The Secret Man: An American Warrior's Uncensored Story [Hardcover]

Frank Dux (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1996

A true-life espionage account chronicles the exploits of a former CIA hitman who performed highly classified missions and who masked his covert operations under his international reputation as a martial arts black belt. $50,000 ad/promo. Tour.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

It's hard to tell whether the author is merely posturing or expressing his fantasy life in a memoir that reads as if patterned on the early paperback Avenger series. Dux describes himself as "sleek and agile," a professional martial artist "considered by many the fastest human alive," a man able to break bullet-proof glass with a blow from his bare hand, "a great hunter." He was a contract operative for William Casey, who supposedly recruited him in a urinal after introducing himself as "head of the fucking CIA." The missions Dux recounts include killing a mass murderer and aiding the U.S.S.R. in investigating what proved to be a scam anthrax scare. He writes sketchily of the Iran-Contra scandal. He also relates a bit of his background, a heritage of forebears in the Hagganah and Mossad. Dux attempts to settle scores as well, disputing exposes of his martial-arts prowess that appeared in the Los Angeles Times and in various magazines. Telling of his recent surgery for brain tumors, he speculates that his affliction and the tumor that killed Casey in 1987 could have been instigated through a bioagent. Dux stresses that, as a CIA operative, he worked "on the edge of a psychological razor"?which, with this tell-all, slips. Photos not seen by PW. $50,000 ad/promo; author tour; available on audiocassette from HarperAudio.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 316 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins; 1st edition (April 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060391529
• ISBN-13: 978-0060391522
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #611,776 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars An Insult to Veterans as Well as Martial Artists, May 19, 2003

By 

James M. Mace (Meridian, Idaho United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secret Man: An American Warrior's Uncensored Story (Hardcover)

This book is insulting on so many levels, it's not even funny. Anyone with a shred of knowledge concerning Vietnam, the CIA, combat operations, or martial arts, will know that this book is pure fantasy. And to those who say that it is just "entertainment," my reply is, then don't write it off as fact! Just ask anyone who actually works for the CIA, and they will tell you straight up that the manner in which Mr. Dux describes his "recruitment" is not how the CIA does business.

Mr. Dux has a knack for telling a fascinating story, but to pass it off as his autobiography is going way too far. A good book that takes historical events and places them in a fictional setting is Christopher Harvey's "The Kirya Solution." Some of the events in the book are based on his actual experiences in the First Gulf War; however he changes the names and under no pretensions claims that the book is about him.

As for Mr. Dux's martial arts abilities, I cannot vouch one way or the other; however, they sound way too far-fetched to be taken seriously. Fact is, people claiming to have all this "secret" training that can break bullet-proof glass with their bare hands (huh??) or kill you with a "death punch" are a dime-a-dozen. I wonder then why there aren't more of these types competing in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). I mean, if he was able to win the super-secret Kumite (which by the way doesn't exist; oh, and the word actually means "sparring"), becoming a world champion in MMA should be easy. Of course the response is always the same, "If I used my full abilities, I would kill someone." Yeah, okay. I have no doubt that Mr. Dux is skilled in his particular art, though for people to call him the fastest human alive; and that "elite" martial artists who tried to beat him got carried out by paramedics is a bit preposterous. I highly doubt that he was faster than some of the lightweights fighting in MMA; and even in his prime he would have stood little chance against the likes of actual World Champions Fedor Emelianenko and Randy Couture. If you want to see real fighters, watch the UFC or other MMA events.

** NEWS FLASH: The U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor is NEVER awarded "in secret." Even for classified operations, the Medal is awarded publicly, with the citation being written so as to remove any classified information. Such was the case with Navy Seal Thomas Norris, who earned the Medal of Honor in Vietnam in 1972. Though details of his action were classified for many years, a citation was still written and his Medal of Honor presented in a very public ceremony at the White House by President Ford. Mr. Dux gravely insults Thomas Norris, and indeed every other Medal of Honor recipient, by his outlandish claims. If you want to read about an actual Medal of Honor recipient, read "Medal of Honor" by Roy Benavidez (a REAL American Hero). **

Bottom line is that by proposing this to be a true story, Mr. Dux disrespects every combat veteran and CIA operative to have ever served this Nation. Unfortunately, there will always be gullible types who buy into such nonsense. And of interesting note: Mr. Dux was given a psychiatric exam during his brief time in the military where it was noted that he was delusional and prone to exageration. I would never have guessed. . .

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Fails as fact and as fiction, July 5, 2011

By 

Charles C. Hardin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Secret Man: An American Warrior's Uncensored Story (Hardcover)

The number of factual errors in this alleged autobiography would stun James Frey and Stephen Glass. General John Singlaub directed the Phoenix Project? No. Bill Casey was short? No. A Makarov pistol is incredibly heavy? Hell, no.

Even if we put those objections aside, the book is crap. It reads like Ton Clancy fanfic, complete with cheesy dialogue, poorly motivated plot developments, and tales of derring-do.

Dux's actual military records are public, and they don't support even a little of his story. As for that 300-man kumite, where are all those guys he beat, and where were their trainers, cutmen, cornermen, etc.? What secluded island would not make note of such a giant influx of people, yet be small enough that the secret could be kept?

Sorry, Frank, but it's no dice. You've committed the worst error a self-aggrandizing BS artist can make: You're boring.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Baron von Munchausen is alive and well!, September 5, 2002

By 

Glenn Campbell (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Secret Man: An American Warrior's Uncensored Story (Hardcover)

I have serious doubts as to whether any of the author's exploits described in this "non-fiction" book actually took place -- but that's the fun! On a long drive, I listened to the abridged audiotape version of this book, without knowing anything about it. I was enthralled -- in part because I couldn't figure out whether it was supposed to be fiction or non-fiction. Real people and world events are weaved into the story in such a way that it could have happened, yet the author's claimed exploits are way too heroic to be believed. The fact that I didn't know whether it was real gave the book an intriguing edge, at least for the first half. Aren't all good spy books about deception and misdirection? By the end, however, I was getting queasy, mainly from the described violence, which I was now convinced was totally in the author's head. In all, this was an interesting read, if only to try to figure out the flaws in the story.