Ghosts of Panama

Ghosts of.... #2

by Mark Harmon, Leon Carroll Jr.

Panama, 1989. The once warm relationship between United States and Gen. Manuel Noriega has eroded dangerously. Newly elected President George Bush has declared the strongman a drug trafficker and a rigger of elections. Intimidation on the streets is a daily reality for U.S. personnel and their families. The nation is a powder keg.

Naval Investigative Service (NIS) Special Agent Rick Yell has worked the job in Panama since 1986, and lives there with his wife Annya and infant child. Like most NIS agents, he’s a civilian with no military rank with a specialty in working criminal cases. The dynamic changes suddenly when Yell inadvertently develops an intelligence source with unparalleled access to the Noriega regime. Now the agent is thrust into a world of spy-versus-spy, of secret meetings and hidden documents.

Yell’s source – known as “The Old Man” – warns when Cuban military personnel arrive and identifies anti-American officers within the Panamanian Defense Forces, provides information about an imprisoned CIA asset and helps track Noriega’s movements, agitating for the dictator’s kidnapping. The reports created by Yell and his NIS colleagues shape the decisions made in Washington D.C., CIA headquarters in Langley and the innermost sanctums of Pentagon.

The powder keg is lit on December 16, 1989, when a young U.S. Marine is gunned down at a checkpoint in Panama City. Yell and his cadre of trusted agents deploy immediately to investigate the killing, and what they determine will decide the fate of two nations. When President Bush hears the details they uncover, he orders an invasion that puts Yell’s family, informants and fellow agents directly in harm’s way.

Using a blend of research and interviews with the NIS agents who were directly involved, Ghosts of Panama reveals the untold, clandestine story of counterintelligence professionals placed in a pressure cooker assignment of historic proportions.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military Fiction, Audiobook, Politics, Historical, War

272 pages, Paperback

First published November 19, 2024

About the author

Thomas Mark Harmon is an American actor and producer who has worked in television, film, and theater. Born on September 2, 1951 in Burbank, California, Harmon turned down professional football to pursue acting. He worked odd jobs between acting gigs, including as a carpenter and shoe company rep, and appeared in Coors beer commercials. Harmon is best known for his role as Leroy Jethro Gibbs on the CBS crime series NCIS from 2003 to 2021.

Reviews

[Woman Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ☆

In Ghosts of Panama: A Strongman Out of Control, A Murdered Marine, and the Special Agents Caught in the Middle of an Invasion, authors Mark Harmon and Leon Carroll Jr. wanted to present the events and actions that preceded the United States invasion of Panama in December 1989 and to do so from the perspective of the NIS or Naval Investigative Service. Their narrative began in June 1986 with Noriega’s realization that he was no longer in the Reagan administration’s good graces.

[T]he White House had shamed him in a publication that would spread the word globally. The Reagan administration was sending the Panamanian strongman a message – give up his grip on Panama.

Soon after, NIS Agent Rick Yell arrived in Panama. The vast majority of NIS agents were like Yell, trained in criminal investigations of any felony offenses either directed against the personnel and property of the US Department of Navy or committed by the sailors or Marines.

In many ways, Yell remained a cop at heart.

A minority of the NIS agents was focused on counterintelligence. In Panama, the most desired intelligence target was Noriega’s regime, his trusted Panama Defense Force, whose headquarters were located opposite of the NIS Panama office.

Within months of his arrival, Yell was introduced to the “Old Man,” a retired official from the Canal Commission. The “Old Man” didn't hide his hate for Noriega but that didn't automatically make him a reliable source. And then Yell learned that his informant had relatives among the top echelons of the Panama Defense Force.

[T]he scene represented a professional vindication for Yell. The Old Man, his prized informant, was proven right after all. Noriega was into magic, as The Old Man so vividly described. He couldn't stop thinking about the story the Panamanian told him about watching a masked Noriega bath in fresh chicken blood.

The intelligence provided by the Old Man and additional sources combined with the murder of an American Marine became the impetus for the Bush administration to invade Panama.

Prior to this book, I was pretty ignorant of the 1989 American invasion of Panama. How did circumstances come to pass that President George H.W. Bush had authorized such an extreme action? Was the military effort worth the cost of human lives lost during that attack? These were my fundamental questions. After reading Ghosts of Panama, I felt that this was not the best book to understand the whys and wherefores of the Panama situation.

The two authors provided neither an in-depth analytical framework nor substantial historical context. The authors’ forte was a chronological timeline of events, especially the coordination of the multi-prong military assault that transpired in December 1989, which was the most exciting section to read. Also the authors had included many headline news names in the first third of the book as though the reader was already familiar with them or that they would play a significant role later, which was not the case. Instances of misspellings of key names didn't add to their credibility.

I don't regret reading this book as it had whetted my curiosity, but I don't regard this as an unequivocally accurate historic record. Consequently, I've begun reading Modern Panama: From Occupation to Crossroads of the Americasin hopes of acquiring a comprehensive understanding.

[Brendan (History Nerds United) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Turns out you shouldn't trust drug dealers. Authors Leon Carroll and Mark Harmon tell the story of how the U.S. broke up with General Manual Noriega and set Panama free. The story follows various characters but mainly focuses on NIS (no, not NCIS, they didn't get named that yet) Special Agent Rick Yell. Yell and his wife Annya serve as the focal point, but there are a lot of other people mentioned including CIA agents.

Carroll is a former NCIS agent and, of course, Harmon is the former lead of the very popular NCIS TV show. This book unfolds very much like their first book, Ghosts of Honolulu, which was centered on the attack on Pearl Harbor. Both books are written for general audiences. They are short, to the point, and don't linger too long on any one person or event.

The writing style depends on your personal preference. For something like Panama, I would have preferred a bit more background since I am not well versed on Operation Just Cause. If you are looking for something you can knock out in a few hours with little fuss, then this is right up your alley. I should mention for the history nerds, there are sections where the authors mention they "recreated" some dialogue. This is not something I am a fan of and have railed against it in the past. However, it happens very little and the conversations are not entirely made up but pulled from documents which were not written as conversations. The rest of the book is well sourced. I would tell readers that this book would work well for most audiences, but for history nerds you may need another book after this to fill in some gaps.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Harper Select.)

[ang · Rating 2 out of 5]

one of the very first footnotes in this just says "[insert information from nyt article]" with a link. a lot of the others are just links. and i'm imagining what would happen if i tried to submit an undergrad history paper with sources done this poorly. it doesn't have to be this bad!! i am available if yall need some help proofreading the next one!

[Dan Webb · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a disjointed hodgepodge. I lived in Panama 1981-1983 and lived on Albrook Air station and worked on Howard Air Force Base. I moved around Panama extensively and found the book hard to follow-
but then, it’s hard to follow our own domestic politics
as well. I recommend you spend your valuable time
elsewhere!

[Michael Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly considered using PTO to sit home and finish this book. It’s super fast paced and tells the story of the US overthrowing Noriega and the Panamanian government in 1989. The authors are not traditional academic/authors but military and intelligence guys which can be obvious in the writing but I think adds to the story. A really good page turner where you learn so much about a mission and US power in overthrowing a dictator. I also appreciate how they constantly shared the opposing viewpoints in how the invasion was an overreach.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

I now understand the appeal of this author. A not commonly told history that built well. Would recommend.

[Kat Inoway · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5. Attempts to be sweeping & page-turning, comes out irrelevant. Why so much about Collin Powell & direct quotes of GW Bush? I guess some people get off on hearing about specific weaponry & aircraft used in the invasion, though fail to see the relevance. Also attempts to be balanced by quoting some opposing American/international org’s views though there’s no analysis/reflection. Skims a tiny bit of history w/out acknowledging how we ended up in the situation. It’s all very American-centric, literally no voice from any Panamanians (besides the Old Man, who is “useful” as a source).

Pros: Hearing the dependents’ experiences was pretty interesting. We’d prob never put dependents in situations like this anymore, for good reason. I did learn some historical facts I wasn’t aware of.

This book is for the Zero Dark Thirty military-intelligence thriller vibes. This book is not for understanding Panama’s people/history, or US foreign affairs.

Sidebar, audiobook version - sometimes very awkward prosody esp in conversational quotes. Why, sir? You are an actor.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very informative book about the invasion of Panama that deposed Manual Noriega and ended his narco-state. It is told from the perspective of a NIS agent stationed in Panama who participated in intelligence gathering prior to the invasion and describes his experiences. It is a bit muddled and a bit dry for such a short book. This kept me from rating it higher. Overall, it was a decent book.

[Thomas George Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

The invasion of Panama in 1989 remains controversial to this day.

Mark Harmon and Leon Carroll, Jr. has written a detailed account on the events that led to the war in Panama.

