Born under an assumed name : the memoir of a Cold War spy's daughter

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Title:

Born under an assumed name : the memoir of a Cold War spy's daughter

Author:

Taber, Sara Mansfield, author.

Edition:

1st ed.

Contents:

Preface -- pt. 1. The Sea -- book 1: Dragons (Taipei, Taiwan, 1961-1962) -- The Wall -- The Chicken Village -- Whispers -- Night Soil -- book 2: Gum (Bethesda, Maryland, 1962-1964) -- Cross my Heart -- Jap -- The Tomb -- American -- book 3: Rainlight (The Hague, The Netherlands, 1964-1968) -- Klompen -- Dutchies -- My Father's Bath -- The Pistol -- Nicole -- Home -- pt. 2. The Shore -- book 4: War (Washington D.C., 1968-1970) -- America the Ugly -- Words -- Raspberries -- The Secret -- book 5: Orchids (Kuching, East Malaysia, 1970) -- Colonial -- book 6: Moss (Kobe and Tokyo, Japan, 1970-1972) -- Gaijin -- Tachikawa -- Tea and Bean Cakes -- The Emissary -- My America.

Physical Description:

xv, 363 p., [16] p. of plates : ill. ; 24 cm.

Genre:

Biographies.

Personal Subject:

Taber, Sara Mansfield-Childhood and youth.

Taber, Sara Mansfield-Travel.

Taber, Sara Mansfield-Family.

Corporate Subject:

United States. Central Intelligence Agency -- Officials and employees -- Family relationships.

United States. Central Intelligence Agency -- History -- 20th century.

Subject Term:

Cold War -- Biography.

Daughters -- United States -- Biography.

Fathers and daughters -- United States.

Intelligence officers -- United States -- Family relationships.

Espionage, American -- History -- 20th century.

Publisher:

Potomac Books,

Publication Date:

2011

ISBN:

9781597976985

Publication Information:

Washington, D.C. : Potomac Books, c2011.

Call Number:

928 TABER

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607002656679	Adult Nonfiction	928 TABER	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

From literary journalist Sara Mansfield Taber comes a deep and wondrous memoir of her exotic childhood as the daughter of a covert CIA operative. Born under an Assumed Name portrays the thrilling and confusing life of a girl growing up abroad in a world of secrecy and diplomacy--and the heavy toll it takes on her and her father. As Taber leads us on a tour through the alluring countries to which her father is assigned, we track two parallel stories--those of young Sara and her Cold War spy father. Sara struggles for normalcy as the family is relocated to cities in North America, Europe, and Asia, and the constant upheaval eventually exacts its price. Only after a psychiatric hospitalization at age sixteen in a U.S. Air Force hospital with shell-shocked Vietnam War veterans does she come to a clear sense of who she is. Meanwhile, Sara's sweet-natured, philosophical father becomes increasingly disillusioned with his work, his agency, and his country. This is the question at the heart of this elegant and sophisticated work: what does it mean to be an American? In this fascinating, painful, and ultimately exhilarating coming-of-age story, young Sara confronts generosity, greatness, and tragedy--all that America heaps on the world.