“As a veteran of a quarter of a century of traveling the world for the CIA in hot wars and during the height of the Cold War, Broman’s true tales of putting his life on the line recruiting and running spies in a dozen countries are the stuff of action movies and popular espionage fiction…Broman’s detailed account of his months as a platoon commander in the 5th Marines in Vietnam is gripping to read, a worthy addition to the already extensive history of the war written by the American soldiers who fought it.”
–Peter Arnett, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the Vietnam War
“Broman served as Executive Officer, Company H, 2d Battalion, 5 th Marines in An Hoa, Vietnam (this reviewer was a rifle platoon commander in Hotel company for part of Broman’s tenure; after I was grievously wounded, Broman temporarily commanded the platoon… Risk Taker, Spy Maker refreshingly gives the reader the all-too-rare studied insight and subtle nuances of the myriad events in which Broman was either a key player or a witness…The great strength of the book is its author’s ability to extract from these events the significance of how they came to shape the United States’ foreign and domestic policy.”
–Colonel John C. McKay, USMC (Ret), reviewed in the Marine Corps History Journal
“Barry spent a quarter century of a century traveling the world recruiting and handling agents for the Central Intelligence Agency…I can personally attest that he was one of the best. Barry was a recruiting ‘headhunter,’ a unique type of intelligence operations officer with more than 40 recruitments under his belt. He had an unerring ability to assess promising potential assets and to recruit and handle such clandestine agents.”
–Daniel C. Arnold, retired very senior CIA Clandestine Service officer from the foreword of the book
“Broman’s true tales of putting his life on the line recruiting and running spies in a dozen countries are the stuff of action movies.”
—Peter Arnett, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Live
from the Battlefield
“[A] remarkable life story.”
–Booklist
“In this superbly written personal memoir that lifts the lid on U.S. spy craft techniques, former
CIA spy Barry Broman reveals how he and his fellow headhunters in America’s clandestine
services went about recruiting agents in ‘Hard Target’ adversaries such as China, Russia, and
North Korea….He reveals in Indochina Hand that his spectacular CIA career was shaped initially
by is assignments during his college years in Thailand as an Associated Press photographer, and
Vietnam.”
–Peter Arnett, Pulitzer Prize war reporter for the Associated Press, author of We’re Taking Fire:
A Reporter’s View of the Vietnam War, Tet and the Fall of LBJ
“Indochina Hand grippingly tells us how Barry Broman became the man he is and what role he played in events around the Cold War and after. I saw him in action for some of it and call him
a friend.”
–Ambassador Timothy Carney co-author of Sudan: Land and the People
“Indochina Hand brings back to jolting life a long-forgotten war, one that played heavily in defining the careers, and lives, of a generation of CIA officers. Here again, Broman captures the sights, the sounds, and the smells of the region in a great yarn for anybody interested in the CIA as it set about winning second place in the Southeast Asian Games. Another great read!”
–Milt Bearden, author of The Main Enemy: The Inside Story of the CIA’s Final Showdown With
the KGB
“The chronicle of [Broman’s] Cold War CIA career bounces around the globe with his own recollections of running agents and other espionage derring-do, as well as stories told to him by friends and colleagues. There’s also a good deal about his off-duty travels throughout the world.
The result is an anecdote-heavy, if often stimulating, meander down memory lane.”
–Publisher Weekly
“Everyone will want to stay through the feast for the great storytelling—and the terrific
photos!”
–Nicholas Reynolds, New York Times best-selling author of Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy
“Barry Broman captures not only the intricacies of the world’s second oldest profession, but provides the reader with the texture, the sights, and the sounds of one of the world’s greatest playgrounds for spies – – Paris. Broman spins a yarn that only someone who has walked those streets and run more than a few spies could possibly imagine. The Spyn from Saint-Sulpice will sail to the top of the spy genre.”
Milton A. Bearden, Author of “The Main Enemy: The Inside Story of the CIA’s Final Showdown With the KGB
“This page-turner of a spy novel has it all! Spy buffs will revel in young CIA case officer Rick Blayne’s adventures in the last years of the Cold War. Set in Paris, the story reflects all her glory at different times of year; Rick ventures into her finest restaurants and invites us to taste lovingly described wines and menus. Along the way we sense the heat of two alluring romances. The intricate plot builds to a satisfying climax that leaving us hoping that we will hear from Rick again.”
Nicholas Reynolds, author of “Need to Know, World War II and the Rise of American Intelligence”, a New Yorker “Best of 2022” Selection.
“Barry Broman’s first novel is a triumph. For the reader who enjoys a well-crafted, highly readable, sophisticated tale of espionage, set in the most intriguing and romantic locales of France, this novel has it all.”
Colonel Andrew R. Finlayson, USMC (Ret.), author of “Rice Paddy Recon: A Marine Officer’s Second Tour in Vietnam, 1968-1970”
“Broman explores the angst and exhilaration of an intelligence officer looking for his next ‘scalp’ while weighing the moral and physical consequences of his actions put on the other people in his life. Beware, the story will leave you hanging…”
James Stejskal, author of The Snake Eater Chronicles
“…death-daring, surprisingly complex in tone and intention, and thus riveting. Nothing is really overstated or overblown. Barry’s unforced narrative technique works, emotionally and courageously.”
ARGunners.com
