The Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception

In 1953, against the backdrop of the Cold War, the CIA initiated a top-secret program, code-named MKULTRA, to counter Soviet mind-control and interrogation techniques. Realizing that agents might need to covertly deploy newly developed pills, potions, and powders, the CIA hired America’s most famous magician, John Mulholland, to write two manuals on sleight of hand and undercover communication techniques.

In 1973, virtually all documents related to MKULTRA were destroyed. Mulholland’s manuals were thought to be among them — until a single surviving copy of each, complete with illustrations, was discovered among recently declassified archives. The Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception is the only known complete copy of Mulholland’s work.

H. Keith Melton, a graduate of the US Naval Academy, is an intelligence historian and a specialist in clandestine technology and espionage “tradecraft.” Recognized internationally as an authority on spy technology, Melton is the author of several books, including CIA Special Weapons and Equipment, Clandestine Warfare, and The Ultimate Spy Book.

Robert Wallace retired from the CIA in 2003 with 32 years of service as an operations officer and senior executive. He is the co-author, with H. Keith Melton, of Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA’s Spytechs from Communism to Al-Qaeda. He is the founder and CEO of the Artemus Consulting Group.

“An enchanting account of espionage and wizardry at their blackest.” — Peter Earnest, Executive Director of the International Spy Museum