By Christopher Miskimon

Michael Vickers served his country during the Cold War in a variety of roles. He began as a non-commissioned officer in the US Army’s Special Forces, enlisting in June 1973. He later gained a commission and served in a number of Special Forces and counter-terrorism roles until leaving the army in 1983 to join the Central Intelligence Agency. There, Vickers assumed the leading role in the CIA’s secret operations to support the Afghan resistance to the Soviet invasion. He was directly responsible for helping defeat the Soviet Union in that conflict. Later, Vickers held several civilian posts in government during the War on Terror.

This memoir outlines Vicker’s service during the last decades of the Cold War and the tumultuous years afterward. The narrative is clear and engaging while adding fascinating details to many of the major events of recent history.

By All Means Available: Memoirs of a Life in Intelligence, Special Operations and Strategy (Michael G. Vickers, Knopf Books, New York NY, 2023, 559 pp., maps, photographs, notes, bibliography, index, $35, HC)