When the CIA discourages spymaster Peter Sichel from writing his memoirs and returns a heavily redacted manuscript, the sharp as ever 102-year-old decides it’s time to tell his own story—unredacted.
What he reveals is an extraordinary life lived at the crossroads of Western history and the shadowy world of intelligence. Born into a wealthy German Jewish family in 1922, his privileged life is shattered by Hitler’s rise to power. After his family is forced to flee to the U.S., he quickly finds himself to be a rising star in the OSS, America’s first intelligence agency. Known as the “Wunderkind” of espionage, he would go on to navigate the shadowy world of Cold War intrigue, uncovering Soviet secrets and witnessing the darker side of CIA operations. But his bold tactics would earn him both admiration and suspicion, with whispers of him being a Soviet spy casting a shadow over his allegiances.
A compelling, unfiltered account from a CIA spymaster, Sichel recounts his extraordinary life with wit and wisdom, reflecting on the many lives he has lived along the way.
