Shadow War: The CIA's Secret War in Laos

by Kenneth J. Conboy

This is the first comprehensive history of the CIA's largest paramilitary operation during the cold war. It took 10 years to write and involved interviews with 650 CIA case officers, U.S. military officials, and senior Lao, Thai and North Vietnamese officers. Includes outstanding photos and maps and never-before-reported details on the secret war in Laos.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military History, Asia

453 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1995

About the author

Kenneth J. Conboy is a former policy analyst and deputy director at the Asian Studies Center in Washington, D.C., and author or coauthor of seventeen books, including The CIA’s Secret War in Tibet and Spies and Commandos: How America Lost the Secret War in North Vietnam and, most recently, FANK: A History of the Cambodian Armed Forces.

Reviews

[Paul Cornelius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not for everyone, certainly not the casual reader. But this is the most thorough and accurate book available on the war in Laos during the postwar era. Incredibly detailed, the reader will never find another source that explains so well what took place during those years. The war in Laos, the politics, Lao society, and, of course, Lao geography are some of the most complicated byzantine affairs I've ever encountered. Conboy's Shadow War is like a field guide to recognizing what was happening. Superb.

[Jerome Otte · Rating 4 out of 5]

A excellent study of the CIA’s Laotian operations. Told in the style of a military history, Conboy’s book describes the Momentum operation in detail, covering all of the better-known operations like the Agency’s operations in support of Vang Pao as well as some lesser-known ones. Again, this is told in the style of a campaign history, and the significance of events can be a little hard to decipher as the narrative becomes more and more “blow-by-blow,” and thus somewhat dull. The level of detail is somewhat exhausting (both in the narrative and the endnotes), but overall this is actually a plus.

Also, it would have been nice to have more coverage of the CIA station in Vientiane, and more importantly on the strategic and political context. But, in all, an excellent history of Project Momentum.

[EJ_V · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit dry, and tough to get through. Not a very easy read, but this book contains a lot of information I haven't found in other books and is definitely worth your time if you are interested in the CIA's secret war in Laos.