Spies on the Mekong

"Such was the unique board on which the CIA played its longest undercover game. It truly was hard to tell who was who without a scorecard, but in Spies on the Mekong Conboy provides that scorecard with information on the major players, their allies and enemies and enough intrigue to more than satisfy a reader of a Graham Greene spy novel. Except, of course, these stories are real." ~Vietnam Magazine

"The footnotes are a strength of the book, not only for further bibliographical references to primary and secondary sources, but for a trove of information expanding the narrative, especially the author’s background notes detailing what happened to many of the participants after they departed Laos." ~Journal of Military History

"People in the book—friends and foes—come through clearly in Conboy’s thoughtful vignettes about them. He presents backgrounds of many men and a few women in a manner that personalizes each—for good or for bad. Some of them practically walk off the page and greet the reader." ~The VVA Veteran

"Spies on the Mekong is well written and easy to read. It provides a broader perspective on US activities in Laos that what is contained in the many paramilitary-oriented accounts." ~Intelligencer: Journal of U.S. Intelligence Studies

"...offers a good spy tale and is a well-researched and credible history. It is a valuable addition to the intelligence literature." ~International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence

" Ken Conboy explores the traditional espionage that the CIA conducted from Vientiane Station while the paramilitary which ran for about 15 years and focused on neutralizing the 85,000 North Vietnamese Army forces that had invaded Laos to funnel troops and material to South Vietnam via the ‘Ho Chi Minh Trail’. Drawing on dozens of interviews with former CIA and Air America officers, Conboy has woven a detailed picture of the Agency in its more traditional, unseen, role seeking to recruit spies." ~Barry Broman, author of "Risk Taker, Spy Maker"

"Think the Vietnam war was all about guerrillas and triple-canopy jungle? Think again. Here Kenneth Conboy brings to life the work of CIA operatives in Laos-- the External Branch of the CIA station, which worked against Laotian communists, North Vietnamese, Japanese, and Russians, relying upon Thai surveillance teams, and including recruiting a significant Soviet agent. All this is set against the topsy turvy world of Laos, known as the Land of a Million Elephants. Conboy's history sheds light brighter than any spy fiction on an important aspect of the Indochina experience." ~John Prados, author of "Vietnam: The History of an Unwinnable War, 1945-1975"