HAZARDOUS DUTY

A fast-paced, though often rigidly ideological, account of ``covert operations'' by a 40-year veteran of the intelligence battles of the cold war. Singlaub, who served with the legendary OSS in WW II and then with the early CIA, describes military and intelligence missions in Nazi-occupied France, and in China, Korea, Vietnam, and Nicaragua. Singlaub makes clear his own view of the significance of these missions—he was always a soldier, often playing a heroic role, in America's just war against ruthless Communist aggression. Singlaub appears to view geopolitical issues, even in the wake of glasnost and perestroika, in terms of a battle between the forces of darkness, led the Communist world, and the forces of light, led by America. Whether one accepts this view or not, Singlaub's account of intelligence operations—written with the help of novelist/journalist McConnell (Into the Mouth of the Cat, 1984, etc.)—make for fascinating reading, particularly his description of contacting French resistance leaders prior to D-Day, working on the Nationalist side during the Chinese Revolution, and managing the secret war along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The author demonstrates that, through four decades of service, his world view and his devotion to his duty as he sees it have remained constant. A firsthand perspective on America's long secret war against Communism, rendered by one of its primary combatants. (Sixteen pages of b&w photographs—not seen.)