Indochina Hand

July 15, 2024
Broman, in the sequel to his 2020 memoir Risk Taker, Spy Maker, details more of his life and times in 62 short, breezily written vignettes. They include accounts of his service as a U.S. Marine in the Vietnam War, and of the three decades after that, beginning in 1971, when he joined the CIA and served mainly in Southeast Asia. The episodic chapters include much reconstructed dialogue and stories of pseudonymous intelligence agents Broman worked with. For the first six months of his eventful 1969 tour of duty in Vietnam, Broman served as a platoon commander at An Hòa Combat Base, where he saw action almost on a daily basis “on the front lines in a war that didn’t really have front lines.” The chronicle of his Cold War CIA career bounces around the globe with his own recollections of running agents and other espionage derring-do, as well as stories told to him by friends and colleagues. There’s also a good deal about his off-duty travels throughout the world. The result is an anecdote-heavy, if often stimulating, meander down memory lane.