John H. Richardson

This is a decent book, however routine the subject matter. The author looks back at his family and especially his father who was Saigon Station Chief during the Vietnam War. Nothing new is discovered or revealed about that conflict within the book but with varying emphasis on who was to blame for the choices made. John Richardson was deputy ambassador to Vietnam and simultaneously secretly CIA station chief. He had started in WWII in the Counter Intelligence Corps which apparently was the show more fledgling unit for agents to search out enemy spies or prepare for “stay behind missions”. This unit was apparently secret but run out of the US Military under direction of the White House. I had never heard of this unit before because most of the actual work was done by the US Army in the European Theatre. CIC worked after the allies moved through and liberated certain sectors. Most people credit the origin of the CIA to an organization called Office of Strategic Services (OSS). OSS is also credited with being the precursor to the US Special Forces Command. OSS was set up to mirror Britain’s MI6 clandestine service. The US had no permanent organization dedicated to espionage activities. Therefore, the CIC is not part of the common origin legend of the CIA. Richardson eventually joined the CIA once it became operative. The main narrative of the book takes place once he was installed in Saigon during the presidency of Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother Nhu. This is a huge stain on the CIA since it was involved in the attempted coup and his assassination. Sycophantic US reporters Habersham and Sheehan pushed for US Ambassador Lodge to accomplish regime change. This book says that Richardson wanted to wait for a longer time before coming to a decision about removing Diem. Unfortunately, Richardson sent a secure embassy cable that he had no overriding objections. This was a mistake since the original cable was ambiguous, already presuming that the removing Diem was the official government position. Richardson wrongly assumed that this was the opinion of JFK. In hindsight he knew it was not but originated in some state department staff clique. It was not directly from JFK. This haunted Richardson, supposedly for the rest of his life. After this JFK was shot and Johnson then escalated the US’s war involvement. This all benefited the CIA who could now access Laos and Cambodia secretly without US congress oversight. Lodge was also a broken man by the time of the Saigon embassy evacuation. The rumors were myriad that he was incapable of doing anything to shred documents and was wandering around like a zombie needing help to board the US helicopter. Richardson has a lot of good book recommendations so that is a big plus if you were to read this. I wouldn’t recommend My Father the Spy because it requires a lot of US war history to not become aggravated. I am interested in espionage books because here is much compare with military affairs in these accounts. Most CIA books are about failure at the CIA itself. The CIA did not predict that Vietnam’s Diem would survive the many attempts to remove him by the populace. The sad events of the Vietnam War started during this critical period after the CIA’s Bay of Pigs fiasco. show less

In this biography, Richardson retraces his father's footsteps through a mix of facts, stories, research and anecdotal evidence.

Richardson Sr's youth, his studies, admission into the army, all are par for the course. The years that the author describes after the World War are particularly revealing: the confusion, torn loyalties, mixed politics - Richardson does a great job of describing the mess that ensued in war-torn Europe.

The Cold War years are much more harsh, especially come the show more Vietnam War where Richardson's career ends up taking a turn for the worse - and where the biography stops taking an "objective" look: from there on, the author is more concerned about redeeming his father's reputation and describing his own experience of these years than recounting the facts. Emotion definitely overtakes rationality... but does not make the story weaker. On the contrary, the reader enters a whole new world, much more personal and intimate, until the end where he shares in the family's pain as Richardson Sr fights against cancer.

A unique and intriguing look at a Station Chief's career in the CIA, his struggles, the diplomatic tensions and political challenges he faced and his contribution to history - well worth the time. show less

I read this a few years ago while on vacation in Hawaii. The house I rented on the North West coast of the big island had a nice collection of books in one of the bedrooms. Although I had brought my own books, once I started reading this, I couldn't put it down.

It is an engrossing inside look at a CIA family. It also inadvertantly gives an inside look at someone who is now called a 'third culture kid.' These are children of parents who are diplomats, missionaries, military brats, global show more business executives, and in this case a CIA spy. The children in these families have their own unique set of struggles in life since they do not grow up in their home country. So for me, the book worked on many levels. You get an inside look at CIA operations, a look at an important CIA operative as well as a look at what its like to grow up as a kid who doesn't fit in anywhere.

I have no way of evaluating the historical accuracy of all the details. I don't think that was the intention of the book. It is just one kid's reminiscences of growing up in a family where you're dad is an important CIA operative. show less

Explains the problem with gun shows, and good piece of journalism, but it was just missing something.