Agencies

I read this book back to back during the past few days and it was the first book by Douglas that I have read.

While fairly impressed by the author's unique way of approaching (both theatrically and practically) some of the most notorious crimes and criminals, I felt there were several things that need to be pointed out.

(1)Self-oriented. I would not terribly disagree if one said in this book, Mr. Douglas was too much ego-driven and self-glorifying. It seemed for all the cases covered, on the other end of the justice scale opposite to the criminals, there was only Mr. Douglas whose penetrating force in bringing them to justice, at least His theories of profiling were.

(2) Insufficient case files. Virtually all the cases covered in this book are outdated and hugely well known that publicized information of them means nothing much than a news report. To my recollection, the average age of these cases was somewhere between 15 to 20 years ago. In today's fast driven society with progressive crime diversifications, this is hardly enough for a starter's course.

(3)Basic. While retaining my tremendous respect to the author and his book, I felt the materials presented here were over simplified and sometimes far more insufficient than they should be. I acknowledge the argument that nothing sophisticated could be well expressed in just over 400 pages, but I do feel the limitation and insufficiency of the author as an interdisciplinary scholar a great number of times during the book.

(4)One View Street. Simply stated, the author did not elaborate any alternatives to his "profiling' in catching some of the most sophisticated criminals, despite the importance of these alternatives in both the theory and the field. I was somewhat even offended when Mr. Douglas devoted only one and a half pages to the JFK Assassination, determining, based on the "physical and forensic" evidence, that President Kennedy was assassinated by Oswald and Oswald alone. He declared him to be just another "paranoid loser" who happened to be able to murder the president, how convenient! Interestingly, the historical and political aspects, which are in fact the very foundation of this heinous crime, did not even come into subject! Despite of the fact that Mr. Douglas was still a very young man and certainly an outsider of the FBI at the time, he implied to blame, more or less scornfully, a paranoid public in believing a "conspiracy theory", which the government bureaucracy could and would, in no way to hold up. In a landmark effort, the History Channel presented its most mesmerizing program to date, "The Man who Killed Kennedy" (DVDs available at Amazon). Virtually all aspects of that programs, in a six-hour stride, contradict Mr. Douglas' one and a half pages' view on the event of the twentieth century America.

(5)Compromising - in detail. During the late chapters, when John Hinckley Jr. came into the subject, one inevitable spotlight was focused on Jodie Foster. While her early highly irresponsible and totally ignorant remarks of "encouragement" to Hinckley that without any doubt, partially prompted his attempt on the life of President Reagan, Mr. Douglas asserted her behavior to be ONLY "courteous". The reason, in a separate paragraph that ended the discussion (I did sense that earlier), Mr. Douglas told that he was pleased by the advice he offered to the actress during the filming of the Silence of the Lambs, inconceivable, but true. Of course, one without a legendary record in crime fighting would have known, that Foster's attitude toward Hinckley was anything other than "courteous" in a legal sense!

Overall, I would believe without the above drawbacks, the book could have been a better effort. However, I recommend this book to those interested in the subject and/or law enforcement officers, as a good starter on a never-ending journey into crime fighting.

This is the third book I've read of John Douglas. Mindhunter and Journey into Darkness are the other two. If you're anything like me, you are absolutely repulsed by the crimes these creatures commit...but you're curious about it, too. I mean, HOW can any human being do things that Mr. Douglas describes in his books to another human being. As much as I am repulsed by this behavior, I am strangely fascinated by it. What makes them tick?

John Douglas helps answer this question. Straight-forward description of events, explanations behind the crimes. He describes what happens underneath the surface of these crimes and how this will help point to motive. And ultimately, that's what's important: WHY? Because when you find out HOW, you can figure out WHY, and this will help lead to WHO, as John Douglas explains in his book.

This book will interest anyone that reads suspense, thriller, or horror genres. Authors like Tom Clancy, Stephen King, Jeffery Deaver, Thomas Harris, Patricia Cornwell, and the likes: If you read any of these authors, read John Douglas's books, especially The Anatomy of Motive. What it may lack in suspense (he writes these books not so much to keep you guessing "what next," or anything like that), it more than makes up for in the fact that EVERYTHING HE TELLS YOU, ACTUALLY HAPPENED!

And not that the "lack of suspense" makes this book boring. This couldn't be further from the truth. Case in point: John Douglas will not just describe a crime and an investigation into the Whodunnit, he's going to take you inside the mind of serial killers, mass killers, spree killers, assassins, arsonists, poisoners, kidnappings, and more. That's what's so terrifying: You're inside the mind of a killer, and for once you're not asking "How can a freak like this do such a thing to another human?" because it suddenly makes sense. SPOOKY!