[LuAnn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to be honest … I really didn’t care for this book at all. It wasn’t very well written and tended to drone on and on. It took forever to go through only a few years.
I couldn’t figure out why it took so long to capture the notorious Manuel Noriega. They knew the laws he was breaking and even had a warrant issued at one point. Yet, they continued to follow him and even act like his friend at times. Why didn’t they just arrest him? The only reason I can come up with after reading this book is that he had information against the U.S. and some of our agencies and they didn’t want him to give that intelligence away.
Whatever.

[Lisa]

Surreal to finish this on the day the US captured the Venezuelan president and took over that country. The writing is set up to be a bit cinematic —character driven and from the perspectives of the people rather than an overarching narrative. That made it interesting. But there didn’t seem to be a “so what” there. I like a full story with some conclusions. It wasn’t clear that what happened was necessary but it did give the reader a sense of how confusing it must have been to all the agencies involved. This seems to have been the most significant point of the book—how the different agencies had their own goals and didn’t trust each other.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

Book Reflection: Ghosts of Panama by Mark Harmon
Rating: 3.5 stars

The book provides a concise history of the U.S. invasion of Panama and the subsequent takedown of General Noriega, while also offering a good overview of the history of the Panama Canal. This historical recap was particularly enlightening for me, as I was in high school at the time and geopolitics wasn’t something I gave much attention.

The book starts off slow, with some noticeable editing errors in the early chapters. Additionally, the footnotes feel lacking in quality and come across as somewhat immature in tone. However, the storylines improve about a third of the way through, making it more engaging as it progresses.

Interesting side note- I had no idea the Vatican embassy sheltered Noriega for a while before he gave himself up to US authorities.

Harmon concludes with a thoughtful reflections from the individuals highlighted through this account of Operation Just Cause. I would have liked to have heard their thoughts about the current state of Panama 🇵🇦 35 years after their involvement in the invasion. Was it worth it? Did the US have just cause? Did the US violate Panama’s sovereignty? Did this impact the drug cartels in Latin America?

Despite its rough start, the book offers valuable insights into Panama’s past.

[Sherry A · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would like to first mention the authors of Ghost of Panama. Mark Harmon is not only an award winning actor, but also served as executive producer of NCIS. On the new series, NCIS:Origins, Harmon will serve as narrator in addition to executive producer. Harmon also wrote Ghosts of Honolulu. The co-author, Leon Carroll, Jr. of Ghosts of Panama, also served as technical advisor on NCIS for 21 seasons and is currently working on the new show NCIS:Origins. He was previously a commissioned officer in the US Marine Corp, attaining the rank of Major. He then began a 21 year career as a Special Agent with NCIS. How can you go wrong with a book written by 2 such accomplished gentlemen?

I found this book extremely interesting, and learned so much about what occurred in 1989 in Panama. Something that might be helpful to future readers of this book is that there are quite a few acronyms throughout. I found it very helpful to make a list of the acronyms as they were mentioned, and wrote down the acronyms and their meanings, so that when they were mentioned in the book again, I could refer to my notes.

Bravo to Mark Harmon and Leon Carroll, Jr., and thank you for your service Major Carroll! Next on my list of “to read” is Ghosts of Honolulu.

Thank you so much to the authors, Goodreads, the the publisher for gifting me this book.

[Liz Incardona · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5

This is maybe a case of mismatched expectations because I was really expecting a book that went in depth into the political situation in Panama at the time--how they got to this point (sounds like the US was cool with Noriega until he was no longer politically convenient? Did we help install him? It was not explained very well) and how it escalated to the invasion--and the experiences of the Panamanian people at the time and this is... not that. It's probably mean but I did not find the people followed all that interesting, but I think that's because these were people in another country at a military base (which, should we have even had one? who knows, the authors didn't go into that) who were largely protected and not in nearly as much real danger as the Panamanian civilians who didn't ask for *any* of this. Military personnel who are sort of tangentially involved in this whole thing were just not the people I wanted to hear from, and the way the story was told was just kind of disjointed and not incredibly engaging. The couple of interesting flashpoints such as the gripping opening and the murder of Lt. Paz were never really followed up on, and the actual meat of the invasion and capture of Noriega is almost completely glossed over. This seemed really promising, but if you want to read about this chapter of history, I'd personally suggest a different book.

[Francisco Vazquez · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m gonna say this both as a compliment and as a critique: this book should have been a documentary or a docuseries

[Chad Michael Messier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this in a month, record timing for me. NCIS is one of my favorite TV shows, so I was able to really connect here. Had very little background of the US relationship with Noriega going into the book, and found it interesting how much planning went into the operation. Reading this from the eyes of naval investigators helped add an additional flavor to the book. I recommend.

