The Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception Paperback – Illustrated, 2 Nov. 2010

"Some Operational Applications of the Art of Deception for spies" really tells you all need to know about the contents of this book. There is some history of the use of deception and there is the application of the basic arts as described by John Mulholland, at the time one of the top magician entertainers in the USA. Deception, diversion and covert signalling, not your everyday fare, wrap that up in the guise of the Central Intelligence Agency and you have a fascinating little book, probably for boys.There is a mixture of history, comment and know how represented here and it certainly gets you thinking about what you do not see every day, but this is not every day fare. It is a well written quite engaging book from authors who have pedigree writing in this field. There is enough here for the occasional reader like me, I am not sure how much of it is new to aficionados. Kept me entertained over the Chrismas break.

This book is definately one for historical references, rather than a modern day take on C.I.A methodology. Having said that, many of the techniques described are most likely still being used to this day in the field, but they do feel like they were based on days gone by, especially during the cold war and any prior low-key, political conflicts. The book describes numerous methods for administering poisons and drugs to the target's drinks, how to conceal low tech weapons, and how to use slight of hand for either pocketing information, or concealing a transaction when under observation. It's more for the older more analogue generation, rather than the modern day operatives who mainly work from a distance and through IT interception and so on. Recommended for the serious collector and curious observer, not necesarily the high tech crowd. ( Louie Blystad-Collins -DoP- Bristol-England )

This book was originally written by John Mulholland for the CIA. It was written in a way in which anyone who came across it would assume it was a book if basic stage tricks.This book was put together in conjunction with the MK ultra operation as a way to administer poisons to unsuspecting people.The book 'Poisoner in Chief: Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA Search for Mind Control by Stephen Kinzer' gives more insight into this era.I'm mentioning this because people discount this book for the wrong reasons or due to a lack of knowledge or and proficiency in ignorance or obedience from the propaganda which the empire (Un-uniting States of America) distributes

very good

I was not very impressed with this book. it is very out of date nowadays. I do not see very much use for it nowadays.

First off its a great collection of information on the workings of the CIA in days gone by, the book looks great and feels nice. Its an interesting read, more something to skim through than read, but some of the plans and ideas the CIA can up with are truely odd, and you do wonder how on earth they were given the go ahead.I won'r put spoilers in here, the book is well put together and informative, however some of the ideas are more suited to Dad's army or Allo Allo. Very interesting

Any book with the words 'trickery and deception' in the title is bound to grab my attention, and the CIA Manual did not disappoint. I bought this book as a last-minute gift and couldn't help but get stuck into it. I had no idea that the CIA were in cahoots with America's most famous magician. The manual is quite staggering -- from tips on how to use cigarette papers for surreptitious notes, to hiding powder in the eraser-tip or a pencil and loads more. Favourite section: Surreptitious Removal of Objects by Women. Look out boys: I might not be armed with a gun, but I now have the skills of a professional trickster!

I bought this as a Christmas present for a young relative who likes spy-thrillers and it seemed to go down well. Obviously while James Bond is more glamorous, the real CIA is more downbeat but all the same far more intriguing.