CHIEF OF STATION, CONGO Fighting the Cold War in a Hot Zone LARRY DEVLIN

"If one man personified the cold war in Africa—that ruinous contest between the greatest powers in the world's weakest states—it was Larry Devlin. Smart, ambitious and hard as bullets, a second-world-war veteran who equated communists with Nazis, he was one of the CIA's first station chiefs in Congo, where he arrived just days after it was made independent by Belgium in 1960—at two weeks' notice... Mr Devlin's was an unsavoury career. But so was that of any successful cold-war spy. His adventures, which he tells quite well, included dodging cannibal mutineers and murderous Western mercenaries; surviving numerous mock executions; and driving around Kinshasa with a rigid corpse sticking out of his trunk."
--The Economist

"Remember the Cold War? Larry Devlin does, and his very inside, very honest and very unapologetic account of clandestine operations, cynical bargaining and an idealistic desire to stop the Commies -- the basic stuff of CIA activity in the Congos during the early 1960s -- is as good as it gets."
--Seymour M. Hersh, the New Yorker

"The real story, this book makes clear, was more colourful than any novelist dare imagine…[W]hat revelations remain [after being vetted by the CIA] are still extraordinary enough to ensure his memoirs become a must-read for those interested in the shaping of independent Africa. Devlin's account of the first Mobutu coup, in which he personally assured the future dictator that the US would bankroll his takeover, is one such astonishing moment….The danger with Chief of Station, Congo, is that it will be read purely as a work of historical interest, a fascinating account of a now-obsolete period when Moscow and Washington treated Africa as their board for a game of superpower chess. In fact, this book is of pressing and immediate relevance."
--Michaela Wrong, The Financial Times

"In this vivid, authoritative account of being CIA station chief in Congo during the height of the Cold War, Devlin brings to life a harrowing tale of postcolonial political intrigue, covert violence and the day-to-day reality of being a key player in a global chess match between superpowers...full of exciting cloak-and-dagger derring-do and scrapes with death."
--Publishers Weekly

"In Chief of Station, Congo, Larry Devlin has done a superb job of capturing the Kafkaesque chaos of the Congo's early years of independence and reminding us of the Cold War mentality that shaped American goals. Devlin's account of the twists and turns in both Congolese politics and American policy sheds new light on some old controversies, notably the US role in the death of Patrice Lumumba and the Mobutu coup d'etat, and thus is an important addition to the existing literature on the period. And, equally important, it's a lively and engaging page-turner…"
--Andy Steigman, Associate Dean at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University

"It has been my privilege to have known Mr. Devlin for much of my own career in CIA. I served with him briefly in Brussels, for most of his second tour in Kinshasa, and as a fellow Chief of Station when he was in Laos and I in Cambodia. I was also chosen by Director William Colby to assist the Church Committee in its investigation of allegations concerning the death of Patrice Lumumba. I can attest that this vivid account of Mr. Devlin's experiences in Congo contains neither exaggeration nor falsehood in its account of the experiences of this remarkable man.. Indeed, it sometimes downplays the impact he had on the events of those perilous times, at it certainly downplays the author's marvelous sense of humor and joie de vivre, both of which aided him through the troubling times described. It was an honor to have served with and for him, a view shared by virtually all of my former colleagues in CIA."
--John Stein, Former Inspector General, CIA

PAPERBACK
ISBN 978-1-58648-564-1
Pub date: 03/31/08
Price: $14.95/18.00 Canada
5½ x 8¼
320 pages
8 pp. b/w photo insert
Carton Quantity: 48
Autobiography, History
Selling Territory: W
Pub history: