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Zusatztext Fascinating account of an espionage pioneer who thrived during the Korean War and then disappeared into disgraced obscurity . . . An engrossing hidden history of wartime espionage! with elements of derring-do and moral barbarity. Informationen zum Autor Blaine Harden is a contributor to the Economist , based in Seattle, having completed a tour as the Washington Post’s bureau chief in Tokyo. He is the prize-winning, acclaimed author of two books: Africa: Dispatches from a Fragile Continent and A River Lost: The Life and Death of the Columbia. Klappentext From the New York Times bestselling author of Escape from Camp 14 comes the astonishing untold story of one of the most powerful spies America ever had . . . Donald Nichols was 'a one man war'! according to his US Air Force commanding general. He won the Distinguished Service Cross! along with a chest full of medals for valour and initiative in the Korean War. His commanders described Nichols as the bravest and most effective spymaster of that forgotten war. But there is far more to Donald Nichols's story than first meets the eye . . . Based on long-classified government records! unsealed court records! and interviews in Korea and the US! King of Spies tells the gripping story of the reign of an intelligence commander who lost touch with morality! legality! and possibly even sanity. Donald Nichols was America's Kurtz. A seventh-grade dropout! he created his own black-ops empire! commanding a small army of hand-selected spies! deploying his own makeshift navy! and ruling over it as a clandestine king! with absolute power over life and death. Then! finally! the US government decided to end Nichols's reign . . . In this riveting book! Blaine Harden traces Nichols's unlikely rise and tragic ruin! whilst reminding us that the darkest sins of the Vietnam War - and many other conflicts that followed - were first committed in Korea. 'Blaine Harden has done more than anyone else to bring North Korea to a mass audience' Washington Post 'Harden's book! besides being a gripping story! unsparingly told! carries a freight of intelligence about this black hole of a country' New York Times on Escape from Camp 14 Zusammenfassung In King of Spies , prize-winning journalist and bestselling author of Escape From Camp 14 , Blaine Harden, reveals one of the most astonishing – and previously untold – spy stories of the twentieth century. Donald Nichols was 'a one man war', according to his US Air Force commanding general. He won the Distinguished Service Cross, along with a chest full of medals for valor and initiative in the Korean War. His commanders described Nichols as the bravest, most resourceful and effective spymaster of that forgotten war. But there is far more to Donald Nichols' story than first meets the eye . . . Based on long-classified government records, unsealed court records, and interviews in Korea and the U.S., King of Spies tells the story of the reign of an intelligence commander who lost touch with morality, legality, and even sanity, if military psychiatrists are to be believed. Donald Nichols was America's Kurtz. A seventh-grade dropout, he created his own black-ops empire, commanding a small army of hand-selected spies, deploying his own makeshift navy, and ruling over it as a clandestine king, with absolute power over life and death. He claimed a – 'legal license to murder' – and inhabited a world of mass executions and beheadings, as previously unpublished photographs in the book document. Finally, after eleven years, the U.S. military decided to end Nichols's reign. He was secretly sacked and forced to endure months of electroshock in a military hospital in Florida. Nichols told relatives the American government was trying to destroy his memory.
