be swift and simpler still. (The Bourne Identity pg 470)
9. Use an advantage given to you. (The Bourne Supremacy pg 84)
10. Do the unexpected. Confuse the enemy, throw him off balance. (The Bourne Supremacy pg 166)
11. Don’t run. Running identifies you as a target.
12. Opportunities will present themselves. Recognize them, act on them. (The Bourne Supremacy pg 390)
13. Don’t make your moves when you’re tired or exhausted. Rest is a weapon. Use it. Don’t forget it. (The Bourne Supremacy pg 481)
14. Work on the visual. It’s more effective than anything else. People will draw the conclusions you want on the basis of what they see far more than from the most convincing lies you can tell them.(The Bourne Supremacy pg 175)
15. Study everything. You’ll find something you can use. (The Bourne Supremacy pg 501)
16. The cleanest escape is one done in stages, using whatever confusion there is. (The Bourne Supremacy pg 179)
17. Establish a benign contact as soon as you can. Especially in an unfamiliar face where there could be hostility. The contact could give you the opportunity or the time you need. (The Bourne Supremacy pg 222)
18. Avoid elevators whenever you can. They’re traps. (The Bourne Supremacy pg 270)
19. Your first reflections are the best, the most accurate, because the impressions are stored in your head, like the information in a data bank. That’s what your head is. (The Bourne Supremacy pg 270)

Deepest gratitude to Twist for compiling this list. I took the liberty to add page references where I could find them. Only missing 2 :(