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American Spy: My Secret History in the CIA, Watergate and Beyond
 
 
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American Spy: My Secret History in the CIA, Watergate and Beyond [Hardcover]

E. Howard Hunt (Author), Greg Aunapu (Author), William F Buckley Jr. (Foreword)
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)

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Book Description

0471789828 978-0471789826 February 26, 2007 1
Startling revelations from the OSS, the CIA, and the Nixon White house

Think you know everything there is to know about the OSS, the Cold War, the CIA, and Watergate? Think again. In American Spy, one of the key figures in postwar international and political espionage tells all. Former OSS and CIA operative and White House staffer E. Howard Hunt takes you into the covert designs of Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon:

  • His involvement in the CIA coup in Guatemala in 1954, the Bay of Pigs invasion, and more
  • His work with CIA officials such as Allen Dulles and Richard Helms
    His friendship with William F. Buckley Jr., whom Hunt brought into the CIA
  • The amazing steps the CIA took to manipulate the media in America and abroad
  • The motives behind the break-in at Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office
  • Why the White House "plumbers" were formed and what they accomplished
  • The truth behind Operation Gemstone, a series of planned black ops activities against Nixon's political enemies
  • A minute-by-minute account of the Watergate break-in
  • Previously unreleased details of the post-Watergate cover-up

Complete with documentation from audiotape transcripts, handwritten notes, and official documents, American Spy is must reading for anyone who is fascinated by real-life spy tales, high-stakes politics, and, of course, Watergate.


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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Career spy, Watergate conspirator and prolific suspense novelist Hunt (Guilty Knowledge) collaborated with journalist Aunapu (Without a Trace) on this breezy, unrepentant memoir. Hunt (who died recently at 88) recalls the highlights of a long career, from WWII service with the fabled Office of Strategic Services (OSS)—predecessor of the CIA—to a career with the agency itself and a stint as a consultant to the Nixon White House. As a White House operative, Hunt specialized in dirty tricks and break-ins—including the Democratic National Committee's headquarters—and served 33 months in federal prison for his role in the Watergate scandal. He claims to have been a magnet for women, especially models, and shamelessly drops the names of the rich and powerful. He also played a key role in the disastrous Bay of Pigs operation. As for his role in Watergate, he blames his "bulldog loyalty" and concedes only that he and his fellow conspirators did "the wrong things for the right reasons." In a postscript, Hunt urges reforming the beleaguered CIA in the image of the wartime OSS and its "daring amateurs." Hunt's nostalgic memoir breaks scant new ground in an already crowded field. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Longtime CIA propagandist, spy novelist, and convicted Watergate burglar Hunt first told his dramatic story in Undercover: Memoirs of a Secret Agent (1975) while the scandal was raw, legal fees were mounting, and innuendoes about Hunt's possible involvement in the Kennedy assassination had yet to surface. With this book, Hunt updates his autobiography to remind readers of his storied career in the intelligence services, shoot down a few conspiracy theories, and occasionally show a hint of guarded remorse. Hunt begins by describing his adventures in East Asia and cold war Central America; readers could be forgiven for confusing Hunt with one of his fictional protagonists. After Hunt's long and candid account of his role in Watergate, however, it becomes clear that Hunt's early exploits are presented in part because they make his role in Watergate seem like just another covert-ops mission. Thirty years later, Hunt's regret for his involvement is steeped in the language of patriotic addiction--he did what he did because he had been habituated to breaking the law in the service of his country--yet blurred with animosity toward both the judge who sentenced him and the Nixon administration, which failed to cover for him. This ambiguous confession of guilt is Hunt's final public comment on the matter: he died in January 2007, shortly after completing this book. Brendan Driscoll
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (February 26, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0471789828
  • ISBN-13: 978-0471789826
  • Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #755,882 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

22 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.6 out of 5 stars (22 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Important And candid book., May 14, 2007
This review is from: American Spy: My Secret History in the CIA, Watergate and Beyond (Hardcover)
There was a real snotty review of this book by the NY Times( the bastion of limosine liberalism and Oswald did it alone BS) But, anyone interested in Watergate or the JFK Assassination should read it- the reviewer doesn't have a clue more than the man in the street what Howard hunt, knew and he had a long association with the Assassination losing a lawsuit where he was 11-22-63 as shown in Mark Lane's Plausible denial. I'm not saying Hunt didn't embellish, or possibly deflate his own role,maybe threw in a couple bogus names, but the names he picks-the key ones: William Harvey, David Morales, and David Phillps all have several suspicious things about them in this regard, were all heavy drinkers and hated The Kennedys with a purple passion. There is nothing far fetched about their alleged involvement.one of the big reasons the conspiracy worked is no one in the Wash press corps could fathom it...& whatever Hoover said, or spokesman for Govt. Agencies was accepted without question in that day, thus denying a mountain of germane contrary evidence. As far as watergate- very interesting and it was horrible his wife died in the plane crash, and Hunt got 35 years from Judge Sirica!What they did was illegal, but nothing compared to what the current Administration is doing and though Hunt is hardly a shining knight, you can really see things through his eyes and his observations on notable people are just priceless and often I believe highly accurate ..In a sea of evil pathological liars that were much higher up the food chain-Hoover,Nixon, Helms, Angeton,& LBJ Hunt wasn't the epitome of malevolance as he was portrayed in the Establishment..there were people far worse...
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21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A spiritual forefather of the Bush adminsitration, March 17, 2007
This review is from: American Spy: My Secret History in the CIA, Watergate and Beyond (Hardcover)
I figured E. Howard Hunt would be a relatively interesting guy: real life spy, Watergate conspirator, author of dozens of espionage novels. All the derring-do is in this book and it's fun reading --underground in China, plotting the Bay of Pigs, being on the other end of the walkie-talkie as the Watergate "plumbers" break in and get caught. (Getting the inside story of that night from Hunt is fascinating.) But if you read between the lines in this fast-paced bio you also get an insight into a certain kind of twisted, ultra conservative patriotism. The self deception and duplicity are breathtaking and will remind you of some people in the headlines today -- except Hunt is surely a much better storyteller. He's a trip.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent writer, March 29, 2007
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Karen Kent "KKT" (Winchester VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: American Spy: My Secret History in the CIA, Watergate and Beyond (Hardcover)
Hunt shows one last time why his books sold so well. This one reads as if he were sitting in a den with you, telling things as he remembered them. I just wish I could believe everything he said...
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White House, United States, New York, Bay of Pigs, John Dean, Mexico City, John Mitchell, Allen Dulles, Latin America, Frank Sturgis, Frank Wisner, Soviet Union, Judge Sirica, Los Angeles, Richard Nixon, State Department, Mañuel Artime, Washington Post, Cold War, Richard Helms, Communist Party, Tracy Barnes, Bill Buckley, Far East, Howard Johnson
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