The Ideal Man: The Tragedy of Jim Thompson and the American Way of War
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.20 (907 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0470086211 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 272 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2017-12-08 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
He also contributes to Mother Jones, the London Review of Books, the New York Times, Foreign Policy, the Atlantic, and Time. JOSHUA KURLANTZICK writes regularly about Asia for Newsweek and the New Republic. In 2007, Yale University Press published his book on China's soft power, Charm Offensive.
Soon, he and Bill Bird found themselves on opposite sides in coups, congressional investigations, and what was, at the time, America's largest-ever covert operation.Thompson's very public opposition to what had become established American policy earned him plenty of enemies, especially among Thai generals. But Jim Thompson was leading a double life.Thanks to his growing business, his passion for his new home, and his innate curiosity, Thompson had access to people and places that no other American could equal. His disappearance in 1967 became an international mystery that has fostered decades of speculation.Bristling with thorny insider tales of OSS and CIA exploits, political gamesmanship, and international intrigue, The Ideal Man is ideal reading for anyone who loves history, spy stories, and behind-the-scenes accounts of how diplomatic policy decisions a
As the Cold War reached Thailand, America had a choice: Should it, as Thompson believed, help other nations build democracies from their traditional cultures or, as his ex-OSS friend Willis Bird argued, remake the world through deception and self-serving alliances? In a story rich with insights and intrigue, this book explores a key Cold War episode that is still playing out today.Highlights a pivotal moment in Cold War history that set a course for American foreign policy that is still being followed todayExplores the dynamics that put Thailand at the center of the Cold War and the fighting in neighboring Laos that escalated from sideshow to the largest covert operation America had ever engaged inDraws on personal recollections and includes atmospheric details that bring the people, events—and the Thailand of the time—to lifeWritten by a journalist with extensive experience in Asian affairs who has spent years investigating every aspect of this story, including Thompson's tragic disappearance. How the West's greatest spy in Asia tried to stop the new American way of war—and the steep price he paid for failingJim Thompson landed in Thailand at the end of World War II, a former American society dilettante who became an Asian legend as a spy and silk magnate with access to Thai worlds outsiders never saw
M. Bell said Brings a legend vividly to life.. Jim Thompson was so famous in Thailand that a letter sent using only his name and city would easily still find it's way to him on time. Ex O.S.S. (C.I.A forerunner) officer during WWII, wealthy business man, playboy bon-vivant --- he was all these things and more. His real life story reads like something out of a novel by Ian Fleming or John LeCarre.This book delves deeply into his life and legend as the "Thai Silk King" and. Remarkable The author lays out for us the remarkable story of a remarkable individual immersed in a remarkable culture at a remarkable time in history. The fact that available information prevents Kurlantzick from wrapping it all up in a neat package with a satisfying ending should not detract from his in-depth work.As I write this, Thailand continues to stumble and stagger toward a continually elusive embrace of democracy. From a Time. "Surprisingly good!" according to Indi. This is an exceedingly well written and informative book, that reads a lot like a thriller. The author did a particularly good job of highlighting the SE Asian political context in which Jim Thompson disappeared. He makes you wonder, perhaps unintentionally, if the US has learned anything from its past foreign policy mistakes. The biggest thrill in reading this book however, is in peeling back the layers of personality, incr