Product Description

From the start of the Cold War to the fall of Saigon, from the jungles of Africa and beaches of Cuba to the polar icecap and mountains of Tibet, this book presents a comprehensive overview of U.S. air-supported covert operations against the Soviet bloc. Author Curtis Peebles brings a sense of continuity to the shifting, shadowy battlefronts of the Cold War with one fascinating account after another of American intelligence services fighting against some of the most formidable secret police states the world has ever seen. To provide the big picture he draws on recent scholarship and Soviet-era archives and weaves together the known with the unknown. He describes early attempts to set up spy cells behind the Iron Curtain that were doomed by the infamous British traitor Kim Philby, Operation Mongoose, clandestine airlines, and offers details of the CIA’s secret spy plane that appeared in James Bond’s "Thunderball." He reminds readers that many of the operations ended in tragedy, with the agents knowing full well that if captured, their government would disavow them. In relating each operation to the others, he illustrates the changes in U.S. Cold War strategy and governmental policy from the late 1940s to the mid 1970s.

Those looking for an exciting read won’t be disappointed with this globetrotting account of gutsy spies, nor will those seeking substantive facts about covert operations in the skies. Peebles provides just the right blend of drama and realistic detail to attract a broad audience.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #524734 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 330 pages

From the Author
Curtis Peebles is an aerospace historian and author, coauthor, or editor of fourteen books. He has appeared on such television shows as "NOVA," "Unsolved History," and "Tactical to Practical."

Customer Reviews

Excellent overview history
"Twilight Warriors" is an excellent overview history of air-supported special operations against the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, North Vietnam and other hostile locations during the Cold War up through the early 1970s. The author shows how the operations were conceived, how they worked (or didn't, in too many cases) and what the results were. He provides a good discussion of Air America and the use of non-US nationals in these operations such as Nationalist Chinese, Tibetans and Cubans. He also mentions why certain aircraft were chosen for certain missions. Peebles compares the success of the Special Operations Executive and the OSS in World War Two with the failures during the Cold War, and his summary of the meager results of these later covert operations is straight-forward and honest: while the operations might have had some greater degree of success, the very nature of the totalitarian states they were aimed at presented a huge obstacle in infiltrating outsiders who could effectively create and sustain a resistance movement. For readers who want to know more about a particular operation, the bibliography is a great starting place. My chief reservations about this title are (1) a lack of maps (not the author's fault!) and (2) no discussion of whether there any new air-supported covert ops after the fall of South Vietnam--did they stop completely, or is sufficient information lacking to say anything about them? Despite those (minor) criticisms, this book is highly recommended, especially for libraries who may not have much else on Cold War covert operations.

We Were Luckier than we Knew
As you might guess from the title, this book talks about airborne operations conducted against the Soviet Bloc during the cold war. It includes not only operations against Russia, but also the covert operations during the Viet Nam war, operations against Cuba, etc.

As I was reading this book I couldn't help but think of the older book "Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage" by Sherry Sontag, Christopher Drew, and Annette Lawrence Drew.

I didn't realize just how close we and the Russians were going at each other during the Cold War. We are very, very lucky that some of these incidents didn't turn out to be really nasty.

The one thing that I kept expecting in this book was more on the RB-47 intrusions into Russia during the late 1950's and early 1960's. It is my understanding that about 40 US planes were shot down with a loss of a couple of hundred men.

One thing that I really liked about the book was the summary chapter at the end. His analysis of what we did, what the Russians were doing and the results were surprising and very informative. I'd like to see this part expanded another fifty pages or so in the next edition.

Meanwhile it's still a great book, get it and "Blind Man's Bluff."

Excellent and insightful tale of covert airlift support
This book is excellent for anyone studying insurgency, counter insurgencies, or human operations inside hostile territory. It is almost exclusively the story of inserting agents or providing airlift and supplies to insurgencies in place. The title implies all covert air operations but it skips almost all the reconnaissance operations, only covering some U-2. The book is actually better without reconnaissance, it hits precisely and forcefully on covert operations supporting humans; e.g. HUMINT, espionage, sabotage and trying to support internal insurrection. It takes a bit to get going, but is well worth the trip to the end. The human risks and costs should stun any reader. These people, especially those inserted, almost to a person faced horrible odds and fates but went anyway. The consequences went far beyond just the agents too - entire families and villages shipped away or killed in place. There are some 'war stories' but the author provides analysis of the operational successes and gives a great historical perspective. Very well organized and strong themes. The conclusions should be interesting to people who studied WWII and Nazi insertion of spies into England. The contrast between inserting people and using people already in the country is huge.