My Father the Spy: An Investigative Memoir

by John H. Richardson

Book Overview

As his father nears death in his retirement home in Mexico, John H. Richardson begins to unravel a life filled with drama and secrecy. John Sr. was a CIA "chief of station" on some of the hottest assignments of the Cold War, from the back alleys of occupied Vienna to the jungles of the Philippines--and especially Saigon, where he became a pivotal player in the turning point of the Vietnam War: the overthrow of South Vietnamese president Ngo Dinh...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060510358
• ISBN13: 9780060510350
• Release Date: August 2005
• Publisher: Harper
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A revealing, impressive book

My husband and I were good friends and neighbors of John and Eleanore Richardson during their years in Mexico. We knew them well, but not nearly as well as we did after reading their son's My Father, The Spy, which is an excellent book. John never betrayed his oath of secrecy, so that, though he was a marvelous conversationalist, widely read and with a large range of interests, one received only the barest outline of the lives these two and their family had lived in the circles of power and often, of international intrigue. The book's prose has both grace and balance. John Richardson, Jr. constructed the chapters so that My Father, the Spy reads very much like a novel, and a really gripping one at that. Beyond the personal element, we valued the fineness of the book, its careful research, its compelling explanation of historically-known episodes and its ability to interweave the personal with the broader historical picture.

My Father the Spy; an intriguing memoir

I found My Father the Spy to be an intriguing,finely written memoir exploring the dynamics of family, country and the internal workings of the CIA. The author takes the reader from World War II, through the turbulent Vietnam era to Watergate and beyond. He explains the burst of behavior against the sadness of his father and his generation during the 60's and 70's and raises questions about current affairs.It's written in an honest and sensitive way, drawing the reader into personal,realistic details of family life. Richard has made this book difficult to put down, combining mystery and realism so well. I found myself thinking about this book long after I read the last page and highly recommend it to readers of all ages. 5 stars! Barbara G. DeCesare, Warwick, RI

Military Brats everywhere can relate

This book was riveting. I recognize that it's not for everyone--it's kind of narrow in scope. But his descriptions of living abroad while in a military base-type bubble (he refers to it as a golden ghetto) brought it all back for me. His description of the early chaos in Vietnam will be easier to understand for someone who already has a general idea of what happened. I had a hard time tracking the events. Got through it in one weekend--couldn't put it down!

Sorry, but I have to respond to the wacko below ....

I am the author of this book. I know this isn't the intention of these reviews, but it seems unfair to let the crazy post by Mr. Rigby stand. I actually do mention the Times of Vietnam piece of Oct. 2 in my book, but I don't cite it as the first "outing" of my father because it doesn't actually name my father. Rigby seems to think that the copies of the Times of Vietnam in the British Newspaper Library and the Center for Research Libraries in Chicago were "bowdlerised" by the CIA, which is just ridiculous - as if they didn't have enough to do with Vietnam collapsing around their ears. This is just the venting of another CIA-conspiracy-theory-nut-job and has nothing to do with my book.

The story of a true American hero

This book chronicles the life of a high ranking CIA official through World War II, the beginning of the Cold War and the onset of the Vietnam saga. It is a wonderfully written memoir about John H. Richardson, written by his son. It really stimulated my interest in American history of the last 60 years. I was fascinated by the behind the scenes intrigue that the US intelligence organizations engage in. This country has been incredibly fortunate to have people like Richardson on our side during these very complicated foreign relations/policy episodes. The book also goes into great detail about Richardson's private life and death, this added a deep and heartwarming aspect to the extensively researched and accurately reported storyline. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was easy to read and immensely engaging.