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The Ideal Man
- The Tragedy of Jim Thompson and the American Way of War
- Narrated by: Josh Clark
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
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The Ideal Man
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Publisher's summary
How the West's greatest spy in Asia tried to stop the new American way of war - and the steep price he paid for failing...
Jim Thompson landed in Thailand at the end of World War II, a former American society dilettante who became an Asian legend as a spy and silk magnate with access to Thai worlds outsiders never saw. As the Cold War reached Thailand, America had a choice: Should it, as Thompson believed, help other nations build democracies from their traditional cultures, or as his ex-OSS friend Willis Bird argued, remake the world through deception and self-serving alliances? In a story rich with insights and intrigue, this book explores a key Cold War episode that is still playing out today.
- Highlights a pivotal moment in Cold War history that set a course for American foreign policy that is still being followed today.
- Explores the dynamics that put Thailand at the center of the Cold War and the fighting in neighboring Laos that escalated from sideshow to the largest covert operation America had ever engaged in.
- Draws on personal recollections and includes atmospheric details that bring the people, events - and the Thailand of the time - to life.
- Written by a journalist with extensive experience in Asian affairs who has spent years investigating every aspect of this story, including Thompson's tragic disappearance.
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By: Joshua Partlow
-
A Great Place to Have a War
- America in Laos and the Birth of a Military CIA
- By: Joshua Kurlantzick
- Narrated by: Tim Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 152
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 129
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 133
In 1960 President Eisenhower was focused on Laos, a tiny Southeast Asian nation few Americans had ever heard of. Washington feared the country would fall to Communism, triggering a domino effect in the rest of Southeast Asia. So in January 1961, Eisenhower approved the CIA's Operation Momentum, a plan to create a proxy army of ethnic Hmong to fight Communist forces in Laos. While remaining hidden from the American public and most of Congress, Momentum became the largest CIA paramilitary operation in the history of the United States.
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5 out of 5 stars
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illuminating read of Laos' relationship with USA
- By Daniel on 12-28-18
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The Assassins' Gate
- America in Iraq
- By: George Packer
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 19 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 203
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 95
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 97
The Assassins' Gate, so dubbed by American soldiers, is the entrance to the American zone in the city of Baghdad. In 2003, the United States blazed into Iraq to depose dictator Saddam Hussein. But after three years and unknown thousands killed, that country faces an escalating civil war and an uncertain fate. How did it get to this point?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Highly Recommended
- By Drapeau on 02-01-07
By: George Packer
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The Good Spy
- The Life and Death of Robert Ames
- By: Kai Bird
- Narrated by: René Ruiz
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 362
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 310
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Story4 out of 5 stars 310
The Good Spy is Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Kai Bird’s compelling portrait of the remarkable life and death of one of the most important operatives in CIA history - a man who, had he lived, might have helped heal the rift between Arabs and the West. On April 18, 1983, a bomb exploded outside the American Embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people. The attack was a geopolitical turning point. It marked the beginning of Hezbollah as a political force, but even more important, it eliminated America’s most influential and effective intelligence officer in the Middle East - CIA operative Robert Ames.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Biased but interesting
- By Peggy on 05-09-18
By: Kai Bird
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Dancing in the Glory of Monsters
- The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa
- By: Jason Stearns
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 270
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 229
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 230
At the heart of Africa is Congo, a country the size of Western Europe, bordering nine other nations, that since 1996 has been wracked by a brutal and unstaunchable war in which millions have died. And yet, despite its epic proportions, it has received little sustained media attention. In this deeply reported book, Jason K. Stearns vividly tells the story of this misunderstood conflict through the experiences of those who engineered and perpetrated it.
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5 out of 5 stars
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First book I've found that explains DRC
- By Amazon Customer on 09-09-17
By: Jason Stearns
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Charlie Wilson's War
- The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History
- By: George Crile
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 20 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,242
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,887
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,906
Charlie Wilson's War is the untold story behind the last battle of the Cold War and how it fueled the rise of militant Islam. George Crile tells how Charlie Wilson, a maverick congressman from east Texas, conspired with a rogue CIA operative to launch the biggest, meanest, and most successful covert operation in the agency's history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The REAL Story of the Middle East and the CIA
- By Dale on 08-24-04
By: George Crile
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Black Flags
- The Rise of ISIS
- By: Joby Warrick
- Narrated by: Sunil Malhotra
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,770
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,420
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,415
In a thrilling dramatic narrative, awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, Joby Warrick traces how the strain of militant Islam behind ISIS first arose in a remote Jordanian prison and spread with the unwitting aid of two American presidents.
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4 out of 5 stars
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So much learned
- By mike flavin on 02-11-16
By: Joby Warrick
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The China Mirage
- The Hidden History of American Disaster in Asia
- By: James Bradley
- Narrated by: Pete Larkin
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 253
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 220
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 220
In each of his books, James Bradley has exposed the hidden truths behind America's engagement in Asia. Now comes his most engrossing work yet. Beginning in the 1850s, Bradley introduces us to the prominent Americans who made their fortunes in the China opium trade. As they - good Christians all - profitably addicted millions, American missionaries arrived, promising salvation for those who adopted Western ways.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Gross Negligence!
