About Jack

 "If you want to know what made the clandestine service at CIA work during our time at the agency then read this book.  Knowing that I had Kassinger backing me up alleviated most of the concerns I had of taking on a dangerous operational assignment."

     -- Robert Baer - CIA Field Officer and author of See No Evil and 

Sleeping with the Devil

 “ An amazing book. Mr. Kassinger is a fine author. His years of service to this nation show through his words. I recommend this work to anyone who ever wondered what it would be like to be on the front lines fighting the good fight. This book should be mandatory reading for every student interested in foreign service. ” 

John

KIRKUS REVIEW

HOLDING HANDS WITH HEROES

by Jack Kassinger ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 22, 2010

Kassinger’s depiction of intelligence gathering at ground level is engrossing and rings with real-McCoy authenticity.

Kassinger presents an unvarnished memoir of his days in the field as a CIA support officer.

Kassinger thought he was headed for a career in the Marines until he was dazzled by a CIA recruiter and embarked on a decades-long tenure with the agency. In this thoughtfully laid out, perceptive and richly detailed chronicle, he captures the many events he played a part in orchestrating. When Kassinger entered the CIA, he did not have a college degree, so advancement looked grim. But he hired on as a contract employee and slowly, steadily gained in pay grade, from file clerk to a roving, troubleshooting support officer in the Directorate of Operations. Kassinger emerges as a humble, capable character, a quick study, someone who brought both pride and a sense of ethics to a slippery job (he even had a brush with Oliver North). There is still plenty that Kassinger has to keep under wraps—like names and the location of his first assignment, referred to simply as the “Site”—which lends the proceedings a note of mystery. He is both appreciative of the opportunity to range about the world—“The smell and sounds of Africa would take control of our senses, as we sat in our Isuzu Trooper eating quiche, drinking our Bloody Marys, and listening to the roar of lions after an early morning kill”—and excited by the challenges of his work, though his low-key demeanor keeps the excitement from becoming breathless. His travels are far and wide, one minute in Central Asia, then in Central Europe, down in Central America, putting out brush fires and jerry-rigging equipment to meet the logistical needs of the field stations, but clearly his favorite assignments are in Africa, and the strongest, most evocative chapters in the book take place during the delamination of Somalia. He also provides an intelligent analysis of the CIA’s own delamination, and its effects on the employees, during the mid-’90s.

Kassinger’s depiction of intelligence gathering at ground level is engrossing and rings with real-McCoy authenticity.

Pub Date: July 22, 2010

ISBN: 978-1434907820

Page Count: 256

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: Nov. 16, 2010

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

 "Add Jack Kassinger to the list of intelligent, entertaining thriller writers whose ranks already include John le Carré and Tom Clancy. This is taut, terrifying writing that engulfs the reader into the action. Every page you turn puts you on the ground, in the fray, with such realism you’ll be glad to make it out in one piece.”—CLC Book Review, KFNX, Phoenix 

 "Thoroughly enjoyed this well written novel. I did not feel as if I were reading fiction. This story blended well with recent news headlines regarding the constant political upheaval in Africa. Look forward to picking up Jack Kassinger's next novel." --R 

 “Based on decades of real world experience, author Jack Kassinger delivers a dynamic tale that reads as if it happened yesterday…or may happen tomorrow,” said Kathie McGuire, director of Brighton Publishing LLC. “In a style reminiscent of classic Techno-thrillers like Tom Clancy’s Hunt for Red October, and Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Supremacy, The Hunt for Njonjo brews up an intense combination of technology, tension, and terror.” 

“Powerful, and laced with a steady beat of suspense, Kassinger does it again with this spectacular work of international intrigue.” said Kathie McGuire, director of Brighton Publishing LLC.

"Love this author's books -- I've read three of them. By the end of the third, I was wishing that they were either longer or that there were others for me to dive into. Very satisfying read. " Robert Tobin

“Rumbling forward with relentless force, momentum and a steady beat of suspense, Jack Kassinger hits the mark again with another brilliant work” said Brighton Publishing LLC.

In terms of spy genre, Jack Kassinger, as an author, is one of the best there is. His novels include: Noble Cause: A CIA Spy Thriller, Storms Over Zimbabwe, The Hunt for Njonjo and Pursued. Each novel provides the reader suspense and drama based on real life experiences. Mindful Deed is his fifth novel and a continuation of his masterful writing."

 "In terms of spy genre, Jack Kassinger, as an author, is one of the best there is. His novels include: Noble Cause: A CIA spy thriller, Storms Over Zimbabwe, The Hunt for Njonjo, Pursued and Mindful Deed. Each novel provides the reader suspense and drama based on real life experiences. Asset is his sixth novel and a continuation of his masterful writing."