More than forty years ago the Central Intelligence Agency began a top-secret covert action campaign designed to hold Indonesia's left-leaning President Sukarno's feet to the fire and prevent a strategic crossroad from falling into the communist camp. In a fast-paced, engrossing narrative evoking the novels of John LeCarré and Graham Greene, the authors provide the first unclassified, detailed case study of an operation that has escaped public scrutiny for decades.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Always up to something!:
It's true, the US is always up to something both at home and abroad. Sometimes misadventures...sometimes adventures...but always interesting. Other books that are very interesting, if in different ways, are "Black Hawk Down," by Mark Bowden, and "Danger Close," by Mike Yon.
The truth IS stranger than fiction:
"Feet to the Fire" is a well documented, unbiased account of CIA shenanigans in Indonesia during a brief period in the 1950's. (At least it seems to me to be well documented and unbiased but I have no first-hand knowledge of any of the events described.) To me, the story is fantastic and so is the cast: scheming Indonesian politicians, indecisive Indonesian colonels, CIA employees cast from the Felix Leiter mold, CIA contractors playing cowboys and Indians with very dangerous toys, a prevaricating... more info
Fascinating, crucial history:
The real story of Sukarno's reign in Indonesia has been largely forgotten in the West, but I for one continue to be interested in the 1965 military coup, as I don't think any book I've yet read has got to the bottom of that tangled plot. "Feet to the Fire" covers the CIA's efforts in 1957-58 to exert pressure on Sukarno by supporting rebels in Sumatra -- "supporting" seems too mild a word when virtually the only casualties inflicted came as a result of American air-power, which was, under Allen Dulles,... more info
