Kolb, Larry J. Overworld: The Life and Times of a Reluctant Spy.

KOLB, Larry J. Overworld; the life and times of a reluctant spy. Penguin, Riverhead. 475p. c2004. 1-59448-141-5. $16.00. SA

This book is either a thrilling expose of the madcap life of a freelance undercover agent, or else it is simply a brilliant piece of exciting fiction. The reader literally must choose for himself. Either way, it's an exhilarating read.

Kolb paints a colorful story of his life as a freewheeling and audacious adventurer. His father, "a high-ranking spymaster," regaled his son with some of the exciting tales and practical tricks of the espionage trade. However, Kolb forsook this path in order to try his hand at international business, spending time as an agent for retired boxer Muhammad Ali and meeting a fascinating array of shadowy figures along the way. Supposedly pulled back into the "family business" by one of the founders of the CIA, Kolb embarked on a high-powered, dangerous and dramatic life that soon took him into shadowy dealings straight out of James Bond tales. His story glitters with high adventure, big names, and fascinating characters in tawdry corners all over the globe.

The problem with this is, did it all really happen? Intelligence professionals like to say that in real life, Bond himself would last about ten minutes. A picaresque wheeler-dealer is the exact antithesis of the sober, bland, and absolutely colorless agent who brings home the really important fragments of information that--hopefully--can be pieced together into a useful mosaic. Nor do the pros often break into exuberant print about their exploits. Still, Kolb is writing about a world that most of us will never be able to enter, and he certainly shows that somewhere he has received some serious training. In the end, it's exactly like the street peddler said: "The way it works is, you pays your money and you takes your choice." But what fun it is. Raymond Puffer, Ph.D., Historian, Edwards AFB, Lancaster, CA