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A solid book, with noticeable flaws, including possibly a missing dust jacket, modest tattering to dust jacket, bumped corners, a modest amount of writing in the text, or ex-library. A solid book, with noticeable flaws, including possibly a missing dust jacket, modest tattering to dust jacket, bumped corners, a modest amount of writing in the text, or ex-library. See less
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Of Spies and Lies: A CIA Lie Detector Remembers Vietnam Hardcover – May 30, 2002

by John F. Sullivan (Author)
3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 15 ratings
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Any serious study of the Vietnam War would be less than complete without accounting for the CIA's role in that conflict-a role that increased dramatically after the Tet offensive in 1968. We know most of the details of military engagement in Vietnam, given its greater visibility, but until recently clandestine operations have remained shrouded in secrecy.

John Sullivan was one of the CIA's top polygraph examiners during the final four years of the war in Vietnam, where he served longer and conducted more lie detector tests than any other examiner and worked with more agents than most of his colleagues. His job was to evaluate the reliability of the agency's information sources, an assignment that gave him a more intimate view of the war than was afforded most other participants. In the first book to be written by such an operative, he tells what it was like to be an agency officer working in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos during those chaotic years, putting a human face on covert operations that helps us better understand why we lost the war.

Of Spies and Lies traces Sullivan's journey from dedication to disillusionment while serving in Southeast Asia. Although many CIA personnel lived better in Vietnam and made more money than ever before, their actual working conditions hindered effective intelligence gathering. A much larger and far more distressing obstacle, however, was the agency's failure to send its "best and brightest" agents to Southeast Asia. On the contrary, as Sullivan notes, Vietnam became a kind of dumping ground for poor performers, alcoholics, refugees from bad marriages, and other "problem agents."

Through anecdotes and inside stories Sullivan provides new insights into CIA culture that debunk the "James Bond" image of clandestine operations and show how in Vietnam the seamier aspects of that culture were allowed to grow even worse. He discusses the roles of the CIA's three most significant players—Ted Shackley, General Charles Timmes, and Tom Polgar—from a more personal perspective than previously available and candidly portrays a rogues' gallery of cheats, scoundrels, and libertines, while also giving due credit to those who fought hard to maintain professional standards.

One of the most frank and intimate looks at CIA operations in Vietnam ever published, Of Spies and Lies reveals why the CIA's efforts there were such a failure and allows a more complete assessment of its poor performance in a losing cause.
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  1. Print length
    264 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    University Press of Kansas
  4. Publication date
    May 30, 2002
  5. Dimensions
    6.25 x 1 x 9.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0700611681
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0700611683
  8. See all details
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3.8 out of 5 stars
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  • Merle L. Pribbenow
    5.0 out of 5 stars A "Must Read" for students of the Vietnam War
    Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2002
    Verified Purchase
    John Sullivan's "Of Spies and Lies" is a fascinating account of wartime CIA intelligence operations in Vietnam that should be required reading not only for students of the Vietnam War, but also for anyone interested in the current war on terror. John's discussions of the difficulties an intelligence agency faces in recruiting penetrations of a difficult and dangerous enemy organization and his descriptions of problems caused by the shortage of officers with the requisite language and area knowledge bear disturbing similarities to headlines we see in the press every day. It is another illustration of the old saw that "those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."
    John's book provides a unique window into life in the CIA's Saigon Station. His description of Agency operations in Vietnam ranges from the controversy surrounding our best penetration of the Viet Cong leadership to the polygraphing of local employees over the disappearance of a few slices of ham at a party (an incident I remember quite well). John also gives unprecedented insights into the important role the Agency's requirement for polygraph vetting plays in keeping case officers, who work daily in the murky waters of spies, fabricators, and con-men, on the straight and narrow road of the pursuit of the truth. CIA polygraphers like John helped lead the way in the development of a systematic vetting process for use in the conduct of clandestine intelligence collection operations. The book illustrates how that process works and how, when the process is ignored or distorted, the entire system can quickly break down.
    I served with John in Saigon Station and know his reputation as one of the Agency's best. As a former Saigon Station officer, some of his criticisms of personnel and procedures in Southeast Asia are painful, but their accuracy is incontrovertible. I highly recommend this book.
    21 people found this helpful
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  • Ken Homburg
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2015
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    Behind the scenes history.
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  • James M. Speckman
    3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2016
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    It's okay
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  • Gary4Books
    5.0 out of 5 stars It takes a mosaic to tell a story this big - and personal
    Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2002
    Verified Purchase
    The book starts out one story at a time and some times the thought is "why tell me about a broken desk cover" but at the end you know more about what it was really like in Laos and Vietnam. John was known as the man who would tell the truth to those in power. Now he shares it with the rest of us.
    As we see the formulation of a new "homeland security agency" it is a reminder to us that the best way to get good results is pay attention to every step of the process. Our Vietnam operation had great support and many poor operations with the information results (even the good information) seeming to get lost on the way to those who needed it. The lesson I see is that all of the details are important. Bottle necks can kill.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Clive Andrew DePaule
    1.0 out of 5 stars Rotten Book
    Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2019
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    Rotten reading
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  • Benjamin
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very intresting look into Nam
    Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    I read Johns 2nd book, Gatekeeper first, which I enjoyed. Figured I had to get this one and check it out. This an interesting look into Nam from his perspective working for the CIA. Overall a pretty good read.
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  • Walter S. Mcintosh
    4.0 out of 5 stars Insider's Janundiced View of Intelligence Operations
    Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2002
    John has written a journeyman's account of his four years as a polygraph operator in Vietnam . It is a somewhat confusing account of that time,for even another insider,in that all but a few of the names mentioned , and there are many many names mentioned, are contrived aliases . I was there all of the time and knew John quite well(I thought), and even I am having a hard time connecting the real names to the given aliases. I am amusedly miffed at John's claim that he did not know a staffer above the grade of GS-10 who spoke Vietnamese as I had been in-country for ten years by the time John arrived and worked closely with John on a number of cases.Also, although a very small point, John notes in two places that he or others were delayed going from the American Embassy to Tan Son Nhut Airport because they got caught up in traffic on Cong Ly Boulevard in Saigon . It has been a long time since the war but I am fairly sure that Cong Ly Boulevard was a one-way street heading into Saigon not out of town.It is therefore likely there are other factual errors that crept into this account. John was an excellent polygraph operator who tended to gossip a bit too much and really did want management to look to him to report on how things were going in the field.These are human failings, and are understandable but at times unforgivable. I am glad John wrote his memories of the war and managed to get published this very insiders account of his fours years in Vietnam and Cambodia. It brought back a lot of memories. I recommend the book for anyone truly interested in the Vietnam War.
    11 people found this helpful
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  • Joseph Dwyer
    5.0 out of 5 stars I enjoyed reading both of his books
    Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    I met John and his wife Lee on a cruise. From our first conversation I knew he was an interesting man. I enjoyed reading both of his books, Of spies and lies and Gatekeeper. His style of writing is upfront and personal. Very interesting.
    One person found this helpful
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