This book is simply a must read in light of recent events in Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. Many people all over the world are currently asking the question: What kind of person would do this and why? In The Anatomy of Motive, John Douglas answers this very question. As Mr. Douglas has stated in his previous books, the primary motivation of sexual preditors is manipulation, domination, & control. However, in this book, Douglas delves deeper, looking into the personality differences to uncover the causes which make these extremely dangerous criminals act out in the various ways that they do. Arsonists, Bombers, Poisoners, Snipers and others are all covered in a detailed, yet very understandable format. Therefore, the reader does not have to be a Psychology major to comprehend what Douglas is saying. Moreover, the numerous case studies included help to make the book an extremely interesting read while, the "You make the call" portion at the end gives the reader a chance to put their newly obtained knowledge to the test.

I found Danny Coulson's book an interesting read but I think his attitude about armed citizens was brought forward very clearly in two unrelated incidents. It's the same liberal view we see in the left wing gun control advocates who would like to see us all disarmed and helpless. While they, because they can afford it, have their own armed guards to watch over and protect them.

Mr. Coulson was sent to disarm and arrest an evil doer. What was the man's crime? Why he dared to arm himself to protect his home, family, friends, and nation against what he saw as a government out of control. A threatto his personal life and liberties. Had he threatened anyone? If he did it wasn't related as far as I can recollect. Were the man's fears founded? Well, apparently they were since the very government he feared sent armed men to his doorstep to disarm and arrest him! A man about whom Danny Coulson had no good thing to say. He described this man in the most unflattering and derogatory terms.

We move further down the book and Mr. Coulson finds himself feeling threatened by the very government he has served so faithfully for so many many years. What does he do? Why he arms himself with a full automatic weapon and an automatic sidearm to protect himself and his family. He carries the rifle right on the seat with him wherever he goes! Does he see this as a double standard in contrast to his earlier behaviour? Apparently not because that guy was just a stupid average joe and he, Danny Coulson, was a highly trained "elite" FBI Agent. Danny Coulson displayed the typical attitude of politicians, government agents, and even some local police departments. His actions, in each case, define Danny Coulson more than any other incidents he relates. A double standard and an elitist attitude.

Whenever the FBI has had a crisis, Coulson seems to have been in the middle of it, whether it's Waco, Ruby Ridge, the Oklahoma City bombing, the Marielito prison riot in Atlanta, and even Iran-Contra. Amidst these events, he established the FBI's first counter-terrorist unit. In this book he recounts these events in fascinating detail, interspersed with descriptions of agency politics and details (way too many details, in fact) of his personal life. If the book has a flaw, it's the sugar-laden tone of his narrative. Too many times, Coulson tells us how much he loves children and how much he respects his colleagues. It's hard to believe that FBI abuses of power are as rare as Coulson leads us to believe. Nevertheless, it's a page-turner, and a first-person insight into the major law enforcement crises of the past few decades.

Although Danny O. Coulson didn't want his agents to be known as heroes (for taking unnecessary risks), this book illustrates how he and every one of his agents in the HRT were definitely far beyond the status of hero. He gives in depth accounts of how he formed the HRT and many of their missions after having served as an FBI SWAT agent. An excellent read. He sought no honor, but he definitely deserves it.

This is an amazing inside look at not only how a politician becomes passionately involved in Afghanistan and the war against the Russians but also about the inner workings of the CIA, which is told, in surprising detail and the author explains how big money can be moved around in congress without much scrutiny. It's a fascinating story of how Charlie Wilson, the good time Congressman from a Baptist district, is able to not only party with numerous women, almost kill himself with alcohol but somehow adopt his freedom fighters of Afghanistan and become an international broker of middle east alliances so successfully that he actually creates deals that astonish the badly wounded CIA recovering from the Carter era and later Iran Contra.

Wilson has the friendship of John Birch society millionaires that fuels Wilson through her connections with Texas politicians and her inexplicable connections to Pakistan's Zia who she whole-heartedly supports in the name of anti-communism. But aside from Wilson is the story of the Greek American in your face CIA chief that refuses to play political games within the agency and some how survives through inner agency friendships to command the CIA Afghanistan operation that secretly supplies the warriors millions of dollars through US funding that is directly matched by the Saudi's. It is hard to imagine how the CIA was able to provide such an astonishing array of modern weaponry like stinger missiles, thousands of Tennessee mules and all kinds of technical support to these horse-riding warriors that seem almost the same as those who fought the British centuries ago.

There are some fascinating interpersonal stories such as the head of the appropriations committee, "them that has the gold, makes the rules", Wilson's non-stop escapades and his Greek CIA associate Avrakotos telling one of the highest ranking officers in the CIA exactly what he thought of him in four letter words, and Wilson's close relations with all the governments of the Middle east including their enemy Israel. There are also many humorous moments such as Wilson bringing his own American belly dancer to the east to entertain his eastern associates.

