Chief of Station, Congo

“If one man personified the cold war in Africa-that ruinous contest between the greatest powers in the world’s weakest states-it was Larry Devlin. Smart, ambitious and hard as bullets, a second-world-war veteran who equated communists with Nazis, he was one of the CIA’s first station chiefs in Congo, where he arrived just days after it was made independent by Belgium in 1960-at two weeks’ notice… Mr Devlin’s was an unsavoury career. But so was that of any successful cold-war spy. His adventures, which he tells quite well, included dodging cannibal mutineers and murderous Western mercenaries; surviving numerous mock executions; and driving around Kinshasa with a rigid corpse sticking out of his trunk.” The Economist “The real story, this book makes clear, was more colourful than any novelist dare imagine…[W]hat revelations remain [after being vetted by the CIA] are still extraordinary enough to ensure his memoirs become a must-read for those interested in the shaping of independent Africa. Devlin’s account of the first Mobutu coup, in which he personally assured the future dictator that the US would bankroll his takeover, is one such astonishing moment….The danger with Chief of Station, Congo, is that it will be read purely as a work of historical interest, a fascinating account of a now-obsolete period when Moscow and Washington treated Africa as their board for a game of superpower chess. In fact, this book is of pressing and immediate relevance.” Michaela Wrong in the Financial Times “This is one book every African must read… highly recommended.” New African “Revealing… For devotees of Frederick Forsyth, there is plenty in these pages about gun-running in the heart of darkness.” The Spectator”

Larry Devlin was raised in California, enlisted in the army reaching the grade of captain in World War II, joined the CIA in 1949 and was appointed Chief of Station Congo in 1959. He subsequently served as Chief of Station, Laos and Chief, Africa Division and retired in 1974. He resides in Virginia and Provence, France.

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