- By Donald Hill on 05-31-18
By: James Bradley
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Sleeping with the Devil
- How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude
- By: Robert Baer
- Narrated by: Robert O'Keefe
- Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 247
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 42
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Story4 out of 5 stars 44
Former CIA operative Robert Baer examines the dangers behind America's collaboration with Saudi Arabia. Nominally based on a "harmony of interests" - the Saudis sold their oil to the American government very inexpensively - what we offered in exchange has damaged our position in the Middle East and left our country vulnerable to economic and terrorist threats. Baer goes behind the scenes to show how the US willingly overlooked the corruption of the Saudi royal family, its financing of violent Islamic fundamentalist groups, and its bribery of American officials.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Ouch. The truth hurts.
- By Kevin Christy on 07-28-03
By: Robert Baer
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Agent 110
- An American Spymaster and the German Resistance in WWII
- By: Scott Miller
- Narrated by: Noah Michael Levine
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 53
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 44
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Story4 out of 5 stars 45
This is the secret and suspenseful account of how OSS spymaster Allen Dulles led a network of Germans conspiring to assassinate Hitler and negotiate surrender to bring about the end of World War II before the Soviet's advance. Agent 110 is Allen Dulles, a newly minted spy from an eminent family. Dulles met with and facilitated the plots of Germans who were trying to destroy the country's leadership.
By: Scott Miller
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The Fall of Heaven
- The Pahlavis and the Final Days of Imperial Iran
- By: Andrew Scott Cooper
- Narrated by: Assaf Cohen
- Length: 22 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 217
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 198
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 198
In this remarkably human portrait of one of the 20th century's most complicated personalities, author Andrew Scott Cooper traces Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's life from childhood through his ascension to the throne in 1941. He highlights the turbulence of the postwar era, during which the shah survived assassination attempts and coup plots to build a modern, pro-Western state and launch Iran onto the world stage as one of the world's top five powers.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent account of a pivotal and sad time
- By Guerin Shea on 09-05-16
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The Devil's Chessboard
- Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government
- By: David Talbot
- Narrated by: Peter Altschuler
- Length: 25 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,083
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,827
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,832
An explosive, headline-making portrait of Allen Dulles, the man who transformed the CIA into the most powerful - and secretive - colossus in Washington, from the founder of Salon.com and author of the New York Times best seller Brothers.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Disturbing. Makes you question the company line.
- By KTS on 02-06-16
By: David Talbot
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Holy War, Inc.
- Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden
- By: Peter L. Bergen
- Narrated by: Peter L. Bergen
- Length: 4 hrs and 19 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 96
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 23
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 23
The September 11 assault on the World Trade Center was the most sophisticated and horrifying in a series of operations masterminded by Osama bin Laden and his Jihad group - an organization that CNN's terrorism analyst Peter Bergen calls Holy War, Inc. One of only a handful of journalists to have interviewed the world's most wanted man face to face, Bergen explains the Jihadist network that operates globally and in secrecy.
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4 out of 5 stars
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sorry about spelling
- By Sergei on 10-18-07
By: Peter L. Bergen
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Citizens of London
- The Americans Who Stood with Britain in Its Darkest, Finest Hour
- By: Lynne Olson
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 17 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,577
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,187
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,195
Here is the behind-the-scenes story of how the United States forged its wartime alliance with Britain, told from the perspective of three key American players in London: Edward R. Murrow, Averell Harriman, and John Gilbert Winant. Drawing from a variety of primary sources, Olson skillfully depicts the dramatic personal journeys of these men who, determined to save Britain from Hitler, helped convince a cautious Franklin Roosevelt and a reluctant American public to support the British at a critical time.
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4 out of 5 stars
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If we are together nothing is impossible
- By Susan on 03-06-10
By: Lynne Olson
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Inside the Kingdom
- Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists, and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia
- By: Robert Lacey
- Narrated by: Robert Lacey
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 136
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 100
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 102
Best-selling author Robert Lacey tells us what happened in the Middle East's oil-rich powerhouse---while we weren't looking.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Inside the Kingdom
- By Ibrahim on 03-19-10
By: Robert Lacey
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A Thousand Hills
- Rwanda's Rebirth and the Man Who Dreamed It
- By: Stephen Kinzer
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 143
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 119
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 118
Paul Kagame grew up as a wretched refugee. He and a group of comrades, determined to force their way back home after a generation of exile, designed one of the most audacious covert operations in the history of clandestine war. Then, after taking power, they amazed the world by stabilizing and reviving their devastated country.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Best Most Comprehensive Work on Rwanda
- By Greg on 07-30-10
By: Stephen Kinzer
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What listeners say about The Ideal Man
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- William B Brierly Jr
- 01-11-22
USA Vietnam Army Veteran
While discussing the Vietnam conflict with a marine veteran - the marine suggested I read this book. It saddened me to read about how the USA involved itself in southeast asia.
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