Holm - Holz

 

Holm, Richard L. The American Agent: My Life in the CIA. London: St. Ermin's, 2003. With new intro. by author. London: St. Ermin's, 2005. [pb]

Peake, Studies 48.1, comments that a "reader will experience some frustration [with this memoir] -- tales of secret operations often lack detail and Holm's story is no exception. But to learn what it takes to be a CIA operations officer in all stages of a career, The American Agent is a great source and an enjoyable read."

For Goulden, Washington Times, 1 Aug. 2004, Holm's story is one "of incredible human bravery and endurance." However, the "book is leavened with anecdotes about the practicalities of intelligence field work." Holm's career ended when he "was forced into resignation from the Paris station through some nasty actions" by former DCI John Deutch. Goulden's conclusion: "a brave man got a raw deal from perhaps the worst director the agency ever endured."

[CIA/Memoirs]

Holm, Richard. "A Close Call in Africa." Studies in Intelligence (Winter 1999-2000): 17-28. CIRA Newsletter 25, no. 1 (Spring 2000): 36-41.

The author recounts the circumstances surrounding his frightful injuries in a plane crash in the Congo in 1965.

Loeb, Washington Post Online, 15 May 2000, uses the publication of Ted Gup's Book of Honor (2000) to tell the story of Holm's crash, recovery, subsequent career, and frightful treatment at the end of his career by then DCI Deutch.

See Gregory L. Vistica and Evan Thomas, "The Man Who Spied Too Long: The Inside Story of How a Cold-War Hero Became a Fall Guy for a Troubled CIA," Newsweek, 29 Apr. 1996, 26, 31.

[CIA/60s/Gen; CIA/90s/95-96/France; CIA/Memoirs; CA/Africa]

Holm, Richard L. "No Drums, No Bugles: Recollections of a Case Officer in Laos, 1962-1964." Studies in Intelligence 47, no. 1 (2003): 1-17.

This is an excellent firsthand, tactical look at one piece of the early effort in Laos (January 1962-July 1964) by a long-serving and highly regarded CIA officer in his first action. Holm's thoughts looking backward are in line with those of many who served in that fragment of the war in Southeast Asia:

"Now, some 35 years later, I lament many of the unintended results of our efforts.... The ignorance and the arrogance of Americans arriving in Southeast Asia during that period were contributing factors. We came to help, but we had only minimal understanding of the history, culture, and politics of the people we wanted to aid.... US policies in Laos are largely responsible for the disaster that befell the Hmong..... Their way of life has been destroyed. They can never return to Laos. In the end, our policymakers failed to assume the moral responsibility that we owed to those who worked so closely with us during those tumultuous years."

[CIA/Laos & Memoirs]

Holmes, Wilfred J. Double-Edged Secrets: U.S. Naval Intelligence Operations in the Pacific During World War II. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1979. Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens, 1979. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1998.

Pforzheimer says that Double-Edged Secrets is an "accurate and very readable" account of "all-source intelligence production, analysis, and dissemination" in support of CINCPAC. Holmes' accounts of the intelligence background to the battle of Midway and the shoot-down of Admiral Yamamoto's plane are "[p]articularly valuable."

To Petersen, this is an "important memoir by a ranking naval intelligence officer in Hawaii."

Constantinides sees Holmes as "an invaluable contributor to our knowledge of naval intelligence organization, personnel, operations, and problems in fighting the Pacific war."

For Kruh, Cryptologia 30.2 (Apr. 2006), the author's "compassionate understanding of the business of intelligence gathering is unique. Here, he not only captures the mood of the period but also gives rare insight into the problems and personalities involved."

Holmes, Wilfred J. "Naval Intelligence in the War Against Japan, 1941 1945: The View from Pearl Harbor." In New Aspects of Naval History: Selected Papers Presented at the Fourth Naval History Symposium, United States Naval Academy, 25-26 October 1979, ed. Craig L. Symonds, 351-357. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1981. [Petersen]

Holmes, Wilfred J. "Pearl Harbor Aftermath." U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, Dec. 1978, 68-75.

[WWII/PearlHarbor]

Holober, Frank. Raiders of the China Coast: CIA Covert Operations during the Korean War. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1999.

