In Search of Enemies, John Stockwell
In Search of Enemies, John Stockwell
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In Search of Enemies
A CIA Story

Author: John Stockwell

Narrator: Tom West

Unabridged: 9 hr 44 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 10/28/2011


Synopsis

“[The United States’ goal in Angola] was not to keep out the Cubans and Soviets but to make their imperial efforts as costly as possible to prove that, after Vietnam, we were still capable of response, however insane. It is the story that has been told, and in impressive and convincing detail, by John Stockwell, the former chief of the CIA’s Angola ‘task force.’ His book should not be missed. Since strategic thought survives by ignoring experience, it has a highly professional interest in avoiding accounts such as this. By the same token, all who are alarmed about the tendency toward such strategic thinking should strongly welcome Mr. Stockwell’s book.”—John Kenneth Galbraith, New York Review of Books In Search of Enemies is much more than the story of the only war to be found when the CIA sought to recoup its prestige after the Vietnam debacle. Though no American troops were committed to Angola, only “advisors,” many millions were spent, many thousands died, and many lies were told to the American people, in waging a war without purpose to American vital interests and without hope of victory.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Whitlaw on February 20, 2019

Its a great read, a must read for those who want to understand how the CIA operates. When I bought the book, I was expecting a very broad narrative of CIA activities across the globe. So naturally when I began reading the book I was initially disappointed upon discovering that the book covered only......more

Goodreads review by Dan on November 07, 2021

A good inside look at the CIA's meddling in Angola's Civil War. Not an expansive expose of the CIA by any means, but a well assembled critique of its operational structures. Unsurprisingly lacks a more systemic critique, tethered as Stockwell is to the broader bourgeois US Imperial project, but stil......more

Goodreads review by Scott on September 24, 2012

Not as scandalous as I was hoping for. Lacked significant intrigue. If you start this book already believing that the CIA lies to congress, lies to the american people, participates in "unauthorized" wars and foreign military activities then there is nothing to be surprised at in this book.......more

Goodreads review by RANGER on November 20, 2021

One of the best CIA insider stories I have ever read; Recommended John Stockwell was a middle-grade CIA Case Officer when he was asked to step up and takeover what became known as the Angola Task Force. For those who don't know much about the CIA in the seventies, there are numerous books and interne......more

Goodreads review by Themistocles on February 19, 2014

What a great read. Granted, what Stockwell writes about in '78 has been well-documented ever since and the practices of the CIA are nowadays common knowledge, so shock factor is low. However, the actual details of the Angolan intervention make up for a thrilling book that could easily be turned into a......more