The Book of Honor, Ted Gup
The Book of Honor, Ted Gup
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The Book of Honor
The Secret Lives and Deaths of CIA Operatives

Author: Ted Gup

Narrator: Frank Muller

Abridged: 6 hr 3 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/05/2000


Synopsis

A national bestseller, this extraordinary work of investigative reporting uncovers the identities, and the remarkable stories, of the CIA secret agents who died anonymously in the service of their country.

In the entrance of the CIA headquarters looms a huge marble wall into which seventy-one stars are carved-each representing an agent who has died in the line of duty. Official CIA records only name thirty-five of them, however. Undeterred by claims that revealing the identities of these "nameless stars" might compromise national security, Ted Gup sorted through thousands of documents and interviewed over 400 CIA officers in his attempt to bring their long-hidden stories to light. The result of this extraordinary work of investigation is a surprising glimpse at the real lives of secret agents, and an unprecedented history of the most compelling—and controversial—department of the US government.

About The Author

Ted Gup is a legendary investigative reporter who worked under Bob Woodward at the Washington Post, and later at Time. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the George Polk Award and the Worth Bingham Prize. Gup is a professor of journalism at Case Western Reserve University. He lives in Pepper Pike, Ohio.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Sarah

The author's disdain for the CIA and its secrecy make this difficult to get through. The subject matter is interesting; while many of the details of these agents' deaths remain classified, readers get an interesting look at their lives and how they came to be agents, as well as how the agency itself......more

Goodreads review by Erik

This book consists of a long series of short biographies of some of the covert operatives who died while working for the Central Intelligence Agency, who are honored by stars in the lobby of its headquarters in Virginia, but who are not identified in its accompanying "Book of Honor". In the course o......more

Goodreads review by Licia

Generally, when people think about CIA operatives, they imagine what they see in films or television. In most popular programming there's a camaraderie among team members. Gup does an excellent job of capturing the isolation that many clandestine officers face. My favorite account was of Hugh Redmond......more

Goodreads review by Danny

The most unfortunate thing about this book is that as soon as you grow to “know” and like one of the “nameless stars” they are inevitably killed, sometimes brutally. The author has done a commendable job of telling the stories of these covert operatives whose obfuscated deaths often laid waste, emot......more

Goodreads review by Rich

Ted Gup did an amazing job researching the lives of covert CIA agents killed in the line of duty and given an anonymous star on the CIA's Wall of Honor. In a few instances, the Agency has officially acknowledged the persons identified in the book were CIA officers; in most cases, they have not. Gup......more


Quotes

Douglas S. Mackiernan

Jerome P. Ginley

William P. Boteler

Howard Carey

Frank C. Grace Jr.

Wilburn S. Rose

Chiyoki Ikeda

Thomas "Pete" Ray

Nels L. Benson

Riley Shamburger

Wade Gray

Leo Baker

John G. Merriman

Barbara Robbins

Buster Edens

Edward Johnson

Mike Deuel

Mike Maloney

John W. Waltz

Louis A. O'Jibway

Walter L. Ray

Billy Jack Johnson

Wayne McNulty

Jack W. Weeks

Hugh Francis Redmond

Paul C. Davis

David L. Konzelman

John "Lone Star" Kearns

John Peterson

Ray Seaborg

Wilbur Murray Greene

Raymond Raynor

William E. Bennett

Richard S. Welch

James S. Rawlings

Ivan B. King

Dennis J. Gabriel

Robert C. Ames

James F. "Sword" Lewis

Monique Lewis

Kenneth E. Haas

Phyliss N. Faraci

William R. Sheil

Deborah M. Hixon

Frank J. Johnston

Scott J. Van Lieshout

Curtis R. Wood

Richard C. Spicer

William F. Buckley

Richard D. Krobock

Matthew K. Gannon

George Lacey

Michael Atkinson

Pharies "Bud" Petty

James Spessard

George Rudolph Bensch

Gerhard Hermann Rieger

Robert W. Woods

Lawrence Freedman

Lansing H. Bennett

Frank A. Darling

Freddie R. Woodruff

James M. Lewek

John A. Celli

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Awards

  • J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize