Amazon.com
Inscribed on a wall at Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, Virginia, is a quote from the Bible: "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). On the other side of the lobby, five rows of stars are etched into the white marble wall, each representing a CIA officer killed in the line of duty. Below the stars is a case containing the "Book of Honor"--"a tome as sacred to the Agency as if it held a splinter of the true cross," writes Ted Gup--and in it are the names of the men and women who gave their lives serving the CIA. Well, not all the names; about half the entries are blank because the CIA says it doesn't want to compromise ongoing operations. Yet, as Gup argues in his own tome, also called The Book of Honor, the truth behind many of the stories that aren't being told threatens nothing--except perhaps the agency's own sense of shame over botched operations.
Gup, a well-known investigative reporter with experience at The Washington Post and Time, interviewed hundreds of current and former CIA case officers to tell the stories behind the stars. "In the aggregate, the stories of the stars form a kind of constellation that, once connected, reveal not only the CIA's history but something of its soul as well," he writes. Yet this is, thankfully, not an indiscrete book. He writes of "a young woman who died a violent and selfless death in 1996 ... her name is withheld from this book. The Agency made a compelling case that to identify her would put others at risk." The bulk of The Book of Honor does, in fact, name names and describe how they died. In this sense, it is similar to the runaway bestseller Blind Man's Bluff, which described the secret history of American submarine espionage during the cold war. Yet what's most striking about Gup's accounts is how many of the deaths were routine or accidental. Many agents merely had the misfortune of being on planes that crashed--hardly the stuff of a James Bond adventure. Throughout, Gup is sensitive to a situation in which, "between the values of an open society and the demands of a craft rooted in deception and betrayal, the CIA is asked to steer an uneasy, often irreconcilable course." This fascinating book strikes a clean blow for the open society--but it serves a larger purpose as well: telling the truth. --John J. Miller
Book Description
In the entrance of the CIA headquarters looms a huge marble wall into which seventy-one stars are carved-each representing an agent who has died in the line of duty. Official CIA records only name thirty-five of them, however. Undeterred by claims that revealing the identities of these "nameless stars" might compromise national security, Ted Gup sorted through thousands of documents and interviewed over 400 CIA officers in his attempt to bring their long-hidden stories to light. The result of this extraordinary work of investigation is a surprising glimpse at the real lives of secret agents, and an unprecedented history of the most compelling-and controversial-department of the US government.
Book Description
In the entrance of CIA headquarters in VA looms a huge marble wall into which 71 stars are carved -- each representing an agent who has died in the line of duty. At the base of this wall lies "The Book of Honor," in which the names of these agents are inscribed -- or at least 35 of them. Beside the dates of the other 36, there are no names. The identity of these "nameless stars" has been one of the CIA's most closely guarded secrets. Here, Gup has uncovered the identities, & the remarkable stories, of the men & women who died anonymously in the service of their country. His accounts of their lives -- & deaths -- are powerful & deeply moving, & in bringing them at long last to light, Gup manages to render an unprecedented history of covert operations at the CIA.
Customer Reviews:
The Ultimate Sacrifice.......2007-09-13
By far the best book that I have every read. Ted Gup does an excellent job of painting the picture of the lifestyle and dedication of the people that worked with or for the CIA.
Within the book, he tells various accounts of those that sacrificed all for love of the country and not recognition or money.
Sigh- How I'd like to rate it higher.......2006-03-15
The problem is that this book is biting off more than it can chew. (There also happen to be at least a couple of factual errors in it, though that may not be the fault of the author, I wonder about some of his sourcing.) Gup is trying to give us real insight into the lives of these fine folks who died in the service of their country and the world.
But, try as he does, he is missing critical context around many of the stories. The context is key to filling out what ends up otherwise as flat. The author's bias seems to be towards enlightening the world about convert operations - as if that in itself is a higher good. Unfortunately, while I must admit that at times the "government" paints with a broad brush when it "secretizes" things, nearly everything that has to do with clandestine service needs to be kept in the dark.
The fact is, that these men understood the "deal". They volunteered. They were heroes because they went willingly to do harder work than most people can imagine because they believed in it. They understood they might "win a goald star". They knew what it meant to win a medal only to have it stored it in a box at HQ.
But they didn't give a damn about the kind of recognition Gup wants to give them. Is it hard on the families? You're damn right it is. That's why the families are true heroes as well - sacrificing so much for something bigger than themselves. But that is also besides the point.
The context is where it's at. Tell the story of each of these people by explaining what THEY understood about the life and death of the geopolitics in which they operated - and WHY they chose to operate in it, Guppy, and maybe YOU'LL earn another star.
By the way, both the Agency and a reviewer got the quote out of context: It does say, "Know ye the truth and the truth shall set you free" but what follows is, "I am the way and the Truth and the life. Whoever believes in me shall not die but shall have eternal life." It is a quote from Mathew's Gospel. The truth is always more complex than it may seem.
In Remembrance of Those Who Gave All.......2005-08-01
When imagining the deaths of those CIA employees fallen in the line of duty, each symbolized by a star engraved in the Book of Honor at Agency Headquarters, images conjure up of Hollywood-style gunfights between shadowy figures in a European capital or of a heroic American spy being tortured to death by his Russian captors. The reality of the matter, however, is that these fantasies couldn't be further from the truth.
In a stunning feat of investigative journalism, Ted Gup reveals the powerful, untold stories of the lives led by these nameless stars and their less than glorious deaths. Some were victims of terrorist atrocities, others lost in plane wrecks while covertly participating in proxy wars, and one was even left to rot away in a Chinese prison for almost two decades. What is most surprising, however, is that so many of these deaths were due to simple accidents and nothing more.
Gup also tells the stories of those family members left behind, of those grieving spouses, parents, and siblings who were often told fairy tales about their relative's death. In most cases, the CIA publicly disavowed all knowledge of their existence, and family members were left to mourn in silence.
This book serves as a somber reminder of the risks involved with intelligence work overseas, and how those affiliated with the security services must accept the possibility of being "left out in the cold" should the public reputation of their country be put on the line as a result of their actions.
On a side note, Ted Gup brags about previously uncovering "extremely sensitive" government secrets and publishing them in the Washington Post, specifically, that of a "top secret government installation... [where] Congress was to go as a kind of government-in-exile in the event of an impending nuclear war." The last time I checked, jeopardizing national security was a treasonous act, and I therefore see no reason why he should feel proud to have damaged our nation's ability to defend itself. While I fully understand and support Gup's argument about combating unnecessary government secrecy, there must be limits about what can and cannot be revealed (like conservative columnist Robert Novak's politically motivated publishing of undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame's name in a major US newspaper).
All in all, this is definitely a book to be examined and kept in any quality collection of literature dealing with intelligence history. Well worth the read.
slow and with a slant.......2004-08-23
I haven't read the book but the 6 hour audiobook was fairly slow for what could have been much more interesting considering the subject matter. It seemed like the author really has an axe to grind against the CIA. The stories seemed overly focused on any mistakes the CIA made. The author lost credibility with me when he said he was the one who revealed the presence of the secret nuclear bunker that was to be used by the US Congress in the instance of a nuclear strike.
Great CIA "behind the scenes" history book.......2004-08-23
I found this book very well researched and written. It would be of interest to anyone with a fondness for CIA-spy type history that we often don't read about in mainstream publications. Highly recommended and not very expensive, which is always nice too.
Enjoy.
Book Description
Released from prison in January 1975, John Dean thought that the nightmare was over, that Watergate was behind him. He was wrong, because even as he tried to move away from the events of Watergate, he felt compelled to look deeper into the one remaining mystery of that era: the motives and identity of the man who had come to be known as "Deep Throat." The impact of Dean's ultimate conclusion goes far beyond what once had seemed a harmless piece of trivia. Dean's conclusion shakes our confidence in the concept of trust itself, and raises almost as many questions as it answers.
"A must read about the quest for a new beginning from one of the best known Watergate figures." (B-O-T Editorial Review Board)
Customer Reviews:
Deep Throat and self-examination.......2002-02-05
John Dean's follow-on to Blind Ambition is an interesting self-examination punctuated with commentary on Dean's suspicions regarding the true identity of Bob Woodward's source Deep Throat. The latter is the reason the book sold (if it did) while the former obviously was Dean's motivation for writing the book.
I listened to rather than read the book. The recording was well done, and the topic lends itself to the book on tape approach. Dean's tone is conversational, although the material may be a bit impenetrable unless one has a basic working knowledge of Watergate and its players.
Dean's self-examination is illuminating not only of his own feelings but also of our media culture, which presumably has only gotten worse since this book was published 20 years ago. Dean's predictions about presidential scandals of the future and the media's handling of it were prescient. I would like to see a book by Dean on Monicagate.
Dean's analysis of the Deep Throat question is incisive. He starts with the obvious, but he also examines the obscure, behind the scenes players who may have had the information necessary to be Deep Throat. His commentary on the shoddiness of the Washington Post's reporting is a bit self-serving; he prefers to see himself as the one who broke the story. That said, it is a thoughtful and seemingly fair rebuttal of the conventional wisdom that "Woodstein" brought down the president.
All in all, a satisfying trip to an earlier time.
Fine work on John Dean's life post watergate.......1998-06-13
It has been several years since I read this book, however it was a very good follow up to John Dean's book on the Watergate affair and his role in it.
I have found that many times over the years after I read a book, and become intrigued with the main character's life, hoping for a sequel. This book filled that need for me.
John Dean is a very intersting, multi faceted, much misunderstood individual. Reading the second book, helps to understand him and his motivations in the Watergate affair.
Amazon.com
Between 1993 and 1997, Michael Ignatieff traveled through the battlefields of modern ethnic war, visiting Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Rwanda, and Afghanistan to consider the mixture of moral solidarity and hubris that led Western nations to embark on the campaign of "putting the world to rights." Why do some people and nations, he wonders, feel morally responsible for strangers thousands of miles away? In The Warrior's Honor, Ignatieff explores this question by skillfully combining eyewitness accounts of modern war with a historian's insight into the constancy of human conflict.
Ignatieff's concisely written essays examine four primary themes: the moral connection created by modern culture with distant victims of war, the architects of postmodern war, the impact of ethnic war abroad on our thinking about ethnic accommodations at home (the "seductive temptation of misanthropy"), and the function of memory and social healing. He firmly believes that "the world is not becoming more chaotic or violent, although our failure to understand and act makes it seem so." The Warrior's Honor takes an important step toward educating the reader about the historical context of modern ethnic conflict. Perhaps most importantly, Ignatieff fosters discussion of the means by which deeper, more permanent commitments can be made in the future to minimize such atrocities. --Bertina Loeffler
Book Description
Since the early 1990s, Michael Ignatieff has traveled the world's war zones, from Bosnia to the West Bank, from Afghanistan to central Africa. The Warrior's Honor is a report and a reflection on what he has seen in the places where ethnic war has become a way of life. Ignatieff charts the rise of the new moral interventionists--the relief workers, reporters, delegates, and diplomats who believe that other people's misery is of concern to us all. And he brings us face-to-face with the new ethnic warriors--the warlords, gunmen, and paramilitaries--who have escalated postmodern war to an unprecedented level of savagery. Hard-hitting and passionate, The Warrior's Honor is a profound and searching exploration of the perils and obligations of moral citizenship in a world scarred by war and genocide.
Customer Reviews:
When Warriors Lose It.......2004-03-14
This is an eloquent book, veering to poetry at times. For a book about the modern wars of militias and warlords within failed states, its eloquence actually gets in the way of the message at times. Occasionally one can even see that sometimes Ignatieff says something just because he has thought of an eloquent way of saying it. Not that I am accusing him of insincerity, for he is not. Nor that the book is without an honest message, for it has several.
The book is a sort of meditation on the nature of these "modern wars" that is colored much by his own personal experiences in several of them. The observation that is central to the book is that diverse people (who are really much alike too) can fall into a state of viewing the "other" as the enemy when a state begins to fail to protect them, and anarchy looms. In successful modern states, the protection is present, and the fiction that diverse people are underneath it all, the same, is maintained.
The book has a very intelligent treatment of the dilemma of the various aid agencies such as the Red Cross and the UN Peacekeepers in trying to ameliorate the effects of war, and maintain their credibility, while not prolonging it or even intensifying it.
On the other hand, the author is a little too reverent of Freudian and even Marxist ideas on the nature of man, both of whom have about zero credibility to the discerning reader. His account of the "Narcissism of Minor Differences" is just so much hooey to me. Ignatieff seems to be entirely uninformed of modern thinking on this problem, which goes by the name of evolutionary psychology, and to me, seems so much more insightful and informative.
The general problem of war is not treated here, only a particular form of it. The wars that inform his thinking in this book are those in Angola, Lebanon, Ireland and, especially, Yugoslavia, with a few "lessons" from the holocaust thrown in. There is not much in the way of systematic study, but rather a grab bag of ideas and anecdotal observations. Eloquently written, though...
Have a pencil close by!.......2001-09-08
The streets in downtown Montreal were filled with people - hundreds of them, shouting, waving banners and wearing the ubiquitous "target" emblem on their shirts. They had gathered to demonstrate against the NATO intervention in Kosovo, which had been launched by the Western alliance to end the ongoing cleansing of ethnic Albanians in the region. That particular day had a strange feel to it, not unlike the first day the US-led Coalition began bombing downtown Baghdad in 1991. In a way it felt as if war had somehow found its way, through a crack in space, maybe, into the otherwise peaceful metropolis. On that day, on the recommendation of a friend (thanks Robert), I purchased Ignatieff's The Warrior's Honor. However, I did not read it until very recently, as it had gotten lost (or drowned, rather) among the tons of other "must read" books (their reproductive rate is admittedly very high) that inhabit my bookshelves.
Now that I have read it, however, I understand why it so often gets quoted by other authors; despite its relatively short length, it is literally one of the very best books on the issue of ethnic-based conflict. Ignatieff's writing is extremely quotable, and on numerous occasions I found myself highlighting passages which so aptly drove to the heart of what other authors require whole chapters to evoke. Rich in sources - both literary and philosophical - it is, unquestionably, a master's exercise in conciseness and analysis.
The chapters "The Narcissism of Minor Difference" and "The Seductiveness of Moral Disgust" are especially enlightening, and I know I will be revisiting them frequently.
This book, along with Jonathan Glover's Humanity, should be read by anyone who hopes to cast a ray of light, however feeble, into the shadowy realms of man's inhumanity to man.
A lucid analysis of the things that most ail us.......2000-03-10
At the moment there are many books being published examining the successes and failures of the humanitarian interventions that have followed the end of the Cold War - more failures than successes, truth be told. As part of my job, I read as many of them as I can. It is this book, however, that I constantly return to. My copy is dog-eared, and deeply scored with underlinings. In every paragraph, Ignatieff has something worthwhile - and frequently confronting - to say.
He addresses the role of the media and the triangle of relationships between audience/media/political leaders; he looks at the rise in humanitarian organisations and the peculiarities of the ethics under which they work; he brings insights from the field on the way the UN is so often programmed to fail.
The power of Ignatieff's writing stems from his unique capacity to bring together the perspectives of news correspondent, novelist and philosopher. He is direct and extremely readable, while also knifing into the subtle heart of the "New World Order."
In the chapter entitled "The Narcissism of Minor Difference" he comes as close anything I have read to explaining why ordinary people are moved sometimes to conduct atrocities on their neighbours. It is vivid and convincing.
If you feel exasperated by the hideous mysteries of ethnic and sectarian conflict, I urge you to read this book, if for that chapter alone.
Honor in Ethnic War.......1999-04-02
I read this book through a class I took and I was impressed by the deep analysis on the issues of ethnic war including a focus of television and media, charitable empathy, the need for conflict, and a warrior's honor. Ignatieff differentiates ethnic wars happening now (civil wars, ethnic wars, brother vs. brother) than that of wars the US has waged in the past (vs. country/nation). These new types of war show a new dynamic of intervention and war atrocities relating to it. The common thread Ignatieff points out is relating to a warrior's honor. Much like chivalry, a soldier in battle should follow certain rules of conduct like not committing atrocities against the indigenous population or letting interventionists take care of the wounded. Ignatieff also focuses on many ethnic conflicts of today in Rwanda, Somalia, and Serbia as examples of the dimension of ethnic war. Ignatieff uses loaded terminology and might be too much to comprehend, but his examples help the reader understand the context he is pushing for. Further examples from Freud's "Narcissism of Minor Diffence" and James Joyce gives this book a well-rounded academic feel. This book gives great insight to human need during ethnic war especially with the current conflict in Kosovo.
