Surprise, Kill, Vanish

July 8, 2019
Journalist Jacobsen (Phenomena) delivers an admiring general history of the Central Intelligence Agency and the special forces units involved in clandestine maneuvers in the past 80 years, while highlighting the careers of individual operatives, particularly Billy Waugh. Waugh, who Jacobsen interviewed at length, is introduced as a 12-year-old Texas kid when the Pearl Harbor attack occurs; he reappears throughout, often gathering intelligence via photography, until his final mission to Libya when he is in his 80s. Some chapters focus on individual operations, as when Waugh’s friend and CIA colleague Lew Merletti arranged a training exercise in which Delta Force soldiers parachuted onto the White House lawn, sparking changes in security there; others follow presidents and cabinet members reacting to events, giving orders, and deciding policy—for example, the formation of the concept of “preemptive neutralization” of suspected terrorists during Reagan’s presidency. Jacobsen frequently refers to such covert action as the “third option” or the “president’s hidden hand.” The tone is more dramatic storytelling than sober history (“The Taliban government... left behind in its wake one of the most immoral, corrupt, criminal, debauched societies the modern world has ever known”). But, for those seeking an action-packed tour of special ops, this book delivers.

Starred review from October 1, 2019

Jacobsen (Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program that Brought Nazi Scientists to America) provides listeners with a wonderfully researched and detailed account of the CIA's paramilitary arm, the Special Activities Division (SID). It is a thoughtful, comprehensive and superbly told account of one aspect of U.S. foreign policy that is far too often fictionalized by Hollywood and novelists. From the early days of World War II through the Cold War to the Global War on Terror, Jacobsen interweaves interviews with declassified documents with history. Covering subjects ranging from intelligence collection to regime support and change to close-quarter combat, this tale is told respectfully and methodically. The author narrates and does a creditable job. VERDICT Highly recommended for listeners with an interest in foreign policy.--Scott R. DiMarco, Mansfield Univ. of Pennsylvania Lib.

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