Everybody Had His Own Gringo: The CIA and the Contras
Veteran newspaper correspondent Garvin ( Washington Times ) presents the Nicaraguan war (1979-91) from the vantage point of the contras --a legitimate political movement that in his view accomplished "nearly everything they were fighting for." In richly anecdotal coverage, he concludes, however, that the contras were not well served by their own leadership nor by their CIA advisers. Furthermore, he contends the contras were sold out by the Central American Peace Plan and by the Chamorro government that replaced the Sandinistas. Garvin's work serves as an antidote to Sam Dillon's Commandos: The CIA and Nicaragua's Contra Rebels ( LJ 10/1/91) for the two authors draw sharply differing assessments. For example, "Mike Lima," a contra field commander portrayed by Dillon as a sadistic ex-National Guardsman, stands in Garvin's eyes as a heroic counterintelligence contra chief "under attack by the State Department's human-rights hit team." With rich personal detail and dramatic scenes, Garvin portrays the war in human terms and explains the failure of the Reagan administration to influence its outcome. Since this book assumes a basic knowledge of the conflict, it is recommended for larger international affairs collections.- James Rhodes, Luther Coll., Decorah, Ia.Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.