This story really tells how this US war in Afghanistan broke the Russians and may have directly caused the collapse of the Russian ability to sustain the cold war together with Reagan's build up of arms. What is difficult to fathom is the lack of participation in this operation by Reagan and his officers or perhaps they kept more behind the scenes then the author knows. In addition, this is looked upon as revenge for Russia' support of the North Vietnamese and that this was an opportunity to get even.

A very sad turn to this book is the treatment of captured Russian soldiers particularly if you take the vein that soldiers are not the decision makers for war. The level of cruelty is noted in matter of fact detail in the book and it is so gruesome it reminded me of the book about Indian warfare written years ago by Thomas B Marquis, "Keep the Last Bullet for Yourself: The True Story of Custer's Last Stand". Obvious psychological warfare particularly as the atrocities are advertised by the warriors and many a Russian mother is advised never to open the coffin to look at her son. A quick death was most likely for the lucky. This is something to think about today since our troops our fighting some of the same people whose culture is very complex, stoic, deeply religious and very desirous of revenge. The epilogue covers the seeds of the warriors turn against the US and includes an earlier warning that some of the warriors were so extreme that the author mentions that the remaining Afghanistan government (deserted by the Russians) that is overthrown appeared far more tolerant than the liberators. .

The book was excellent and I highly recommend it. Having seen the initial "60 Minutes" program, I was vaguely familar with the book's subject matter, however, the detailed description contained within the book is exceptional.

Although I highly recommend the book, I find the description of Charlie Wilson, his activities and the government bureaucracy disappointing. Descriptions of Congress funding hundreds of millions of dollars for programs, as a "favor" to a peer, lower my respect for the government and our elected representatives.

Having recently read "All the Shah's Men", a description of the CIA's overthrow of the Iranian government in the 1950's, the book reminds me of the law of "unintended consequences".

Charlie Wilson illegally diverted hundreds of millions of dollars to fund arms for Islamic armies to battle the Soviets. Major efforts were spent to provide the Afghans with a ground-to-air missle to shoot down Soviet helicopters.

Today, Americans have to worry that the "Stinger" missles, provided by Charlie Wilson to the Afghans, are not used by Islamic militants to bring down American passenger planes.

Although I believe the book rates "five stars", I am depressed by the description of our government in action.

Charlie Wilson's War

By Page W. H. Brousseau IV

Nearly all Americans are aware the United States helped fund the Mujahideen, or Muj, in Afghanistan. Problem is many do not know what was done and how that we did it. The book "Charlie Wilson's War" by George Crile answers all the questions of America's largest covert war.

I grew up knowing the United States did two things to pushback the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, we sent in hundreds of anti-aircraft Stinger Missiles, and then we sent in Rambo.

Charlie Wilson was a conservative Democrat caught up in Reagan's war against the Evil Empire. However, he felt the Democratic Congressional leadership was forgetting the purpose of the Cold War: to win. Wilson was a hard drinking Texan, who valued the women on his staff for their looks rather than skills. He became fascinated with the Soviet invasion, and wanted the United States to go on the offense for the first time in the Cold War. At times, he took it upon himself to personally conducted meetings with foreign prime ministers, presidents and weapon designers without the State Department knowing. He would organize planes carrying medical and humanitarian supplies to Pakistan to stop in the Middle East and load up with weapons of war.

The story of Wilson and the Afghan War only grows from there. Characters right out of the cheapest spy movie or novel become involved. A rich widow from Texas, hobnobbing with her rich oil friends to raise money to send supplies to the Muj.

A divorced belly dancer Wilson brings to Egypt to entertain the Egyptian President. After the show, the president retracts his prior stance and agrees to make weapons for the Muj.

A forgotten Greek born CIA official that becomes Wilson's eyes in the operation of moving Israeli made weapons to the Islamic warriors in Afghanistan.

The others are as vast and original as any fictional cast. Crile writes in a matter that is crisp and energetic, and completely gripping. Which may not have been that hard considering Wilson was bigger than life in is passion for the Muj. President Reagan saw him as his biggest supporter, only because Wilson made the Afghan War Reagan's biggest covert policy. Wilson would ask the CIA how much it would take to create an anti-aircraft weapon system, or bring in medical supplies. Once armed with the dollar amount, he would increase it, and then tell Congress what he, Charlie Wilson, needed. Congress never asked questions, this was "Charlie's War." In typical fashion, members of Congress seemed little interested in the Afghan War. Most anti-war Democrats were too busy trying to shut down the funding of anti-Communist Contras in Nicaragua to worry about sending arms some 11,000 miles away, and that was just fine with Charlie Wilson. He was a stanch anti-Communist, but was willing to vote with his party when House Speaker Tip O'Neill asked him if he could just have the funding he wanted.
Wilson took it upon himself to develop the weapons needed for the war, anti-aircraft guns, Stinger Missiles, or armor piercing guns, Wilson saw it his duty to help his "brothers." He made several trips to CIA Headquarters to keep on top of the research and development. He relished the idea of holding a gun that the Muj would, in a matter of days use to kill Communist Soviets. That was the kind of guy Charlie Wilson was. Wilson asked weekly of the number of Soviet helicopters and planes shot down. For years that hovered around zero. As new Israeli guns entered the country, the number of shoot downs increased. Wilson became ecstatic, but felt the need to drive on. There was always more to do, more Soviets to kill and more to shoot down. He pushed for increased funding in the Stinger Missile. He then waited for news of its success; he quickly received the news of the Singer's stunning successes. The Muj were now inspiring fear within the Soviet air force. Planes could not come in close enough to attack and Soviet combat troops feared being shot down before their drop off.

