What do you think?
Rate this book
Jinnik
Fear is like a drug; you can become addicted to it... I did.
We were an anomaly, the four of us; Heiney, Turk, Andrea and I. We were all veterans of more than four years in the field and we could count our combined border crossings in the hundreds, two of us even had sanctioned kills.
When we arrived at the Scheuner I was told the normal useful lifespan of an operator was 3 years, we were all working on five. The tension and pressure of our operations were every bit as intense as combat and none of us knew how it was changing us and shaping us into something most of us, if given a choice, would chose not to become.
Set in a time and place remembered only by those who survived and a row of upside down shot glasses behind an old bar; this exhilarating and previously untold tale of the Cold War is relayed to us by the only Operator to ever return from hell and drink from his own overturned glass.
Outwardly, Jinnik and his team were on a European vacation much of the time but this was no trip to the Riviera.
Jinnik retraces his recruitment into and training for this unknown, most peculiar and dangerous Foreign Service. They were soldiers charged with the task of doing whatever they could to end the Cold War.
Terrifying border crossings into and out of enemy territory, and countless heroes on both sides of The Wall who risked, and too often paid life and limb to destroy the Red Menace.
The actions of Aufklärungs-Gruppe 31 and others like them did more to undermine the enemy than any politician or mere civilian could ever envision. Reading Jinnik, one can imagine how the 'battlefield' tactics Jinnik and his band of soldiers inherited, invented, and perfected, are most certainly studied by others learning and plying Jinnik's trade today and tomorrow.
Stereotypes are eviscerated and the humanity which existed on both sides of The Wall is revealed; a humanity transcending politics, language, ideology, and ultimately saved Jinnik himself. Sacrifice, strategy, trust, honor, teamwork, training, poise, ignorance, arrogance, quick wit, luck (good and bad), and a network of sacred alliances and allegiances brought down The Wall. "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this Wall" may have grabbed the headlines, but the tale of Jinnik and his compatriots, contacts, and sleepers is the astonishing story of those who got the job done.
We were an anomaly, the four of us; Heiney, Turk, Andrea and I. We were all veterans of more than four years in the field and we could count our combined border crossings in the hundreds, two of us even had sanctioned kills.
When we arrived at the Scheuner I was told the normal useful lifespan of an operator was 3 years, we were all working on five. The tension and pressure of our operations were every bit as intense as combat and none of us knew how it was changing us and shaping us into something most of us, if given a choice, would chose not to become.
Set in a time and place remembered only by those who survived and a row of upside down shot glasses behind an old bar; this exhilarating and previously untold tale of the Cold War is relayed to us by the only Operator to ever return from hell and drink from his own overturned glass.
Outwardly, Jinnik and his team were on a European vacation much of the time but this was no trip to the Riviera.
Jinnik retraces his recruitment into and training for this unknown, most peculiar and dangerous Foreign Service. They were soldiers charged with the task of doing whatever they could to end the Cold War.
Terrifying border crossings into and out of enemy territory, and countless heroes on both sides of The Wall who risked, and too often paid life and limb to destroy the Red Menace.
The actions of Aufklärungs-Gruppe 31 and others like them did more to undermine the enemy than any politician or mere civilian could ever envision. Reading Jinnik, one can imagine how the 'battlefield' tactics Jinnik and his band of soldiers inherited, invented, and perfected, are most certainly studied by others learning and plying Jinnik's trade today and tomorrow.
Stereotypes are eviscerated and the humanity which existed on both sides of The Wall is revealed; a humanity transcending politics, language, ideology, and ultimately saved Jinnik himself. Sacrifice, strategy, trust, honor, teamwork, training, poise, ignorance, arrogance, quick wit, luck (good and bad), and a network of sacred alliances and allegiances brought down The Wall. "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this Wall" may have grabbed the headlines, but the tale of Jinnik and his compatriots, contacts, and sleepers is the astonishing story of those who got the job done.
433 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 30, 2014
29 people want to read
About the author
Gideon D. Asche
3 books10 followersGideon Asche grew up as the child of a US diplomat. He attended private British school in Europe and is fluent in both English and German.
During the late 70’s Gideon was recruited out of the Army to serve as a Human intelligence operator behind the Iron Curtain.
After being trained in Germany, he spent the next almost ten years in the field.
This period of Mr. Asche’s career is the foundation for the Story “JINNIK: the asset".
Mr. Asche now lives in a remote area of the California Sierras with his wife and Great Pyrenees devoting his time to converting wine into Urine, writing and avoiding humanity.
If his country ever calls again, you can be assured he will again answer the call.
During the late 70’s Gideon was recruited out of the Army to serve as a Human intelligence operator behind the Iron Curtain.
After being trained in Germany, he spent the next almost ten years in the field.
This period of Mr. Asche’s career is the foundation for the Story “JINNIK: the asset".
Mr. Asche now lives in a remote area of the California Sierras with his wife and Great Pyrenees devoting his time to converting wine into Urine, writing and avoiding humanity.
If his country ever calls again, you can be assured he will again answer the call.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 14, 2014
I received this copy free from the author, though NOT in exchange for the promise of a review.
The book is about the author's experiences as a Cold War spook. Recruited as a Sergeant from the American Army stationed in Germany (and, while squared away in part, something of a f%ck-up), he becomes Captain in a high-powered, but secret, German intelligence unit charged with assisting anti-Communist groups in Eastern Europe. This starts around 1980, when East was East and West was West--so crossing the Czech border with thousands of stashed Deutschmarks and Czech Bibles took the balls of an Elephant. Sometimes, the cargo was printing presses and ink, guns, and even people. There is a breathtaking, waterlogged, escape in Prague. But each trip lead to a quicker end to the abomination of the Wall--the most important event in my lifetime.
The author speeks fluent German, and is picked as team leader of a group of eight (none of which are "Amis")--most of which obviously are more talented in the field. But the flip side of author's gift of gab also is the gift of friendship, and he befriends very important groups along the way: most notably the Roma (gypsies) and the Mossad (Israel's secret service). The latter, and his bosses, warn him that the life of an agent crossing the Bulgarian, Polish, Yugoslavian and even Ukrainian border is short. (By this point, four in his team are dead.) They praise him unique his ability to make friends -- why he was picked as team leader -- and urge him to quit now. But he keeps going mission after mission, helping the groups that helped topple the Berlin Wall. Alas, his missions ended earlier than the Wall, when the Commies got Commodore 64s and suddenly tracked entry and exits into the east bloc. . . Think "Darkness at Noon".
The author has much to say -- too much. He's obviously no professional writer, but what he lacks in communications he makes up in verisimilitude. He conveys an incredible sense of passion about missions to the old Warsaw bloc, an eyesore now (thanks in part to the author) long gone. And a great sense of humor: trading the life of a family of Western Christians detained behind the Iron Curtain for his friend's new Mercedes with a special seven-speed racing engine was priceless.
But the book should have omitted the many diversions and irrelevant place/people names. Mostly, the principle reason for their inclusion seemed to be that the author had pictures. And one never really gets a sense of how the author felt about the work, and his leadership, at the time. For example, the author marries one of his agents half-way through--on orders from above. Mind you, it's clear the two were in some kind of relationship before and happy to get married and live together while continuing to work together. But what happened to Andrea?
What a life story!--I wish it was a better book.
The book is about the author's experiences as a Cold War spook. Recruited as a Sergeant from the American Army stationed in Germany (and, while squared away in part, something of a f%ck-up), he becomes Captain in a high-powered, but secret, German intelligence unit charged with assisting anti-Communist groups in Eastern Europe. This starts around 1980, when East was East and West was West--so crossing the Czech border with thousands of stashed Deutschmarks and Czech Bibles took the balls of an Elephant. Sometimes, the cargo was printing presses and ink, guns, and even people. There is a breathtaking, waterlogged, escape in Prague. But each trip lead to a quicker end to the abomination of the Wall--the most important event in my lifetime.
The author speeks fluent German, and is picked as team leader of a group of eight (none of which are "Amis")--most of which obviously are more talented in the field. But the flip side of author's gift of gab also is the gift of friendship, and he befriends very important groups along the way: most notably the Roma (gypsies) and the Mossad (Israel's secret service). The latter, and his bosses, warn him that the life of an agent crossing the Bulgarian, Polish, Yugoslavian and even Ukrainian border is short. (By this point, four in his team are dead.) They praise him unique his ability to make friends -- why he was picked as team leader -- and urge him to quit now. But he keeps going mission after mission, helping the groups that helped topple the Berlin Wall. Alas, his missions ended earlier than the Wall, when the Commies got Commodore 64s and suddenly tracked entry and exits into the east bloc. . . Think "Darkness at Noon".
