( 10 reviews )
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Posted: Apr 30 2009
Spytime: The Undoing of James Jesus Angleton Although I have not read this book, I did have the honor of working for James Angleton after his return to the CIA in the 1980's. I can state without reservation that almost everything ever published about Mr. Angleton is either factually wrong or completely nonsensical. Biographers routinely error on basic facts such as Angleton's youth, education, and religion. Far worse is the fact that virtually all of his biographers also accept without reservation officially sanctioned leaks and "deep background" interviews concerning the so-called "mole hunt," his relationship to Maj. Golitsyn, his supposed "paranoia," and the reasons for his 1973 dismissal. Oddly, none of them mention the fact that he was recalled to the CIA in 1981. Although it is true that the "mole hunt" ended inconclusively, that was not the reason for Angleton's enforced departure from the CIA. In actual fact, he had informed the U.S. Senate the CIA could not verify the arms control treaty Henry Kissinger had negotiated with the Soviets - and because this testimony threatened Kissinger's policies, power, and position, Angleton was forced to walk the plank. All accounts to the contrary are politically expedient cover stories circulated by Kissinger cronies or disaffected former intelligence officers who believe their careers were adversely affected by the hold Angleton supposedly put on the recruitment of agents in the USSR. (This also untrue -the DCI was responsible for the hold) Although this space does not provide an appropriate forum for rebutting the volumes of nonsense published about Mr. Angleton, it is appropriate to point out that none of his biographers have had any experience in the field of counterintelligence at all, and that only one - Jay Epstein - has demonstrated any real understanding of it. This criticism also applies to the many former intelligence officers that have criticized him, almost all of whom served in the Soviet Bloc Division or in Security. Counterintelligence is so complex and arcane that even most intelligence professionals do not understand it. That Buckley's book is a work of fiction does not distinguish it from supposedly serious biographies. With the sole exception of the writer referenced above, ALL of the Angleton biographers have produced works of fantasy. Perhaps this book is more enjoyable. Certainly, it will do less harm.
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Posted: Apr 22 2008
With a brilliant crafting of words and overview of the most famous - and infamous - individuals within the Cold War, William F. Buckley, Jr., delivers a stunning "fictional" re-creation of the life of the ultimate spy-catcher, James Jesus Angleton. Perhaps the most controversial name in American spycraft, Angleton's role has been hotly debated by historians, critics and those who spin stories for their own political gain. Buckley, Jr., casts aside the nonsense and shows a true American patriot at work; one who would risk his personal reputation for the good of the nation. Published in 2000, Buckley, Jr., has delivered a tour-de-force on the game of espionage; where the enemy is within and the those driven by the politics of ego can destroy the truly best & the brightest.
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Posted: Feb 20 2008
This fictional story about James Angleton is terribly boring, and doesn't make a good spy novel.