Along the way to victory, Wilson was involved in a drunk-driving accident, he did what most drunks do, fled. Being a Congressman, he had options. He called the chair of the Intelligence Committee and booked permission to fly to Pakistan for a "fact finding" mission. Wilson knew that federal law bars the arrest of members of Congress when they are going to and from official Congressional business. After a few days abroad, he returned and made amends. Every trip to the region Wilson would donate blood at one of the many Mujahideen camps in Pakistan and the Afghans never forgot that.

Then US Attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani also arrested Wilson for Cocaine use during a Congressional investigation. The government dropped the charges after a key witness changed his story. These two events let the reader know this man, with all his Texas bravado, has issues, and loves to live life to the fullest.

In the hopes of giving the people what the Soviets took away, after the war, Wilson supplied the Afghans with everything from sheep to trees. Crile ends the book with Wilson taking a trip into Afghanistan just days before then end of the war. The Congressman dressed in Afghan attire rode the 12th Century caravan into the country. Muj searched the skies for non-existent Soviet planes. The local tribal leader new of Charlie Wilson, and so had all his men. Upon reaching the camp, Wilson saw an array of ordnance and virtually every type of gun and rocket launcher available, the tribal leader told Wilson it would be his honor if he shot each of them for him. Wilson stepped up behind every gun and launcher, would take aim at a target hundreds of yards away and let go with thousands of rounds, everyone hitting center mass. "Allah Ackbar!" the crowd of Mujahideen warriors would scream after every burst.

Months after the Soviet pullout the Berlin Wall fell, two years later the Soviet Union was no longer. Recent declassified documents put the Soviet losses in Afghanistan at 28,000. No one more than Charlie Wilson deserves the credit for that. For that, he deserves the thanks of a grateful nation.

I will be honest in that I couldn't get all the way through this book. When the initial monologue started off with the author's assessment that The Agency was "founded on a basis of deceit", I winced. Then, shortly after, the author talked about his motivation for the book. Speaking about those on the wall, he wrote "They are people that, given the life they chose, probably would prefer to be in anonymity up there on the wall. But, I decided that it was important to me to tell their story." That statement made me shut off, because it was obvious this book was not about honoring those who had died in their country's service. Rather, their lives were an intellectual curiousity to the author, and what they would have wanted was less important than the author's belief that as a journalist, his needs are most important.

Bottom line is that if you are looking for an exposé that attempts to make the US look bad in an attempt to sell books, go for it. If you are looking for something that is honoring those fallen in the way they wished to be honored, do not buy this book.

Forever interested in the CIA and it's operatives, I was anxious to pick up a copy of "THE BOOK OF HONOR" and nearly content with what I learned. Ted Gup's writing is enthralling and very real as he delves into the lives of a handful of CIA operatives and the classified missions that ultimately led to their deaths. I was most amazed to find out that these operatives are far from the James Bond characters I had imagined! I truly recommend this book as it explains two sides to each story: one from a human-interest point of view, with many in-depth interviews of surviving friends and family members, while also explaining the secrecy of cover-ups by the CIA. Definitely NOT for the conspiracy-theory types out there!

Scanning through CSPAN a book review caught my attention. After watching Ted Gup on the program I ordered The Book of Honor.

For anyone who has spent time in the military or close to US Intelligence programs, it will raise the curtain of secrecy on a few more of the unsung heroes who served our country willingly. It will also confirm that politicians, agency heads and senior military officers made terrible blunders that costs lives and proved embarrassing to the common citizen of America.

The flow of the book is a little difficult to follow as the stories and lives of the various members of the CIA are intertwined. The story is presented as a factual account of events that have been held hostage by a sense of secrecy that is perhaps unnecessary except to hide details that could reveal inept planning and execution by self-centered bureaucrats.

The idea of secrecy for its own sake is especially personal to me. As a 17 year-old Airman, I served in the Far East as a member of the USAF Security Service's 15th Radio Squadron, Mobile. After Korea, the base was closed and turned over to the Japanese. Over fifty years later, a group of former members tried to get a copy of the unit history and a roster of all who served there. The request was turned down as it is still classified.

