{"product_id":"spies-in-the-himalayas-mohan-s-kohli-9780700612239","title":"Spies in the Himalayas: Secret Missions and Perilous Climbs","description":"In the towering mountains of northern India, a chilling chapter was written in the history of international espionage. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAfter the Chinese detonated their first nuclear test in 1964, America and India, which had just fought a border war with its northern neighbor, were both justifiably concerned. The CIA knew it needed more information on China's growing nuclear capability but had few ways of peeking behind the Bamboo Curtain. Because of the extreme remoteness of Chinese testing grounds, conventional surveillance in this pre-satellite era was next to impossible. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe solution to this intelligence dilemma was a joint American-Indian effort to plant a nuclear-powered sensing device on a high Himalayan peak in order to listen into China and monitor its missile launches. It was not a job that could be carried out by career spies, requiring instead the special skills possessed only by accomplished \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003emountaineers. For this mission, cloaks and daggers were to be replaced by crampons and ice axes. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eSpies in the Himalayas\u003c\/i\u003e chronicles for the first time the details of these death-defying expeditions sanctioned by U.S. and Indian intelligence, telling the story of clandestine climbs and hair-raising exploits. Led by legendary Indian mountaineer Mohan S. Kohli, conqueror of Everest, the mission was beset by hazardous climbs, weather delays, aborted attempts, and even missing radioactive materials that may or may not still pose a contamination threat to Indian rivers. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eKept under wraps for over a decade, these operations came to light in 1978 and have been long rumored among mountaineers, but here are finally given book-length treatment. \u003ci\u003eSpies in the Himalayas\u003c\/i\u003e provides an inside look at a CIA mission from participants who weren't agency employees, drawing on diaries from several of the climbers to offer impressions not usually recorded in covert operations. A host of photos and maps puts readers on the slopes as the team attempts repeatedly to plant the sensor on a Himalayan summit. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAn adventure story as well as a new chapter in the history of espionage, this book should appeal to readers who enjoyed Jon Krakauer's \u003ci\u003eInto Thin Air\u003c\/i\u003e and to anyone who enjoys a great spy story.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Mohan S. Kohli, Kenneth Conboy\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0700612238\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780700612239\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University Press of Kansas\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/18\/2003\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 240\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.19lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.52h x 6.34w x 0.98d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/27\/2003 pg. 245\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/01\/2003 pg. 101","brand":"Mohan S. Kohli","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43994884014335,"sku":"9780700612239","price":49.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_c83bb06d-4c78-4e78-b747-ae596339d27e.jpg?v=1683332736","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/spies-in-the-himalayas-mohan-s-kohli-9780700612239","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}