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Certainly an interesting story, but I got distracted by the poor writing often. Lots of weird tidbits without much explanation. It felt more like (well) presented research than research used to tell a story, ultimately feeling choppy.

[Shannon Whitley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I tuned it out quite often. I can recall names and specific events but I’m still not entirely sure of the point of the Panama invasion. Oops.

[Lawrence Roth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark Harmon and Leon Carroll Jr. have written a fast moving, real history espionage book that has accomplished my gold standard of making want to learn more about the US invasion of Panama and making me want to read their previous book Ghosts of Honolulu.

While this is yet another espionage/military history book that will have lots of names that you might not be able to keep track of too much, it is put together in a way that the reader can empathize and understand what the individuals involved are going through. It is also helpful that the overarching story of Operation Just Cause makes sense through what was probably a great research effort.

To be clear, this is a book on the intelligence officers of the NIS and the various military and intelligence efforts to box General Manuel Noriega into an untenable position. This is not a full blown political or military history book on the invasion of Panama, so do not go into this book thinking that. But it does have a decent if quick overview of the invasion, especially the battle for Panama City. But it is effective at its core mission to tell the basically untold story of those who prepared the ground for invasion, and it is a fun and quick read.

A recommend from me to anyone who is interested in intelligence and US involvement in Latin America.

[Carol Jones-Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated the time and efforts our authors Mark Harmon and Leon Carroll put forth in teaching the uninformed (ME) about the invasion of Panama that at that time deposed Manual Ortega. Interesting perspective in that it is told from the POV of an NIS agent stationed in Panama who participated in the gathering of intelligence, not long before the invasion and describes what it was like, and what they experienced.

I've previously read the Ghosts of Honolulu and very much enjoyed it. So our authors Mark Harmon, who is a very good actor, is also a terrific producer of NCIS. I just learned that on their new show, NCIS Origins, Mark will serve as the narrator in addition to executive producer. His co-author Leon Carroll, also served as technical advisor on NCIS for 21 seasons. What a record for them both. His military career is comprised of being a commissioned Major in the US Marine Corp.

I commend them both for their interesting and challenging careers. Thank you for your dedicated service. Best wishes. Recommend. Rated: 4.0 Stars!

[Zacus Strunkus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly well written. The way it tells the story surrounding the invasion is concise and descriptive at the same time, and isn't bogged down in overt politics or messaging - it's just the events as they unfolded.

On occasion, there is language that laymen may not understand and isn't clarified in the subnotes(one instance that springs to mind is the term G8 crimes, which I had to look up myself), although those are far and few between.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Told from the fascinating perspective of the intelligence community, this book does a great job at describing the extensive preparation and the political debates that came with the American invasion of Panama in 1989. Such a small but exciting chapter in history has been overlooked for decades and makes for a good read and a good Call of Duty mission.

[Eric (erics_furiouslyreading) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ghosts of Panama by Mark Harmon & Leon Carroll. Jr.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
The story of Operation Just Cause and the apprehension of Gen. Manuel Noriega.

I was actually excited to read this one as this was the first conflict the US was involved in after I left home after high school. Being a young man at the time, I didn’t really pay too much attention to the conflict but as the years went on, I became more curious. Some of the events were familiar but others were not and I didn’t realize some of the things that were part of the events leading up to OJC.

[Isaac Moss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and interesting non-fiction read about the lead up to the invasion of Panama. I feel like it helped fill a gap in my knowledge about the conflict. 4 stars just because of the consistent grammar and spelling errors throughout.

[Christian Arnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very quick, easy read. I like how the authors balanced the many different characters, locations, and dates in order to tell the story. Their passion for sharing the important work of the agents involved was very apparent. I highly recommend “Ghosts of Panama” for anyone looking for a book that is difficult to put down.

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a Goodreads giveaway win for me, written & told by Mark Harmon & NCIS Special Agent Leon Carroll, Jr. The history & untold story of the invasion of Panama make this story worth reading especially if you are a history buff. Thank you Goodreads!

[Red · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book that gives you a feel for what was going on with the invasion of Panama. It really does try to be neutral and let you decide for yourself on American policy. I wish the fighting was covered in a bit more depth.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable and informative book.

[Kevin Schafer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gift from my brother in law. He received a more detailed and fiery review.

I am not the target audience for this type of book but it did stimulate my interest in the invasion of Panama. Get this for the dad in your life.

[(╯`▭´）╯︵ ǝɔnɒꓷ]

*Dropped at 24%*