During my year of combat in Viet Nam, I flew in Air America aircraft and helicopters and knew many who could only have been working for "The Company". Prior to President Nixon's incursion into Cambodia, I unloaded a strange looking single engine aircraft that had a multi-bladed wooden propeller and a muffler system that extended well beyond the tail of the aircraft. The civilian pilot who accompanied it said it was so quiet that at 35 mph over the treetops, it sounded like an owl landing on a branch. The belly was filled with ports for cameras or infrared devices. It was also my sad duty to supervise the loading of far too many of those shiny steel boxes onto military aircraft for return to the US. They contained the remains of those whose names are inscribed forever on the Viet Nam Wall.

Ted Gup has done us all a service in balancing the sacrifices of those whose star he attached a name to and the revelation of a few more details on the blunders of those in command. Those in charge should have given the orders and taken their lumps instead of trying to micromanage operations from the DOD or White House while refusing to acknowledge that the events even happened. I remember the night a U-2 fell from the sky over Russia and later hearing President Eisenhower tell the world it was never there. And of many similar events, heroic as well as tragic, that I must still be silent about.

I highly recommend this book to all who are history buffs or who want to know more about some of the facts our government hides from us.

This is a book about how one man became a Mossad agent in the Israeli foreign intelligence agency. He details his joining and ascent in the ranks. The main focus of the book is the description of the training he and others under went, and then descriptions of some operations he was involved in. I had always heard that the Mossad was one of the better intelligence organizations out there - in the class of the CIA, KGB, MI5, but the detail described about training and information gathering makes one really appreciated how good they are. All this with a substantially smaller force then the other groups have, it makes for an organizations that man for man is probably the best.

The book really brings out the determination of the recruits and the dedication the members of the Mossad have. The author does a good job with this book. He is economical with his words and you do not ever get bogged down in dry information. The fact that he brings emotions to the reasons he joined and what he went through give the book more punch then just a telling by an investigative reporter. If you are interested in the world or espionage then this is a great book to read.

Recently I finished reading this book, truly captivating history of Mossad. It is no less than a thriller movie like James Bond series. Considering the number of covert operations told all within this book, it can be definelty made into a television series if not a hollywood blockbuster.

The author himself a victim of hypocracy, as he says, of Mossad's top brass. Going through the covert operations right under the nose of MiddleEast, Europe and North America, it leaves me with no doubt that Mossad is no less than a real thug, ruthless monster. It just doesnt do the intelligence gathering for national security, it does industrial espionage, sabotage etc which in turn makes money for the weapons industry of Israel.

What it left me with a bad taste in my mouth is that, Mossad during late 70's and 80's raised millions of dollars through international drug trafficing and maybe still is doing. Most of it reached American market. May be now its the time for Israel Government bring a new law to arm-twist Mossad and accept its existance. But, it looks like Mossad is more powerful than Israel's primeminster.

This book has lot of lessons for world's intelligence individuals. I truly liked this book for its depth.

Great read! information we heard about it before but couldn't confirm it. this book does it with great details.

I first read this report on the NSA (National Security Agency) in 1987 and was so moved by author James Bamford descriptions that I visited Fort Meade, Maryland to verify its existence. As it is a non-fiction work I must admit that it is rather dry reading for the reader used to spy-vs-spy fictional excitement. Nonetheless it is extremely well written and will inform (and shock) the average reader as to the depth (and history) of signal intelligence by the United States Government. It has been rumored that Bamford is working on a sequel. The Puzzle Palace was published in 1983, this is 1999, one can only imagine ...

It is incredible that someone could have written this book, given the lengths to which the US and other governments went to in order to hide the very existence of such a major organisation. But time and again Bamford slips behind the scenes, behind the walls of secrecy, to tell the world the intimate secrets of the NSA.

This, even after so many years, is the definitive history of the National Security Agency. Or at least the most definitive work ever to have been available to the general public. It starts at the start in World War One, and traces the development of what has become a monster, frequently acting beyond the law and in clear violation of basic rights of privacy and freedom of speech.

It is not a history of codebreaking or of the science of interception, but rather a history of the organisation that was set up to do this, and though we are told of the machines and systems that do the work, the tale revolves around the people who defended their secrets and sought out others.

It is fascinating reading, pitched at an average understanding, and accessible to the people who should be most concerned about the activities of the NSA. If it has a flaw it is a simple one - it needs updating.

In the wake of the S11 tragedies, it is indisputable that there is a need for such an organisation. Never let it be said otherwise. But what of the collateral damage to millions of innocent individuals, American citizens with nothing but love for their country, who are regularly spied upon by the NSA?

A disturbing and thoughtful book.

Recommended reading for anybody with an interest in codebreaking and communications security. Here you will find details of some of the leading figures in the "industry" not available anywhere else. Essential for your bookshelf.