Product Description
At the beginning of this fifth novel in Robert N. Macomber's award-winning Honor Series, it's December 1873 and Lieutenant Peter Wake is the executive officer of the USS Omaha on dreary patrol in the West Indies. Lonely for his family, he is looking forward to returning home to Pensacola in a few months and rekindling his troubled marriage with Linda.
But fate has other plans for Wake. He runs afoul of the Royal Navy in Antigua and a beautiful French woman enters his life in Martinique. Then he's suddenly sent off on staff assignment to Europe, where he is soon immersed in the cynical swirl of Old World politics. Wake finds himself running for his life after getting embroiled in a Spanish civil war. Then he gets caught up in diplomatic intrigue among the French, Germans, and British. But his real test comes when he and his old friend Sean Rork are sent on a no-win mission in northern Africa.
Not the least of his troubles is Madame Catherine Faber de Champlain, wife of a French diplomat. Her many charms involve Peter Wake in an affair of honor.
Customer Reviews:
Macomber: historically accurate with meticulous detail.......2007-01-31
My wife Jane and I had the extremely good fortune to travel with, discuss and witness Robert Macomber in action with his meticulous attention to detail on his epic fact finding tour for this book. For almost three weeks we sailed through the Caribbean, across the Atlantic and into the Mediterranean with a final destination of Genoa, Italy.
Historically accurate isn't enough for this guy...he had to breathe the air, feel the vibes and actually walk in the shoes of his characters.
Eloquently polished and honed Macomber enthralls the reader with his personable real life characters and makes this book a five star attraction.
Average customer rating:
- A big novel of big ideas.
- fine storytelling
- There are not enough stars for this book.
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An Affair of Honor
Richard Marius
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Bound for the Promised Land
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After The War
ASIN: 0375412395
Release Date: 2001-09-11 |
Book Description
In this powerful novel—the capstone to Richard Marius’s illustrious career—a gripping double murder propels the small, Bible-obsessed town of Bourbonville, Tennessee, into connection with the wider society opening up in the years following World War II.
At the center: Charles Alexander, twenty, groomed from birth by his mother to be a Baptist minister,
teetering on the edge of his faith. In his last year of college, working late one night at the newspaper office, he accidentally witnesses the murders. The killer is Hope Kirby, World War II hero, member of a large mountain clan of farmers, who has discovered his wife’s infidelity. Although Kirby’s code of honor requires that he exact vengeance, it won’t allow him to kill an innocent bystander, and Charles goes free, promising not to tell what he’s seen.
But Charles does tell, and we watch, fascinated, as a trial, an appeal, and a new terror unleashed on the countryside draw the entire county into the action. Among the people most closely involved: the skillful, overweight, hard-drinking lawyer for the defense; two Baptist preachers—one liberal, one a strict constructionist—each with a secret to hide; a lady banker determinedly headed for trouble; a big-hearted good-
old-boy sheriff; Charles’s disturbingly freewheeling, freethinking sometime college girlfriend. Most importantly, we see the Kirby clan: Pappy, whose extraordinary patience, hard work, and self-reliance cause his hardscrabble farm to prosper until he’s turned out by the coming of a national park; and the five Kirby sons, who are trying hard to make a new place for themselves in the town.
As these and others play their parts in the affair of honor, we see Charles and the Kirbys begin to reexamine their dramatically opposing but equally encapsulated ways of viewing life—fundamentalist Christian and ancient “code of the hills.” And as the novel draws to its climactic and satisfying close, we see them—and finally the entire town—profoundly, permanently changed.
Customer Reviews:
A big novel of big ideas........2001-12-31
Thepageturner's review (below) inspired me to get this book, and Marius's hypnotic writing kept me reading it, almost non-stop. This is a huge, panoramic novel of 1950's Tennessee, set in Bourbonville, also the setting for After the War, and involving later generations of some of the same families. Hope Kirby's killing of his wife and her lover start the spiralling action in this thoughtful, but exciting, novel and provide the forum for the author's extended study of the different ways we define justice and seek retribution.
Charles Alexander, a college student and newspaper reporter who accidentally witnesses the double murder, escapes being executed by Kirby only because he promises not to tell what he's seen. Charles, however, eventually becomes overwhelmed with guilt and confesses to the sheriff that he was a witness. While this action might seem on the surface to be clearly a correct action, it is not so simple in Bourbonville, where many believe the "code of the hills" is inviolate and Charles's breaking of his word of honor to be a serious betrayal. Even the clergy get in on the action, some advocating that he retract his statement, and Charles finds himself with few friends and even fewer supporters.
Plenty of drama, and even melodrama, keep the reader going, and the pages fly by, as we become totally caught up in the plot and in the lives of the characters, all of whom face demons of some sort. Marius is a master of keeping mysteries alive and making us understand and care for these characters, even those we dislike or consider misguided, because he makes us share their experiences, often through flashbacks. The complexities of religious faith, which we see as Charles and many other characters battle their doubts, are brought into sharp focus as we also share the traumas many characters have experienced during World War II, traumas still affecting both their earthly and spiritual lives. Marius takes on the big questions and provides a fascinating novel in which love and justice sometimes seem ineffable goals in a society which often honors tradition and shared community values far more than humanity and individual worth. Mary Whipple
fine storytelling.......2001-12-29
A wonderful book, on a par with the work of Ferrol Sams and T.R.
Pearson, set in Bourbonville, Tennessee (a fictionalized
Lenoir City) 25 miles SW of Knoxville. An excellent sense of
place and time, the third book in a trilogy starting with The
Coming of Rain (Bourbonville in 1885) and followed by After the
War (Bourbonville 1917-1927 or so). Affair of Honor takes place
in the mid-1950s and after (saying when might give away some of
the plot)--characters, children and grandchildren of characters
from the other two novels appear here. In many ways this is the
richest and most tapestried of the three books. As with the
books of Ferrol Sams and T.R. Pearson, this is one you look
forward to rereading a year from now.
There are not enough stars for this book........2001-09-13
From the first paragraph of "An Affair of Honor," you know you are in the hands of a master. The people who live in it, the dazzling structure that compells you from page to page, and the challenging and exciting intelligence author Richard Marius brought to the issues covered in the novel remind us of why we read fiction.
Richard Marius died in 1999, and it seemed that there would be ever again be anything by him to experience. His 1993 "After the War" is one of the five best novels I have ever read in a lifetime of book-loving. I envy anyone who gets to sit down with it for the first time.
Marius wrote about the imaginary town of Bourbonville, Tennessee. While "After the War" dealt with post World War I, "An Affair of Honor" is placed in the decade after World War II.
Twenty-year-old Charles Alexander leaves work late one night and witnesses a man he knows killing two people, one of them the man's own wife. Hope Kirby sees Charles and puts the muzzle of the gun to the boy's forehead. But he does not kill him. He lets Charles go after the terrified divinity student promises not to tell anyone what he has seen. The sheriff knows Charles would have been near the place of the killings at the time they happened, and the shattered young man cannot withold the truth.
Should he have lied? Charles, who has lost his faith and is wracked by the loss of his own innocence is not sure. Blurting out the truth to the sheriff came from someplace so deep, so organic, that it could not be held back. Yet, his heart goes out to Hope Kirby, a war hero from the back hills, and he knows that he broke the promise that saved his life.
Questions of truth, faith, promises, war, and madness dog all the characters in the book, who must work them out in order to go on. So confident was Marius in his characters and the compelling questions he raised that he dared to put Hope's trial in the middle of the book, if for no other reason than to show us that it was not the climax of the story at all. "An Affair of Honor" is impossible to stop reading, and then hard to stop thinking about. A brilliant novel and a fine end to an exemplary writing career.
Book Description
The first full portrait of one of the most enduringly mysterious public figures of our era, who played a pivotal role in our national life.
Mark Felt's role in history was secured when he decided to share his views on the Watergate break-in with a young reporter on the Washington Post named Bob Woodward. He made sure that the greatest political scandal in the twentieth century, which would bring down a Presidency, was definitively revealed.
This absorbing account of Felt's FBI career, from the end of the great American crime wave through World War II, the culture wars of the 1960s, and his conviction for his role in penetrating the Weather Underground, provides a rich historical and personal context to the "Deep Throat" chapter of his life. It also provides Felt's personal recollections of the Watergate scandal, which he wrote in 1982 and kept secret, in which he explains how he came to feel that the FBI needed a "Lone Ranger" to protect it from White House corruption. Much more than a Watergate procedural, A G-Man's Life is about life as a spy, the culture of the FBI, and the internal political struggles of mid-20th century America.
Only as he neared the end of his life did Felt confide his role in our national history to members of his family, who then shared it with their lawyer, John O'Connor. The questions "Who is Mark Felt? And why did he risk so much for his country?" are brilliantly answered in A G-Man's Life.
Customer Reviews:
The Last Watergate Book?.......2006-07-05
I've been a student of Watergate for years. Maybe in part because I was born in October 1973, and I enjoy asking people who was Vice President the day I was born (answer: no-one). Maybe also in part because ten years ago I picked up "The Haldeman Diaries" off the remainder rack at Barnes & Noble, and then started collecting all the Watergate autobiographies still in print (yes, that includes your own, Jeb Stuart Magruder).
I never really had an intelligent guess as to who Deep Throat actually was. When Mark Felt's name was released by his family last year, I finally understood why -- he's only a tangential part of the books I read, not mentioned by name in the Woodward/Bernstein books, not mentioned even in "The Haldeman Diaries" or the Oliver Stone "Nixon" movie, both of which fixated on J. Edgar Hoover and Clyde Tolson, Felt's immediate FBI superiors.
When I purchased "A G-Man's Life", I thought I'd bought my last Watergate book. I was wrong. This book necessarily leaves lots of questions unanswered, primarily because Felt is now essentially senile and then, according to my reading of co-author John O'Connor's portions of the back, he took no active role in the writing. "G-Man" is drawn mostly from Felt's long-forgotten FBI memoir, and supplemented by unpublished writings and interviews with family members (who learned Felt's secret only at the same time as did family friend O'Connor).
Oddly, even the unpublished writings do not acknowledge that Felt was Deep Throat (hence the odd parsing of his phrase last year, "I'm the guy they used to call Deep Throat"). O'Connor does explain this gap in two different ways: first, he points out where Felt didn't identify with the Deep Throat character portrayed in the movie; and second, he prints his speculation that Woodward's Deep Throat was a composite of which Felt was only a part. That speculation, however, is not echoed in Woodward's own "Secret Man", a book about Felt written before the public announcement.
Felt's own writing, about his rise through the FBI ranks, well reflects the fatigue of hard work with the rewards of a job well done. This is a more than adequate crime memoir, with lots of decent anecdotes along the way. The FBI is not publicly regarded the way it used to be, so "A G-Man's Life" is not only an effective period piece, but a reminder of what good a governmental organization can achieve when motivated solely by the public interest.
The toll that Felt's career took on his own family is mentioned not at all in the memoir chapters-- that is left to O'Connor to describe in the epilogue. O'Connor, whose daughter went to college with Felt's grandson, has become a family friend and is thus in the best position to write objectively about these struggles. Where Felt's own writing also seems naive in retrospect is his celebration of Hoover the man -- there are tens of thousands of pages of well-documented books offering contrary evidence -- and also in his take on the New Left, the obsession that ultimately brought down his FBI career. Whether the New Left was a Communist-infiltrated organization that actively conspired with foreign governments to overthrow the United States is not a question answered by Felt, although he does try.
The aftermath of Felt's authorization of "black bag jobs" against the Weather Underground resulted in his conviction in federal court -- after a trial in which Richard Nixon testified in his favor. Felt's principled refusal to come forward as Deep Throat in the midst of his trial postponed his receiving the accolades he so richly deserved. The question remains... was Felt's three decades of secrecy worth the wait?
Glad Book was Written before Felt's Death - However, Wish it Could have Been Written While His Memory Was More Intact.......2006-07-04
This book gave me a much better understanding of Watergate and what went on behind the scenes. Gave me a greater respect for the FBI - but I doubt that it is now what it was then.
This book did not sugar coat Felt. He devoted his life to the FBI at the expense of neglecting his wife and children. However, he had such a drive and tenacity to fulfill his dream that his wife would most likely not have been happy with a husband who doted on her and gave up his dream. His life was full and meaningful - he truly got to live his dream.
The book gives the facts and leaves one wondering if some of the things Felt done were truly out of concern and his desire for justice to prevail; or if he was acting out of disappointment because he didn't get the position he so wanted. It was always passed on to someone else who was certainly not deserving or capable - a political choice to promote the promoter. Of course, this would be a debatable subject. I come to the conclusion though that Felt was hurt and disappointed, but that he was a man of honor and did what he felt must be done to stop the corruption and protect the people.
This book portrays an excellent picture of the great FBI leader, J Edgar Hoover. In fact, I received as much insight and knowledge about Hoover as I ddi about Felt and that was sort of an extra. We see that Hoover was like Felt, totally dedicated to his career and demanded the same from his agents.
I feel the information in this book is something that can be relied on coming from someone like Felt. I don't believe he would lie about anything that was in this book.
The things revealed about Martin Luther King, Jr. were important to me. We have heard many rumours, but considering the great opposition Dr. King went though, one always wonders if there is any truth. However, I feel now that Dr. King certainly did have sexual weaknesses that we have heard about and he did associate with the communist leaders. However, the book portrays it in an open way. Just because he was friends with them does not mean he was for the communist movement. Through reading this book, I feel he was searching for a better way of life for his people; the socialistic way is so appealing because it claims to make the common people equal. It lures and gives a false hope. This makes me even more appreciate America, though not perfect, we still have hope. But oh how we need good leadership to make it possible.
This book really makes you stop and think about some impportant issues of that time and of our time now. An eye opener if you read between the lines.
I think this book portrays Mr. Felt as unbiased, he was concerned about all people, justice for all. He tried to be fair and compassionate as portrayed early on in the book where he let the guilty wife stay with her small children as he took the husband in for robbery. This is really an insight to his inner character and I think this stayed with him through his career and life.
I think the book could have flowed a little better, at times it was hard to follow. But perhaps covering so much diversity, this was the only way. I still give it a 5, a good read.
Helps Understand "Deep Throat".......2006-06-25
Mark Felt group up in Idaho, worked in Washington D.C. as an aide to his state's Senator while attending law school at night. Felt's first job was at the FTC, but he disliked the assignments and soon joined the FBI, where he began by checking references on those applying for federal jobs. Over the next 33 years he moved 17 times - something he didn't enjoy.
Felt soon moved to reviewing files and interviewing possible German spies; after WWII he moved to Seattle and repeated the process with potential Russian spies. Then back to D.C. (monitoring field office performance), New Orleans (tracking and apprehending fugitives), etc. Eventually it was back to D.C. as Chief Inspector.
Felt recalls conflict with Robert Kennedy, who with JFK wanted personal direction of certain investigations and to use the FBI on political enemies. Hoover resisted. Two top MLK aides had their phones tapped because they were alleged communists (JFK did not want his administration bogged down because of its support for MLK). King promised to drop one of the advisors, but instead continued, using deception. Robert Kennedy then authorized wiretaps of MLK's nome and office, in writing (per Hoover's request - he understood the political ramifications). MLK's hotel rooms were also monitored, uncovering sex affairs. MLK's unwarranted charges against the FBI led to a feud with Hoover who was also upset over the "wild sex" goings on.
Nixon's presidency brought far more problems, beginning with secret tapings per Kissinger, requests to find leakers and to investigate Daniel Schorr. Then came Watergate and Hoover's death.
Felt hoped to be appointed Director, but Patrick Gray (considered loyal to Nixon) was brought in instead, temporarily. Felt found out that Gray was informing the White House about the Watergate investigation and trying to limit its scope, but he pressed on anyway. "Life of a G-Man" asserts that Felt went to the Post reporters to prevent the investigation from being totally derailed.
Gray's permanent appointment as Director fell through when it became obvious that his constant absences and bias towards the White House were out of line. Felt again hoped to become Director, but was denied again - William Ruckelshaus was brought in from the EPA, and Felt retired.
Unfortunately, that was not the end of Felt's "FBI experience." After nearly 33 years of repeated moves, 6-7 day weeks and 12+ hour days, Carter's Attorney General Bell prosecuted Felt for having authorized five "black bag jobs" (break-ins) involving the Weathermen group. Felt was convicted and fined $5,000; then pardoned months after President Reagan came into office.
"A G-Man's Life" is a bit hard to interpret since Felt is now 90+ years old, with little memory of the events involved. His co-author reportedly pieced the book together from Felt's earlier writings and personal papers, as well as interviews with friends.
Bottom-Line: Felt was a great American public servant, though "A G-Man's Life" is less than earth-shattering.
An Interesting Life that I Wouldn't Have Wanted to Live.......2006-06-17
I give this book a high grade but with a caveat. And the caveat is that this is not relly a book on Watergate. It is a book on 'A G-Man's Life.'
This book really has several parts, any of which would make a book on their own. ==First is the introduction by John O'Connor. This covers Mr. Felt's role in Watergate, the relationship with Woodward, and particularily the decision to become public.
Second is a history of being in the FBI. Mr. Felt entered the FBI in January 1942, just in time for the counter spy efforts of World War II. He went on to spend thirty years as an agent.
Then there is the story of the witch hunts that the Government was going through as part of Watergate and it's aftermath. During this time he was tried and found guilty of making 'black bag jobs.' He had made them, but was doing so in what he felt was the best interest of the country's fight against terrorism. He was pardoned by the President.
All in all, a most interesting book that presents a slightly different view than that of Woodward's 'The Secret Man.'
Loyalty, tragedy and the importance of an independent FBI.......2006-06-11
John O'Connor writes a clear and compelling story about a man who spent his life being Hoover's ideal G-Man, smart, hard-working and above all loyal; a public servant dedicated to getting the bad-guys who threatened America's citizens, values and democracy. He fought the Mafia, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Weathermen. He also fought Nixon's attempts to make the FBI the President's enforcer by exposing Nixon's efforts to quash the Watergate investigation. His tireless dedication alienated him from his family and ultimately led to his being disgraced by a politicized Justice Department bent on revenge. It is important to understand the potential consequences of an FBI headed by a political appointee assigned to do the President's bidding. Ann S.
Book Description
In the fall of 1931, Thalia Massie, the bored, aristocratic wife of a young naval officer stationed in Honolulu, accused six nonwhite islanders of gang rape. The ensuing trial let loose a storm of racial and sexual hysteria, but the case against the suspects was scant and the trial ended in a hung jury. Outraged, Thalia's socialite mother arranged the kidnapping and murder of one of the suspects. In the spectacularly publicized trial that followed, Clarence Darrow came to Hawai'i to defend Thalia's mother, a sorry epitaph to a noble career.
It is one of the most sensational criminal cases in American History, Stannard has rendered more than a lurid tale. One hundred and fifty years of oppression came to a head in those sweltering courtrooms. In the face of overwhelming intimidation from a cabal of corrupt military leaders and businessmen, various people involved with the case--the judge, the defense team, the jurors, a newspaper editor, and the accused themselves-refused to be cowed. Their moral courage united the disparate elements of the non-white community and galvanized Hawai'i's rapid transformation from an oppressive white-run oligarchy to the harmonic, multicultural American state it became.
Honor Killing is a great true crime story worthy of Dominick Dunne-both a sensational read and an important work of social history.
Customer Reviews:
Much more than true crime.......2007-01-10
I read this book while working in Hawaii and found it absolutely riveting, not so much because of the true crime story (which was bizarre) but because the author captured Hawaii's "society" of the early 20th century. I must admit I was ashamed of our military's behavior at that time--and in this case--and equally appalled at the bigotry and arrogance that flourished among the Americans then living in the Islands. Overall it was a compelling story written with a view to the whole era.
The Darker Side of Paradise .......2006-10-07
HONOR KILLING; Race, Rape, and Clarence Darrow's Spectacular Last Case
By David Stannard
David Stannard's recounting of the Massie Affair is a lively courtroom drama, social and personal history, and examination of the social structure of the Hawaiian Islands during the pre World War II period. It is based on the true story of the alleged rape of a white woman by a group of young Hawaiian men; the kidnapping of and murder plot against one of them; and the legal entanglements that followed. The story reads like a novel, with characters like Admiral Stirling, the head of the Navy establishment; Raymond "Boss" Coll, Editor of Honololu's most influential newspaper; and Clarence Darrow , the famed advocate for the defendant in the Scopes monkey trial. Stannard examines the social interaction between the Native Hawaiian population and the white "haole" business leaders who called the political shots and dominated the economy. Stannard backs up his engaging writing style with thorough research based on contemporary accounts and interviews with people intimately familiar with the case.
In many ways, the issues raised in the Massie Case: elitism; paternalism; isolationism and racism... foreshadowed the Hawaiian Statehood and Independence movement a quarter century later. ****Stars Philip W. Henry/ Rialto, CA
Hawaii is Hotbed for love and death.......2006-05-12
Hot, sexy story. I took it to the beach and sorry I wasn't in Hawaii. Kept thinking about what happened down in Aruba. I was drawn to the exotic place and the danger...makes me think that part of the fun is the danger. The book also brought up things like racism...but I know that is the way it was and in many ways still is...at least at my college. I love this kind of thriller...what could be bad about being naked and vulnerable...A must read for those who like intrigue and naked bodies, and heat, heat, heat.
Trouble in paradise: True crime, social history, and political intrigue.......2005-11-20
Although you'll probably find this book in the "True Crime" section of many bookstores, "Honor Killing" is far more than an account of an alleged rape, a murder, and two trials. Instead, Stannard provides a thorough grounding in Hawaiian social history--background without which the significance of this case would be incomprehensible. As Stannard summarizes in the notes, the Massie affair was "a pivotal moment in the history of Hawai'i, one that exposed a white supremacist social order both locally and nationwide."