The author has much to say -- too much. He's obviously no professional writer, but what he lacks in communications he makes up in verisimilitude. He conveys an incredible sense of passion about missions to the old Warsaw bloc, an eyesore now (thanks in part to the author) long gone. And a great sense of humor: trading the life of a family of Western Christians detained behind the Iron Curtain for his friend's new Mercedes with a special seven-speed racing engine was priceless.
But the book should have omitted the many diversions and irrelevant place/people names. Mostly, the principle reason for their inclusion seemed to be that the author had pictures. And one never really gets a sense of how the author felt about the work, and his leadership, at the time. For example, the author marries one of his agents half-way through--on orders from above. Mind you, it's clear the two were in some kind of relationship before and happy to get married and live together while continuing to work together. But what happened to Andrea?
What a life story!--I wish it was a better book.
September 16, 2018
This is a very fast read and I felt a deep feeling of anxiety when reading this story since I really didn’t have knowledge that these things happened in the early 80’s but then again all I knew during this time was my personal education. For me, this was an enlightening educational lesson that I got here and this topic is rarely taught in school and maybe should.
The approach was different than what I’m used to reading but don’t let this detract from picking up this story. You will be glad that you did.
The approach was different than what I’m used to reading but don’t let this detract from picking up this story. You will be glad that you did.
October 26, 2014
Anyone can read a synopsis and decide whether to read a book; I tend to make the decision based on what the book will do: how it will make me feel, what it will teach me, and how it inspires. This one is 3 for 3.
This book is downright cool, if for no other reason, than it's a hero's story of other heroes to be honored for their commitment and sacrifice for our great nation. It's also a series of great stories that are told in an endearing (sometimes hysterical, careful with your wine) way that makes it one of those books you only want more of. It's the book you read and, while you trudge through your normal life, wonder "Why is everyone acting normal, as if this book doesn't exist?".
Some might say I am biased because I know the author. I disagree. I haven't read a book, on purpose, that was not work- or school- related in at least 8 years. If I cut through all of the excuses and my three questions from earlier (that most books can't achieve), I would say I don't want to waste my time on a bad book. Not only was this book not a waste of time, it gave me perspective that nothing else could have and for that I am grateful. It is too often our heroes of the past are forgotten and their stories untold and I am thankful for the opportunity to know them.
No matter how ridiculous that sounds, I'll take the ridicules.....
This book is downright cool, if for no other reason, than it's a hero's story of other heroes to be honored for their commitment and sacrifice for our great nation. It's also a series of great stories that are told in an endearing (sometimes hysterical, careful with your wine) way that makes it one of those books you only want more of. It's the book you read and, while you trudge through your normal life, wonder "Why is everyone acting normal, as if this book doesn't exist?".
Some might say I am biased because I know the author. I disagree. I haven't read a book, on purpose, that was not work- or school- related in at least 8 years. If I cut through all of the excuses and my three questions from earlier (that most books can't achieve), I would say I don't want to waste my time on a bad book. Not only was this book not a waste of time, it gave me perspective that nothing else could have and for that I am grateful. It is too often our heroes of the past are forgotten and their stories untold and I am thankful for the opportunity to know them.
No matter how ridiculous that sounds, I'll take the ridicules.....
October 14, 2014
This is an amazing book. I tell every one I know they need to read this book. Yes, I have found a couple of typo, I rolled right over them just like a tank. The story is too good to bother about some typographical errors. There are stories that transcend the ordinary. This is one.
February 10, 2015
I've long been interested in the history of the Cold War, but I've always focused on the politics of it all and paid little attention to the role of people. So now I decided it was time to do some reading into that area, and started with "Jinnik" by author Gideon D. Asche. A fantastic story true story from the (and too soon slipping from memory) Cold War. The author is a member of a group of operatives crossing various borders points on Europe's Iron Curtain. This book demonstrates so many of the critical factors in running an intelligence operation: the importance of selecting the right agent, the necessity of patience and letting some things slip away in favour of the big picture, the aspects of whom to trust or who is a spy, and the role of good old fashioned luck. The only flaw with the book is that is was to long, I believe it could have been shortened by a quarter. But, overall, an excellent and well-documented read.
September 9, 2015
This is an excellent read for those interested in covert intelligence operations during the Cold War.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews