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Manhunt
Edwin P. Wilson was the Great Gatsby of the spook world, the rogue CIA agent who had already begun to amass a fortune while still in U. S. intelligence. His lavish estate outside Washington, D. C. was a favored gathering place for senators and congressmen, admirals and generals, and for key intelligence officers. Both the CIA and the FBI were aware of Wilson's secret, illegal weapons-trafficking activities with Libya's Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi, but they had done nothing to stop him. To everyone who knew him, Edwin Wilson seemed above the law.
Then, U. S. attorney Larry Barcella discovered Wilson's sinister machinations, and in a chase that would go on for nearly four years and over three continents, Barcella began a manhunt that would not end until Wilson was brought to justice.
301 pages, Hardcover
First published March 12, 1986
About the author
Peter Maas
24 books90 followersPeter Maas was an American journalist and author. He was born in New York City and attended Duke University.
He was the biographer of Frank Serpico, a New York City Police officer who testified against police corruption. He is also the author of the number one New York Times bestseller, Underboss, about the life and times of Sammy "The Bull" Gravano.
His other notable bestsellers include The Valachi Papers, Manhunt, and In a Child's Name, recipient of the 1991 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime book. The Valachi Papers, which told the story of Mafia turncoat Joseph Valachi, is widely considered to be a seminal work, as it spawned an entire genre of books written by or about former Mafiosi.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
He was the biographer of Frank Serpico, a New York City Police officer who testified against police corruption. He is also the author of the number one New York Times bestseller, Underboss, about the life and times of Sammy "The Bull" Gravano.
His other notable bestsellers include The Valachi Papers, Manhunt, and In a Child's Name, recipient of the 1991 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime book. The Valachi Papers, which told the story of Mafia turncoat Joseph Valachi, is widely considered to be a seminal work, as it spawned an entire genre of books written by or about former Mafiosi.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 19, 2013
In a world of five-star reviews this book stands out. It details the hunt for Ed Wilson, a rogue CIA agent with a penchant for B.S. and a taste for high living and money. Non-fiction, what strikes me about the book is how B.S. baffles brains. How shadowy and without oversight the intelligence world really is. He got away with all sorts of shady dealings, including smuggling arms to terrorist states, for years and years before they nailed him.
Of course the good guys always have to follow procedures and protocols where the criminals don't.
Another thing that sticks out is how connected the author must have been. Maas wrote 'Serpico,' a great true story about New York City corruption and this book is in the same vein--a true story that is almost stranger than fiction, or at least we would like to think so. He had access to all the facts.
When we see just who Wilson was involved with, the sort of protection he got from high up in the world of Washington power-brokers, and the book is full of famous names, it is indeed sobering to think that the same sort of faceless people, 'the directorate,' are still running things behind the scenes.
The political world would appear to be one shady, shabby deal after another, as unsympathetic as that may sound to those in positions of power, where ideals quickly fall by the wayside and the sharks circle endlessly, feeding on the rich red blood of democracy.
Of course the good guys always have to follow procedures and protocols where the criminals don't.
Another thing that sticks out is how connected the author must have been. Maas wrote 'Serpico,' a great true story about New York City corruption and this book is in the same vein--a true story that is almost stranger than fiction, or at least we would like to think so. He had access to all the facts.
When we see just who Wilson was involved with, the sort of protection he got from high up in the world of Washington power-brokers, and the book is full of famous names, it is indeed sobering to think that the same sort of faceless people, 'the directorate,' are still running things behind the scenes.
The political world would appear to be one shady, shabby deal after another, as unsympathetic as that may sound to those in positions of power, where ideals quickly fall by the wayside and the sharks circle endlessly, feeding on the rich red blood of democracy.
January 7, 2014
Manhunt sat on my bookshelves for ages and a year. I needed to get it off, so I read it. Should have read it sooner, because I couldn't put it down. Truth IS stranger than fiction, and the antagonist fugitive Edwin P. Wilson was quite the audacious one in his cons and global exploits. Recommended reading just to hear you say . . . "He did what? And got away with it?!" Almost.
September 10, 2020
This is a fascinating study of the rise and fall of spy. It is fascinating how he sort stumbled forward into big deal illegals munitions and weapons trafficking with Qaddafi while spending large amounts of money on property. Along the way there is a fascinating story of the assassination of Orlando Letelier which seems like it could be a book itself. Before being brought low by such basic police work as ballistics testing and a coerced informant, the airport arrest is rather anti-climatic. The movie version would have a shoot-out, I am sure.
I would like to see a book about that C.I.
- "CIA drops documents on 'spy' who escaped justice in White Plains"
I would like to see a book about that C.I.
Little is known for certain about Keiser. His name might have been Ernest or Ernesto, Keiser or Von Keiser, and in 1985 he was thought to be between 63 and 70 years old. He spoke with a German accent.
“I’m not sure that anyone outside of his immediate family knows who he is,” former federal prosecutor Chris Hoyer said in 1985. “He exists and functions in a bizarre world.”
- "CIA drops documents on 'spy' who escaped justice in White Plains"
August 16, 2021
"The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand." Yeah, that may have been Hal Holbrook as Deep Throat in "All the President's Men" but it's also the heart of just about any story of wrongdoing by CIA officers during the cowboy era of the Agency, and Maas' book is just one more outrageous, funny/sad, funny/funny, funny/what else are you gonna do example.
The Ed Wilson case has taken on near-mythic proportions in some corners of the CIA Conspiracy interwebs. Maas does a great job here of laying out as much of the facts as possible; separating the real stories from the fake stories from the half-truths; and taking the piss out of the idea that there was some cabal of evil geniuses at work here.
There are some men here of ability and accomplishment, but they all get dragged into the muck just the same, and for the sake of nothing more than making some money, and then some more money. Don't skip the Author's Note at the end; provides great background and context for how info was obtained and worked into the book's narrative.
Highly recommended.
The Ed Wilson case has taken on near-mythic proportions in some corners of the CIA Conspiracy interwebs. Maas does a great job here of laying out as much of the facts as possible; separating the real stories from the fake stories from the half-truths; and taking the piss out of the idea that there was some cabal of evil geniuses at work here.
There are some men here of ability and accomplishment, but they all get dragged into the muck just the same, and for the sake of nothing more than making some money, and then some more money. Don't skip the Author's Note at the end; provides great background and context for how info was obtained and worked into the book's narrative.
Highly recommended.
June 15, 2023
Maas is a thrilling author with a wonderful way of drawing in the reader and keeping the pages turning. A brilliant telling.
March 2, 2021
This book is about Edwin Wilson, a CIA agent who went renegade and became a terrorist. A lot of people find themselves in situations similar to this. There are lots of people who turn into spies, marry into terrorist cells, join terrorist cells. I can recall several such cases in the news in recent years. I found this book to be slightly boring, but an alright read.
November 17, 2021
I always love to see one's childhood experiences and try to reconcile them to the adult's actions. In this extremely involved rigmarole of crime I couldn't get over the child's brazen but genius ways to make money. He could have gone either way and been a big money maker.
July 11, 2013
An interesting read about quite a character
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews