Surprise, Kill, Vanish: The Definitive History of Secret CIA Assassins, Armies and Operators

I’ve currently got about a 1/3 of the way through, having it as a lunchtime and before bed read, and at this point it’s fair to say it’s a great read so far.A good bit of build up history to the how and why the CIA, paramilitary division and it precursors really lend well to setting up the rest of the book.It sits on the fence for the lions share, which is good as it doesn’t become propaganda, or blurs history.In short, if you’re interested in Intelligence and military history, with explanations behind the wisdom of operations, you’ll not go wrong with this book.

Great and informative, well written and captivating. Great insight in to the CIA and methods/ operations with first class information from good sources. A must read for anyone interested in the spy genre movies or novels.

Good book. A proper page turner. But it omits one huge fundamental verifiable fact that the CIA has acted and continues to act unlawfully (and with dire consequences) on its own sovereign population with many now documented false flags. It also makes HUGE assumptions about how other countries run themselves and what their intentions are. The default position is always ‘country A’ is bad so we need to go in to affect regime change at the cost of countless lives.

I had been expecting a factual, historical journey through dates, times and incidents that formed current policy.I got all that but it was beautifully woven through the lives of key players that had been involved since WW2.An amazing read about some amazing people. Well worth it.

Excellent history of covert operations. Also the only book I know of that covers the legal justification for covert operations and the distinction between civilian and military operators. That is a distinction lost in uninformed duscourse, but it is an important one.

a very good description of how the CIA presumably works, the writing style is very good and captivating

Utterly amazing and superbly written. The depth of hard work is clear to see in this brilliant book.Thankyou Annie.

One of the best books I have ever read. This book also got me in to MACV SOG, and I have now read lots on them to. Thank you!

Despite the vacillations of politicians, few of which have experienced warfare and many of whom make deprecating remarks about military members, loyal, dedicated, and highly talented men and women serve this country to the best of their abilities so we can sleep safely at night. This book highlights some of the best.

guerra coreia e vietnam 10 guerra no afeganistão e iraque 5...media 7.5...da pra curti

Very well written and documented. My second book from this author.

De auteur volgt met de hulp van inside-informanten de uitbouw van de moordprojecten van de CIA sedert de tweede wereldoorlog, en levert daarbij soms totaal onvermoed fotomateriaal mee. De echte wereld blijkt spannender dan fictie ...

Who needs made up conspiracy theories, when what really happens is even more disturbing?If what Annie Jakobsen reports comes close to reality, it would change my perception about the good and the bad guys, insofar that there is no such distinction. There are just fallible guys on either side, who are convinced they are the good ones. And thus there are stories of undisputed heroism. And it makes you wonder, how something right one would want to do, has to be kept secret. But then, thats how propaganda, i.e. casting an alternate reality, works. The book anyway is great work and eye-opening.