The facts of the case are complicated; any summary necessarily reduces things to an entry in a police blotter. In 1931 Thalia Massie, wife of a Navy officer (and--this is oddly important--an impoverished relative of Teddy Roosevelt and of Alexander Graham Bell) claimed that she was raped by a gang of five Hawaiians. Almost immediately, five locals (not all of them were even Hawaiian) were rounded up, in spite of their fairly substantial and tight alibis. Their is little doubt that Massie was lying about her experience that night--whatever may have really happened--but the truth of the case became less important than the outrage of the white aristocrats of the island and their American military backers, who rushed to the defense of this young member of one of the nation's leading families.
When the trial of the young men ended in a hung jury, Thalia's husband and her mother, along with two cohorts, conspired to kidnap and murder one of the accused assailants. During the ensuing circus, the remaining four men were locked up in a prison cell to ensure their "safety," while the murder suspects were treated as celebrities by the local politicians and military authorities and given accommodations judged proper for their stations. Eventually, Clarence Darrow arrived to defend the "honor killing"--a performance that sullied his reputation among his usually left-leaning supporters.
What's enviable about Stannard's book is his ability to take this case and transmit its page-turning essence while simultaneously describing the social history of the islands, recounting the alarmingly racist reaction by the mainland media (including, but not limited to, the Hearst newspapers), and conveying the importance of this case in transforming Hawaii's political structure. The retelling of the case itself is so effective that I was stunned by the outcome of the second trial--which is not what the reader is led to expect, but which is, ultimately, all the more shocking.
One might argue that Stannard overstates the case's importance to the eventual overthrow of the white-dominated oligarchy--certainly there were other factors and events changing the social fabric (and the book touches on some of them). But it can not be in doubt that the Massie affair played a galvanizing role; in the short term, many of the organizers (particularly naval officials) on the "wrong" side lost their positions and had to leave the island, the ongoing attempt to militarize the islands failed, and the case helped to unite the previously quarrelling Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, and Portuguese communities. In the long term, some of the principals on the "correct" side of the case went on to play prominent roles in Hawaii's "Revolution of 1954"; it is not a coincidence that the territorial Senator William Heen was chief counsel for the defense of the five accused men.
"Honor Killing," then, is something of a marvel: it succeeds as a detective story, a political thriller, and a social history. I couldn't put it down.
Whispers On Beach Road.......2005-11-18
I really enjoyed this book and I applaud David Stannard for doing the research. Few survivors of the period are still alive; oddly enough, many of the main characters were young in 1931 and so live on today, and reading all the trial testimony carefull and collected the archives of the news accounts, as well as keeping an ear to the ground, has allowed David E. Stannard to expand, in an extraordinary way, our knowledge of this tragic affair beyond any preceding account. You can almost smell the frangipani, hear the ocean roar. As the Massies get drunk at the Officer's Club, you can almost sense the aimless confusion of those living beyond their means.
Even the bizarre details ring true, such as when Thalia Massie, recovering from her "injuries" in a Honolulu hospital ward, asks the nurse to satisfy her curiosity about if Asian women are "built sideways."
I think Thalia lied. However, Stannard is relentless in besmirching Thalia Massie, and his attack amounts to Hearst-style overkill. He had credibility going in, but there's so much detail about how awful she was that after awhile, two words spring to mind: character assassination. Had Stannard attempted to give us a more balanced, well rounded portrait of Thalia, her infamy might have registered more fully. As it is, I suspect that at least some good traits have been suppressed, because no one, not even Hitler, is as evil as he portrays Thalia Massie.
Not only that, but OK, he doesn't believe her rape claim. If you relied on this book, you would think that the crime of rape never actually happened, that each accusation was false, or at least that no men of color had ever raped a white woman, anywhere in the world. Stannard doesn't make blanket statements, exactly; he just shows us that until the Massie case, no Hawai'ians had ever been convicted of raping a white woman, and that afterwards, whatever convictions have been obtained were tainted by the case and thus should be thrown out and all the rapists pardoned. Here, again, I think he goes too far. He all but says that ANY woman who has been raped was not raped, but only lying. Sad.
Customer Reviews:
The occupation of Veracruz by American forces........2000-05-29
During the Mexican Revolution, Woodrow Wilson needed a pretext to seize the Mexican port of Veracruz from the forces of the dictator Huerta. His basic intentions was to prevent the port from supplying Huerta with arms for his fight with the rebels. In deciding to intervene, he uses the detainment of American sailors for one hour as the justification. Events then slide out of control with the capture of Veracruz. Twenty US soldiers and hundreds of Mexican citizens become the victims of Wilson's policy. This book portrays Wilson negatively, because his policy was not justified. Mexicans remember this event more than the earlier wars with the United States. Although Wilson may have been an idealist, the portrait in the book is of a self righteous man, not capable of understanding another viewpoint. Accounts in the book show the American occupation as being progressive and in the best interests of the people of Veracruz. Wilson returned the port to the rebels after nine months.
This is a nice read for a little known chapter in American and Mexican history. People would be wise to read it, especially in light of the use of American forces worldwide.
affair of honor.......2000-03-17
Very well written book about an incident in American history that the American Government would rather forget. The book is savage in its accessment of Wilson and the reasons that America chose to interfere in the affairs of another country.
Books:
- The Coffin Dancer (A Lincoln Rhyme Novel)
- The Complete Calvin and Hobbes (Calvin & Hobbes)
- The Diary of Anais Nin: Vol. 1 (1931-1934)
- The Fragrance of God
- The Great Book of Guns: An Illustrated History of Military, Sporting, and Antique Firearms
- The History of Love: A Novel
- The Last Mimzy: And Other Stories Originally published as The Best of Henry Kuttner
- The Mercury Visions of Louis Daguerre: A Novel
- The Mission Song: A Novel
- The Oath
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