Agencies

The author was the liason officer between the CIA and the military during the 50's and 60's. As an air force officer (Colonel), he was excempt from taking the CIA oath of secrecy and therefore was in a position to write the book in 1973. Apparently, shortly after the book's publication, almost all copies disappeared, probably bought up by the CIA. I was lucky to find a copy, published in Taiwan (Imperial Books & Records), in a used bookstore several years ago. The author details not only how the CIA conducts it's operations, but more importantly, how it manages to keep most or all of it's deeds from the eyes of congress, the population and even the President, if necessary. This is the best book I've read on the secret workings of the CIA and it's misdeeds during the 50' and early 60's. Not to belittle them, but The Secret Team is a far more informative book than Marchetti and Marks' The CIA And The Cult Of Intelligence. ....

Tony Vaux took a job that landed him in Kosovo, Ethiopia, Sudan, Mozambique, Afghanistan, Somalia, Bosnia, Azerbaijan and Rwanda. He worked for Oxfam, one of the world's premier development and relief organizations. In his work, he helped some of the poorest and hungriest people on this planet. He believed his work vital, but he observed and raised questions. He saw that what needed to be done frequently did not get done. Vaux and his associates, over stressed and under funded, decided sometimes who would live and who would not. Food and medical aid became entangled with politics and military action. Many of the people helped were less than innocent and sometimes guilty of horrific crimes. Helping the vulnerable, the most laudable of tasks, he found, can itself be corrupting.

What saves this book from becoming another "realist" tome about how awful and hopeless we humans are, is Vaux's willingness to probe his own psyche as well as others'. We're often able to make ourselves quite comfortable with the assessment that the human race is, as Vaux states, "a species of exceptional brutality and cruelty" (page iv). We object only when the accusation is made against ourselves. If our accuser presses on and places before us our own behavior, we may admit that, yes, sometimes we have, under certain circumstances, acted brutally. But, we hasten to explain: circumstances forced us to act so. We had our reasons. They made us do it. It's a cruel world. Vaux rejects this sophistry. He admits, "the possibility that I too could be a killer." (184) By "killer" he does not mean that he could serve in a UN peacekeeping force. He means he is fully capable of having been on the wrong side in Somalia, Bosnia or Rwanda.

From this non-privileged position, Vaux recounts debates among Oxfam staff about the identity of the organization: will it aim to promote development or be an emergency relief action? Should Oxfam deliver aid to a society that oppresses women to the point that women will not benefit from the aid - or should the organization try to save as many lives as possible, even if most of them will be male? Will accepting help from one side in a conflict - in this case trucks with armed soldiers to deliver food - compromise Oxfam's neutrality and its future effectiveness?

It is also from this position that he raises his most fundamental issue. Vaux points out that aid workers are in positions of power and that power corrupts. Aid organizations and workers develop interests, organizational and personal, in seeing that acts are done in a certain way and that they receive credit. "Saving lives," he writes, "can be intoxicating, especially when people are weak and vulnerable." (94) "The motive of pity so easily interacts with the motive for cruelty, and the desire to help so easily becomes the desire for power. .... Managers in the 'disaster relief industry', like those in charge of homes for children or the elderly, have the opportunity to abuse power because they are dealing with vulnerable people." (95) Pity becomes contempt.

But, Vaux argues, "Self-knowledge is the prerequisite of humanity." (72) "(T)o be happy requires a(n) ... abandonment of self - an ability to rejoice in other's success and in the formation of their altruism." (180) As another person has pointed out, aid may be something done to people. Better is to do something for people. But the best is to do something with people. Only the worker who has abandoned "self" is able to work with people.

This is a fantastic book first of all. It tells the story of Felix Rodriguez who despite being Cuban born fought for this country's ideals and in fact became an American citizen. I won't go into the whole book, I'll leave that to anyone who reads it, although it is a great book, and you will see that Rodriguez does not deserve the things that he has been unjustly accredited with. A must read for those interested in CIA or Special Ops hiistory!

If you only buy one book on the history of SOE in france then this should be the one. The job was to set Europe ablaze in the words of Churchill and they were a thorn in Germany's side. The operations and agents who carried them out are described in great detail including the nightmare of capture by the Gestapo and death in the camps or by firing squad. I have had a copy for years and value it greatly.

If you already do Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, this is a book to savor and study. The authors have succeeded at providing detailed and realistic guidance for making therapy a successful event in the lives of people who are tired of being told what to do by others. They talk from the trenches about helping people and agencies transform their work. I applaud their accomplishment and thank them for so concisely sharing their extraordinary experiences. It has fueled my excitement for the doing of therapy and for the power and potential of my clients.

I was impressed by the scholarship and analysis. Having met Jim Noren, I can attest to the depth behind the words. I can't recommend it enough.

This title was purchased as a referece work for an MSW thesis. The text is well laid out, covers issues relevant to both policy and practice, and provides an excellent description of the study on which it is based.

This is one of only six solid texts identifiable that dealt with non-traditional families as a resource for special needs children awaiting adoption.

An excellent resource, and worth the money (even if you're living on student loans).

This was a very interesting book for me to read because Edward Lee Howard's son lives by me and goes to school with my sister. I also think it was very informative on how he got away.

Nowhere else can you find out who the Assistant Executive Vice-President Creative Director New Business Contact might be. Tells you everything the agencies want you to know. From web sites and personal e-mail addresses to annual billings to specific advertiser accounts you'll find whatever you may need. A must for any professional or wannabe.

I wrote this book because so many people have called and emailed me asking me how I started my agency. I hope I have covered everything someone needs to know to start their own agency. Good luck!
Michelle