Face to Face with the CIA
The Memoir of a North Vietnamese Spymaster
Nguyễn Tài author Quan Manh Ha translator Merle L Pribbenow translator
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Columbia University Press
Publishing:22nd Sep '26
£22.00
This title is due to be published on 22nd September, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
In late 1970, South Vietnamese forces captured a man who, they soon discovered, was no ordinary prisoner. The highest-ranking North Vietnamese officer taken captive during the war, Nguyễn Tài ran an extensive communist clandestine security and intelligence network in Saigon that infiltrated the South Vietnamese government and carried out targeted assassinations. His arrest triggered one of the most intense and prolonged interrogations of the war, conducted by both South Vietnamese and American intelligence services, including the CIA. After many years of service in the postwar government, Nguyễn Tài published this memoir in 1999, recounting how he resisted relentless efforts to break him.
This gripping firsthand account is at once a rare glimpse into the shadow war of espionage and a harrowing story of survival. Nguyễn Tài’s unvarnished testimony depicts years of psychological and physical pressure, with detailed descriptions of CIA and South Vietnamese interrogation techniques. It offers valuable insights into not only the tactics used by the United States and its allies during the Vietnam War but also the ethical and strategic dilemmas facing intelligence operations. Both chilling and thought-provoking, Face to Face with the CIA is essential reading for anyone interested in Cold War history and the moral complexities of intelligence work.
The story of Nguyễn Tài’s incarceration is more than a Vietnam War story; it is an absorbing exploration into the psychology of torture. Unsettling and even revolting at times, the book offers perspectives and insights that are as thought-provoking as they are illuminating. It also serves as a stark reminder that the United States – and not just its enemies – has a long history of flouting the laws of war. -- Pierre Asselin, author of Vietnam’s American War: A New History (second edition)
This unique, powerful memoir by Nguyễn Tài, a senior Communist security official captured by South Vietnamese forces, illuminates his stubborn resistance in a cat and mouse game to protect his secrets against clever American interrogators. Tài’s stubborn defiance metaphorically showcases each side’s unyielding determination. A rare volume. -- George J. Veith, author of Drawn Swords in a Distant Land: South Vietnam's Shattered Dreams
Face to Face with the CIA is the riveting memoir of one of communist Vietnam’s master spies during the Vietnam War, Nguyễn Tài. In this beautifully translated memoir, Tài tells the story of his time in a South Vietnamese prison and his battle of wits against his Vietnamese and American interrogators. Tài takes us into one of the least understood battlefields of this conflict – the war of the intelligence services. It’s a fascinating read. -- Christopher Goscha, professor of international relations at Université du Québec à Montréal
A fascinating and hitherto unavailable firsthand account of North Vietnam’s most heralded intelligence agent during the war. We follow Nguyễn Tài. from his mission of living amongst those he was assigned to betray, his capture, CIA interrogation techniques, torture and attempted suicide. Ultimately this is a memoir of human resilience. Quan Manh Ha and Merle L. Pribbenow provide an artful translation along with an insightful introductory essay. -- Larry Berman, author of Perfect Spy: The Incredible Double Life of Pham Xuan An, Time Magazine Reporter and Vietnamese Communist Agent
ISBN: 9780231221528
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
232 pages