Kirjahaku

A history of Norwegian skippers hired by the CIA to command fast patrol boats on secret missions into North Vietnam. In a little-known episode of the early Vietnam War, the CIA hired Norwegian skippers to command fast patrol boats for classified operations. The boats transported South Vietnamese commandos and combat swimmers along the coasts and rivers of North Vietnam. This work will explain who the “Vikings” were, describe their missions, and detail their equipment (primarily Swift- and Nasty-class patrol boats). Author Alessandro Giorgi relied heavily on recently declassified source material and firsthand accounts to piece together the story. The book features more than 100 photos and maps, including photos of the original contracts that the boat captains signed with CIA shell corporations.

An untold story of espionage, religion, and guerilla warfare in South Vietnam. During the early years of US involvement in Vietnam, the CIA helped arm militia groups in South Vietnam referred to as the “Fighting Fathers.” The name was a reference to the Catholic priests who organized the fighting groups. The fathers fought alongside their parishioners to defend their localities from the Communist insurgency, the Vietcong. Author Alessandro Giorgi has studied the subject in unprecedented detail, conducting original research in recently declassified archives and interviewing former US intelligence personnel and Italian missionary witnesses.