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Licensed to Spy: With the Top Secret Military Liaison Mission in East Germany
 
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Licensed to Spy: With the Top Secret Military Liaison Mission in East Germany [Hardcover]

John A. Fahey (Author)
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)


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Book Description

April 22, 2002
John Fahey's firsthand account of his activities as a U.S. naval officer in East Germany during the Cold War is a must read for everyone who enjoys true-life spy stories. An astonishing tale of overt reconnaissance, high-speed car chases, shootings, and detentions, the book chronicles Fahey's two years in the midst of twenty-two divisions of Soviet troops behind the Iron Curtain. As a member of a military liaison mission established in a little-known 1947 agreement between U.S. and Soviet forces, the author was legally permitted to perform surveillance in East Germany and took advantage of the opportunity to conduct dangerous intelligence missions.

Fahey takes the reader into the Soviet military psyche during the height of Cold War relations with the United States. A Russian linguist as well as a spy, he served as an interpreter and delegate in high-level meetings between heads of the Soviet and American armies. This account provides an intimate view of the Russian military officer and details of a life of intrigue behind the borders of a Communist country. Published here for the first time, thirty-seven photographs illustrate this tale of insight and intrigue that is sure to appeal to the general public as well as to military personnel and Cold War historians.


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Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a good look at the hush-hush organization that did a great job for the United States." -- Military Review, March-April 2004

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Naval Institute Press (April 22, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1557502943
  • ISBN-13: 978-1557502940
  • Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13.9 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #826,816 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Retired Naval Officer Wows the Russians, July 3, 2002
By 
Edgar E. Delong (Virginia Beach, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Licensed to Spy: With the Top Secret Military Liaison Mission in East Germany (Hardcover)
John Fahey is an unassuming man, who it seems, prefers to get things done by using humor and tact rather than force. During this unusual period when he was living and working behind the iron curtain, he avoided being shot or permanently jailed by joking with his captors. Even his US Army bosses were out to get rid of the "swabbie" and that too he managed to easily avoid.It's unusual for a naval officer to be involved with so much army, including the enemy's army and Fahey was able to not only get along with these folks but collect very valuable intelligence information to forward back to our Government.
This little known part of history is a pleasure to read and you'll find yourself chuckling along the way. My recommendation is : Buy it! you"ll like it.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Accurate; Misconceived Notions by Previous Reviewer, July 10, 2003
By 
This review is from: Licensed to Spy: With the Top Secret Military Liaison Mission in East Germany (Hardcover)
As a former HUMINT Tour Driver stationed in USMLM, I take exception to Reader/San Antonio's comments regarding Cmdr Fahey's experiences during his extraordinary time at the Mission. While I certainly understand that many spy afficianados tend to lump human intelligence methodologies into one large basket, the USMLM was unlike anything anywhere else in US military history during the Cold War era. Cmdr Fahey's comments regarding personal interactions aside, being detained by hostile forces 7 times has nothing to do with level of success that he achieved. In other words, being detained came with the turf; sometimes you wouldn't be detained for 6 months and the KGB/GRU/Stasi would target you specifically because of your ability to get the job done. In a country with hundreds of thousands of hostile personnel, we took our life into our hands every time we went on "tour." I highly recommend this book.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Informative, useful first-hand account, June 12, 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Licensed to Spy: With the Top Secret Military Liaison Mission in East Germany (Hardcover)
Commander Fahey's memoir as a "licensed" spy in the former East Germany is an informative and entertaining read. While the incidents he relates are worth reading about, more useful are his comments about dealing with the (former) East Germans and Soviets, and observations on the Russian character. His memoir should serve as a excellent example of how fluent and perceptive linguists are crucial to intelligence operations. His comments about one (unnamed) mission chief provides a good example of how carefully intelligence agencies should choose their personnel. One very minor shortcoming: Cdr. Fahey's assignment was to the US Military Liaison Mission to the Soviet forces in East Germany. The Soviets had a similar mission in West Germany. Were their "licensed" spying activities similar? Recommended for those interested in intelliegnce activities, the Cold War, and the Soviet/Russian military.
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