4.5 stars rounded down for a thrilling, true life story of a man who worked for the CIA and the West German government, bringing defectors and dissidents out of communist countries and Iran.
Max Claro/Michael Muller was born in West Germany and always wanted to see the United States. He saves up enough money to get to the US and is living in Los Angeles when he is recruited to join the US Army in 1971. He is a pacifist and therefore asks to be trained as a medic. Still, he is horrified by the deaths and wounded soldiers that he treats. He decides to desert and switches identity with a dead medic. He ends up on a medevac plane to Korea, where he deserts. He then switches identity again, stealing the ID and a plane ticket of a man taking a shower in a public bathing facility.
However, he doesn't want to go to prison, and turns himself in to the Army. His wild and improbable story is verified after several days. This is when the CIA recruits him. He accepts, since the alternative is prison.
The ensuing tales of difficult escapes are great reading and I strongly recommend it to fans of Cold War history. The translation was excellent.
Thank You Heller Publishing/Heller Verlag for sending me this book through LibraryThing. ( )

Wow, this was very interesting. It is labeled as a novel that “is based on true events” but it reads more like a memoir. It really has me wondering what were the true events and what was fiction invented for the novel. Something makes me believe that it’s more true than the author is willing to admit, but that just could be due to the way it is written. Either way, it was fascinating and man, what a life Mr Müller led, fictionally or nonfictionally. Very well done!.