Shadow Warrior: The CIA Hero of a Hundred Unknown Battles - Hardcover

Rodriguez, Felix I.; Weisman, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0671667211 ISBN 13: 9780671667214

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 1989

Synopsis

A dedicated anti-Communist and CIA operative describes his work for the Central Intelligence Agency, from the Bay of Pigs invasion, to his wartime service in Vietnam, to his roles in the capture of Che Guevara and the Iran-Contra operation

About this title

Reviews

A CIA undercover agent in Cuba before the Bay of Pigs debacle, Cuban-born Rodriguez also ran a communications network in Nicaragua, took part in the capture of Che Guevara in Bolivia, led a strike force during the Vietnam war and, more recently, served as Oliver North's liaison to the Salvadorian government. He was roughly handled by a Senate subcommittee investigating ties between the contras and drug smuggling in Central America--its chairman, Senator John Kerry, later apologized to him publicly. Rodriguez's personal adventures, written with freelancer Weisman, make for exciting reading, but of broader historical interest are his comments on Che Guevara's final hours, the dissension within Miami's Cuban community and its various anti-Castro movements and his informed indictment of U.S. operational blunders in Central America. Photos.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Cuban emigre Rodriguez was a participant in many of the key political events of the past three decades, ranging from the Bay of Pigs invasion to the Iran-Contra affair. His autobiography effectively captures the idealism and anti-Communist fervor of the early 1960s, and is marked by an obsession with Fidel Castro ("I considered myself at war with Fidel."). Much of this book is a series of descriptions of Rodriguez's intelligence operations in Latin America and Vietnam. He devotes two chapters to his search for Che Guevara in Bolivia, and he provides an unexpectedly moving account of Che's death. Students of American foreign policy will find many scintillating insights on these pages, and the book has an easy narrative flow which will appeal to general readers. Rodriguez's frequent superpatriotic flourishes may bother some readers, but this account is a useful addition to the literature of the Cold War.
- Thomas Karel, Franklin & Marshall Coll. Lib., Lancaster, Pa.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 1989
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0671667211
• ISBN 13: 9780671667214
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 283