The Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception

by Melton, H. Keith

• ISBN13: 9780061725890
• ISBN10: 0061725897
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-12-29
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

Magic or spycraft? In 1953, against the backdrop of the Cold War, the CIA initiated a top-secret program, code-named MKULTRA, to counter Soviet mind-control and interrogation techniques. Realizing that clandestine officers might need to covertly deploy newly developed pills, potions, and powders against the adversary, the CIA hired America's most famous magician, John Mulholland, to write two manuals on sleight of hand and undercover communication techniques. In 1973, virtually all documents related to MKULTRA were destroyed. Mulholland's manuals were thought to be among them-until a single surviving copy of each, complete with illustrations, was recently discovered in the agency's archives. The manuals reprinted in this work represent the only known complete copy of Mulholland's instructions for CIA officers on the magician's art of deception and secret communications.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Foreword	p. xi
Introduction: The legacy of MKULTRA and the Missing Magic Manuals	p. 1
Some Operational Applications of the Art of Deception	p. 67
Introduction and General Comments on The Art of Deception	p. 69
Handling of Tablets	p. 91
Handling of Powders	p. 112
Handling of Liquids	p. 127
Surreptitious Removal of Objects	p. 144
Special Aspects of Deception for Women	p. 165
Surreptitious Removal of Objects by Women	p. 183
Working as a Team	p. 191
Recognition Signals	p. 207
Notes	p. 225
Selected Bibliography	p. 245
About the Authors	p. 249
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