Clark comment: The author, who served with Western Enterprises Incorporated (WEI) on Quemoy in 1951-1952, details the activities of CIA-sponsored anti-Communist guerrillas along China's southeastern coast in the early 1950s. Except for an annoying tendency to use made up conversations from the past to advance some of his story, Holober provides a good read. This reader even guffawed several times. Ever the instructor, Holober provides little snippets of Chinese along the way. Nevertheless, you need to be interested in learning about this little-known covert action to get full enjoyment from this book.

Sulc, CIRA Newsletter 23.2, comments that Raiders of the China Coast "should be greeted with great interest by historians.... Holober has done a very good job" in his writing about "the forgotten war within the 'forgotten war.'" Similarly, Copper, IJI&C 13.3, says that "Holober is to be credited for telling a story that needed to be told."

For Jonkers, AFIO WIN 35-99, 3 Sep. 1999, this book "can be read as a rousing story or as history, celebrating an exceptional cast of American characters involved in these clandestine operations.... Highly recommended."

[CA/Asia; CIA/50s/Gen; GenPostwar/50s/Korea]

Holschuh, Howard [CAPT/USN (Ret.)]. "The Day the Pueblo Crew Returned Home." Naval Intelligence Professionals Quarterly 20, no. 1 (Feb. 2004): 26-27.

The author was senior NAVINTCOM representative for the debriefing of the Pueblo crew. Included here are some thoughts on what the interrogation team learned. He concludes that this incident "was the worst security disaster this nation has ever experienced."

[GenPostwar/60s/Pueblo]

Holschuh, Howard [CAPT/USN (Ret.)]. I Briefed a Thousand Stars: My Twenty-Five Years as a Naval Intelligence Officer. Charleston, SC: BookSurge, 2006.

Noland, NIPQ 23.1 (Jan. 2007), comments that this self-published autobiography covers the author's naval career "with style and wit." The "stars" of the title are, of course, the admirals and other flag rank officers Holschuh briefed in his career. Among his assignments prior to retirement in 1972 was that of "Intelligence Briefer for then CNO Admiral Arleigh Burke."

[MI/Navy/Overviews]

Holt, Pat M. Secret Intelligence and Public Policy: A Dilemma ofDemocracy. Washington, DC: CQ Press, 1995. JK468.I6 H64

[GenPostwar/Issues/Policy; Overviews/U.S.]

Holt, Patricia L. "Emma Edmonds." Military History 5, no. 1 (1988): 8, 64-66. [Petersen]

[CivWar]

Holt, Robert T. Radio Free Europe. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1958.

Published prior to public knowledge of and does not mention the radio's CIA connection.

[CA/Radio]

Holt, Thaddeus.

1. The Deceivers: Allied Military Deception in the Second World War. London and New York: Scribners/Simon and Schuster, 2004.

Seamon, Proceedings, Jun. 2004, briefly notes that this work is a "comprehensive ... narrative of the complex series of misinformation operations ... that the Allies launched to deceive Axis intelligence services."

For DKR, AFIO WIN 18.4 (31 May 2004), the author "has compiled a massive account of the many operations conducted by the Allies to deceive the Axis" during World War II. "For scholars this work is a splendid compendium of information on the art of strategic deception. For the general public, it reads like a good spy thriller."

Hastings, Electronic Telegraph, 13 Dec. 2004 [http://www.telegraph.co.uk], refers to this work as a "meticulous, encyclopaedic history of wartime deception." The author "has produced a masterly study.... Much sensational rubbish is written about wartime intelligence. Holt displays exemplary moderation and judgment."

To Hughes-Wilson, Intelligencer 14.2 (Winter/Spring 2005) [reprinted from RUSI Journal, Dec. 2004], this "must be the definitive book on deception in WW2.... It is well written, beautifully researched and indexed, and with a wealth of details and references."

2. "The Deceivers." MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History 7 (Autumn 1994): 48-57.

Sexton: "A brief overview of strategic deception in World War II with an emphasis on the Pas-de-Calais and Kurile Island campaigns."

[WWII/Eur/Deception; WWII/FE/Pac]

Holtzappel, Coen. "The 30 September Movement." Journal of Contemporary Asia 9, no. 2 (1979): 216-240.

[CA/Indonesia]

Holzman, Franlyn D. "The CIA's Military Spending Estimates: Deceit and Its Costs." Challenge, May-Jun. 1992, 28-39.

[Analysis/Sov]

 

Return to H Table of Contents

Return to Alphabetical Table of Contents