I read this book in hardback when it first came out, long before the WWW was even existed. It became the basis of my concerns about government servilance of our personal electronic communications.

If the general public ( Or as Julius Cesear called them " The ignorent masses" )read this book, they would understand the mockery the US government has made of the basic liberties our forefathers and our brothers and sisters have fought and died for.

If you are open minded and looking for those books begging for its pages to be turned...look no further. I just read a copy of Edgar Fouche's 'Alien Rapture,' which also blew me away. Fouche was a Top Secret Black Program 'insider', whose credibility has been verified over and over. I also really liked Dan Brown's 'Angels and Demons.' Want to be shocked, check
out Dr. Paul Hill's 'Unconventional Flying Objects' which NASA tried to ban.

In his autobiography, decorated CIA veteran Tony Mendez has written a detailed and fascinating account of spy operations during the Cold War. Other books have told us what the CIA did, but this is the first and only to expose the secrets of how they did it! Tony's unique career, and mastery of disguises, deception, forgery, and exfiltration, show us that the gadgets utilized by "James Bond" weren't alwaus fictional! Spy agencies worldwide will make THE MASTER OF DISGUISE required reading for intelligence officers; the new KGB will probably charter a plane to rush the first 100 copies straight to Moscow! H Keith Melton; author of THE ULTIMATE SPY BOOK

The book is well written making it a quick and interesting read. Tony details behind the scene facts that have never been exposed before. He provides an insight into the spy world that ended the cold war. I have read several books on the CIA and this is by far the best one I have read.

Mr. Mendez has put together an interesting collections of his personal experiences working in the CIA. There is nothing here to shock or get excited about but it is at once interesting, exciting and informative, and lets outsiders peek behind the curtain of real-life covert field operations. Whether by design or due to faulty memory, some of his tales are not told just they way they happened and times and places have been fudged, but none of that takes away from the stories nor the readers pleasure. Not great literature but a good read never the less. Chiu Hse Yu, Lecturer in Law, LLB (NUS), School of Business, Singapore Management University.

This book details the consistent anti-Jewish and anti-Israel efforts of a series of American and British notables using information from the archives of all the intelligence communities. Some of the names that come up for serious indictment are: Allan Dulles, Nelson Rockefeller, W.A.Harriman, Henry Kissinger, Jack Philby (father of the British mole Kim Philby)and a host of other well knowns. It documents the blackmailing of FDR by King Ibn Saud for continued oil supplies at the outset of WWII in exchange for FDR's 'neutrality' on immigration of Jews into the Mandated Territories in Palestine. It also describes the key efforts by Allan Dulles and Rockefeller to maintain material supplies to Nazi Germany via their American clients. Dulles' role in securing many German war criminals save haven in the US and South America is also documented. It is important to note that there are 115 pages of references and notes to support the accusations enumerated. Though this book is in print for seven years there has never been a libel or defamation suit brought against the authors. They quote such statements as that of Justice Goldberg: "The Dulles brothers were traitors". The authors clearly show how the public image that many of these covert anti-Israel celebrities polished was at total variance with their behind the scenes actions. Kissinger for one deliberately withheld vital information and supplies from the Israelis at the start of the 1973 war because he thought it would be good for them to "get their nose bloodied". And it was Gen.Alexander Haig, not Nixon and Kissinger, that saved the Israelis with timely armaments to turn back the massive tank attack the Egyptians had mounted in the Sinai. Anyone who wants to see how individuals with power can subvert the principles of our democratic nation must read this book again and again.

John Loftus and Mark Aarons don't just open a can-of-worms in this disturbing book but rather a Pandora's Box of accusations that if only partly true begs a massive reversion of our current understanding of the major political players of this century. "The Secret War Against The Jews" is divided up into three historical periods: The Age of Bigotry, 1920-1947, The Age of Greed, 1948-1973, and The Age of Stupidity, 1974- 1992. "Bigotry" examines the dawn of middle east oil development and key players Jack Philby, Ibn Saud, an the Dulles brothers. The second section, "Greed," expands the activities of these individuals in and out of the WWII. The third and last section, "Stupidity," deals with the Iran-Contra players namely V.P Bush, Bill Casey, and a host of evil characters. Perhaps a better title for this book should have been "The Secret War Against the Public," for as the authors point out we all are the Jews.

This book is a MUST read for anyone who wants to know what has really been going on behind the scenes, and how the West has betrayed the victims of WWII and Israel. Excellent! Thank you Loftus & Aarons.

This book is a fast read and would be a great script for B Sci Fi movie. I picked up this book because of the alluded religious/Sci Fi thriller. This is an action book, and not a mystery thriller. Basically you have evil being that possesses the scientifically enhanced body of a dead former CIA operative who was at his peak form at death, set free upon the world. And the hero, who is set upon stopping him with the help of the Catholic Church.

Some of the book is written well. The action is non-stop. And the storyline is very easy to follow. The book has a good basis. The bad thing is that the author has not seemed to do his research. Not on the medical advancements he tries to use for the enhancement of the body. Nor in the geographic locations he inaccurately describes. But it is a fun read non-the less. Pick it up if you have a 2-hour flight. It will pass the time quickly.

This book is like an action movie with a brain. Utterly engrossing. It has more action than I've ever read, a lot of mystery to keep you reading, and typical but amusing soldier talk. Its written like a good movie script, but a bit over descriptive. The character's are the usual type. A burnt-out, take cahrge soldier boy, intellectual preist, beautiful scientist. The dialouge is also typical, but thats not why you want to keep reading. You want to know why Cain does what he does and how they can defeat him and the outcome. I love the story line and made me want to find out as much as I can about this type of thing. A few character and dialouge flaws aside, a definite reccomendation.

Huggins hits the target dead center with Cain. For all the fans of The Terminator, Aliens, Predator, this book will get your blood flowing! The story starts out with a top secret bio weapons project gone out of control, as in a lot of other stories. In this experiement, top-notch scientists use the CIA's number 1 secret agent assassin, Roth Tiberius Cain, to create an unstoppable soldier. Cain is dead, but using reanimation, he is brought back to life. Then they make him anything but ordianry fitting him with technological implants and genetic alterations, including internal titanium armor and artificial titanium-cobalt alloy bones, muscle-enhancing steroids, nerual pathway amplifiers, and nervous system stimulants, to make him stronger, faster, more viscious, and more lethal than any ordinary man could be. And along side, Cain's merciless heart and ruthless nature are made even more evil. When Cain escapes from the facility that created him, we learn that a mutated strain of the Marburg virus that has been used to make Cain's ability to regenerate lost and damaged tissue unlimited has caused his DNA to be so heavily damaged that he needs to drink fresh human blood to keep his metabolism balanced. And to make matters even worse, with the mutant strain of the virus, Cain is the carrier of a viral plauge that will wipe out the entire world's population within a year. Only ten days remain until Cain's body mutates the virus beyond control and the outbreak will occur. The only thing that can kill Cain is the original Marburg virus strain. As a group of poeple who have found themselves trapped in the toils and hardships of life struggle to save the world from Cain, they fight against their own differences, their faith in God and religion, their moral principles, for their very lives and for the life of a little girl with whom Cain shares a dark secret.

Dr. Martha Milton, though she prefers to be called Maggie, is the beautiful scientist that created Cain. Early in the story we learn that she used the blood from her own six year old daughter, Amy, to rewrite Cain's DNA. This makes Maggie's struggle to stop Cain a purely heart-touching display of motherly love, for Cain needs every drop of Amy's blood in order to stop his body from mutating beyond control. The irony is thick, but that only adds to the suspense and action of the story, as well as the emotion. And along side with Maggie is Colonel James L. Soleman, a soldier who lost his wife and daughter to terrorists. Soleman is not the luckiest of people, for he nearly died while trying to avenge his family's death and in the process, he crossed so many lines of the military law that he ended up leaving the military. LIke Maggie, Soleman is haunted by his past, of what happened, what he lost, and of what may lie ahead. These shared characteristics bring Soleman and Maggie close together as they try to stop Cain and save Amy. As Soleman works with Maggie and a group of others, including a priest and a superior mother, he soon relearns the feeling of loving a child and woman. Everyone's faith in the Lord is put to the test, for Cain believes himself to be the supreame God who can defy the real God.

This book so totally awesome! I'm totally surte that it would be a hit movie if it was made into one. Tom Cruise would make a fabulous Soleman and Jeri Ryan would be a perfect Maggie. I would say that the perfect actor for Cain would be Arnold Schwarzenegger. For other Characters, I think Kate Mulgrew would be a great Mother Mary Francis, Katelin Petersen would be a good Amy, and Patrick Stewart is so fitting for the role of Father Marcelle. This cast, is only my personal version of course.

Anyway, for all you action fans out there who love tales of acton, danger, emotion, and destiny, this is a book you will love. This book will blow you away!

Vasili Mitrokhin just died at the age of 81 on January 23, 2004. His efforts exemplify why mafia-gang thugocracies, such as the KGB in the USSR, face an increasing decline in their individual spheres of dominance. Between the unblinkered analysis of men like Mitrokhin and the information explosion, the bad guys can't so easily get away with the big lie.

This book, released in 1999, has received all the plaudis and criticisms of those pro and con; but, think about how it overlays today with the Islamic Jihadists of Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and the various iterations of the PLO and Hezzbollah? It's concurrent with all the spies, the secret infiltrators of our civil society, the disinformation campaigns, the complicity of a naive and blinkered media and academia, the anti-semitism, and the abundant anti-Americanism with its inherent rejection of the intellectual writings of the founding fathers, and of our constitutional republic.

All the horrors that one imagined the communists of perpetrating are shown here, and more. Only brave and commited patriots like Ronald Reagan, the greatest president of the 20th century, and Vasili Mitrokhin have stood athwart the doorway of democracy and defended it against the barbarian hordes of the red menace. It's bewildering to understand the intransigence of those who would aver that Mitrokhin's archive is the result of a government forgery. Only in the delusional mind of a Noam Chomsky or one like him would you find such drivel.

This is a book, and a subject, that needs more exposure. Perhaps Katie Couric, Bryant Gumbel, or Peter "comrade" Jennings will take up the cudgel...? ....don't hold your breathe!

We had a right to be scared during the so-called "Red Scare" as the Left likes to call KGB infiltration into almost all walks of American life. Most interesting to me was the character assassination of KGB nemesis J. Edgar Hoover who was described as a sexual pervert by a woman with a long record of spreading false news stories. Her calumnies were immediately accepted as true by many in the American media some of whom had wittingly or unwittingly been suborned by the KGB. It's also shocking to note that when these false charges were made there were very few who stood up for the late FBI Director and they apparently had a problem getting their defense heard by the public. This book can be heavy going to those unfamiliar with the world of espionage. Readers might look in the extensive index and seek out at first the names of spies whose names are well known such as Alger Hiss. From there the reader might be able to start at the beginning and really delve into what is revealed. This is not a book to be taken from the public library on a two week loan. It should be purchased and become part of the library of anyone who wants to know the truth about foreign spies in the USA

Anyone who is seriously interested in how to conduct government is the most responsible way should read this book. In addition, those who love spy stories, histories, and novels will be rewarded with many new details and perspectives on Soviet and Russian foreign intelligence activities since the Russian Revolution at the beginning of the 20th century.

This book surprised me in several ways. First, I did not expect to learn that the KGB did not have a lot of important successes that were not already known publicly. Second, the KGB's effectiveness was more related to Western mistakes than to KGB brilliance. Third, the Soviet perceptions of the United States and Britain seem to have come from Fantasyland. The Soviet state made very poor use of terrific foreign intelligence because its leaders were such poor thinkers and the system did not encourage free discussion. Fourth, helping the dissidents inside the Soviet Union could have helped undo Communism much sooner.

What makes this book unique is the combination of having had access to almost all of the foreign intelligence archives of the KGB for 12 years and having those archives interpreted by someone in the KGB who was interested in the need to reform Soviet socialism. By having Christpher Andrew join Vasili Mitrokhin in authoring this book, you do get a Western overlay but the fundamental Russian perspective is still there.

I found the "big picture" aspects of the book far more rewarding than the specific examples. The rise of fascism clearly was Moscow's greatest resource in getting information from the West. The most effective spies (like Kim Philby and the other Magnficent Five in Britain) were as much motivated by anti-fascism as they were by helping the U.S.S.R. Although some are always willing to sell out for money or sex, idealism is the most dangerous motivation for traitors.

Interestingly, leaks from the United States about the atomic and hydrogen bombs related again to idealism -- concern about avoiding a world in which those bombs might be used. How might future offensive and defensive technology breakthroughs create similar actions? It's a chilling thought.

At the same time, the failure of the Soviet system eventually limited its ability to gain new traitors. The human rights abuses of the Soviets made Communism seem as dangerous to many idealists as fascism had earlier. Stalin doomed the Soviet system as much as its structural flaws did.

On the other hand, Lenin was just as committed to controlling through secret police and intelligence gathering as Stalin was. Clearly, the Communist hand at the tiller in Moscow would have slipped much sooner if severe repression and fear had not been used.

I also wondered how many of the problems that Western democracies had with the KGB could have been eliminated by having focused on proper security earlier. The shocking lapses of the British foreign service prior to World War II and in the Roosevelt administration clearly allowed a disproportionate share of the Soviet gains through foreign intelligence.

It would also be very interesting to read about how Western democracies could have countered these foreign intelligence operations sooner. Philby was essentially unmasked much earlier, and the same was true of Alger Hiss.

To me, though, the most frightening element of the book is the adoption of the new Russian intelligence operation of a visible connection to the heroes and history of the KGB and its successors. That represents a serious risk to creating a reestablishment of a Russia dominated by the secret police. That development could only lead into directions that are not good for Russians . . . or anyone else. The stories in this book about how KGB agents loyally served Stalin's slaughter, even as 90 percent of them lost their lives, are absolutely frightening. That could happen again! How can we avoid it?

What are the lessons here about secrecy? I suggest that you think about how secrecy affects your work and personal life. Where does secrecy help? Where does it hurt? What are the ethical implications of employing secrecy?

Use truth to help people make good decisions . . . always!