Saturday, July 9, 2016

Book Review: Mukhabarat, Baby!

My Life as a Wartime Spy for the CIA
 
by Eric Burkhart
 
 
 
 
Disclosure:  I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are mine.
 
A Partial Synopsis from Amazon:  This is the story of a young American who would eventually fulfill his dream of becoming a CIA Case Officer, only to have a promising career cut short after having been purposely poisoned by a contact.
   Eric Burkhart was raised in Europe in a bilingual household, and accepted a job in Africa right out of college. Upon his return to the United States, he was hired as an Immigration Agent in Laredo, Texas, working Inspections on one of the busiest port-of-entries connecting the United States and Mexico. This experience is detailed in this humorous, occasionally heartbreaking memoir about choosing to be a survivor.
 
 
My Thoughts:  Before this book, I don't know that it had ever crossed my mind how someone might become a CIA Case Officer.  The author covers an entire lifetime in a relatively small book.  Not many details are given.  Eric breezes thru his childhood in France and then Texas.  I loved the chapter where he mentions his grandparents and their influence on his life.  His time overseas was absolutely fascinating to me.  I was very curious how spies assimilate themselves into local cultures.  The author is open about how some communities were much more difficult than others.  Some of the scenarios he discusses will just break your heart.  Desperate people do desperate things, I guess.
 
 The writing style is my favorite, first person, like you're just visiting over a meal.  It's a great read for anyone who might enjoy the topic.  I would love for Eric to complete more books.  My suggestion would be for him to write one for each location overseas where he spent more than a couple of years with more details of day to day life. 
 
What have you been reading? 
 
;-)  -Marci

2 comments:

  1. Hmm. Sounds interesting. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds like a good read. I have been striking out with my book choices lately. It has been a little while since I read on e I really liked. Maybe this is the one!

    ReplyDelete

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