RAIDERS OF THE CHINA COAST: CIA Covert Operations During the Korean War, by Frank Holober, Naval Institute Press, 1999, ISBN 1-55750-388-5. An authentic lively and firsthand account of CIA operations to build a guerilla movement that would divert Communist Chinese troops from the Korean front. The author, a CIA Far East specialist and China scholar, served with the Quemoy partisans for ten months 1951-52, and took part in the clandestine partisan operations against the Chinese mainland. The narrative is anecdotal, an eyewitness account that lifts the veil of secrecy on special operations in a war that has slipped from public consciousness - even though as many Americans died in Korea as did in Vietnam. It can be read as a rousing story or as history, celebrating an exceptional cast of American characters involved in these clandestine operations, including more than 8,000 courageous Chinese guerilla fighters. Highly recommended. (RoyJ)

Reviewed in AFIO Weekly Intelligence Notes #35-99, 3 Sep 1999

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